Provided by Cakes by Happy Eatery
Lunar New Year is filled with rich Asian cultural traditions, and each year brings on a new theme. The “Year of the Tiger” is about the strong, powerful, brave and independent nature of the human spirit. It is the most important holiday in celebrating the coming year and is similar to Thanksgiving in that families make an extra effort to travel home and gather. It’s also similar to the holiday season we just finished because sharing food and gift-giving are central practices. It’s even similar to Valentine’s Day because the holiday theme is Red for luck, and recognizes love by sharing your time with family and friends. Instead of a card and box of chocolates, a big tradition is to give an ornate Red Envelope that is filled with cash to represent prosperity and good wishes.
Food for this holiday is filled with symbolism, and features iconic desserts that is always in high demand at Cakes By Happy Eatery:
- Chinese Almond Cookies are signature and a special seasonal favorite.
- Steamed Rice Cake represent increasing prosperity and promotions
- Sweet Rice Dumplings symbolize togetherness.
- Steam Sponge Cake for prosperity.
- Fruit/Beans – fish shaped candied pineapple and red bean – prosperity and abundance.
- Peanut Brittle – longevity and good fortune
With Almond Cookies, you symbolize prosperity as you go on your way: The round shape of the cookie symbolizes coins and good fortune. The recipe is included for this crisp and crumbly cookie.
Chinese Almond Cookies Recipe:
- 1 lb Butter
- 12 oz Sugar
- 3 Eggs (whole) – 2 for the cookie batter and 1 for the egg wash
- ¼ cup Milk (whole)
- 1 tbsp Almond Extract
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 lb All-Purpose Flour
- ½ lb Almond Flour
- Bag of Roasted Whole Almonds
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes.
3. Add eggs (2), milk, and almond extract and continue creaming.
4. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients: baking soda, baking powder, and the two flours.
5. Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed batter to just blended. Do not overmix.
6. Scoop the cookie dough onto a baking sheet and leave 2 inches of space between cookies
7. Slightly flatten the dough – should look like a hockey puck
8. Place a finger indentation in the middle of each cookie.
9. Egg wash each cookie.
10. Place a whole almond in the center of each cookie.
11. Chill the cookie tray for 15 minutes
1. Bake 350 degrees F – Bake 12 – 18 minutes – until base and top of cookies are lightly brown
