When I was a kid (back in the olden days, as my kids say) the Chinese restaurants in the Wash, DC area always provided these almond cookies for the table when the check was presented. They were one of my very favorite cookies. While fortune cookies are fun, these are truly delicious. Thanks for the recipe, Garrett.

Our neighbors used to bring us a box of almond cookies whenever we collected their newspapers for them when they were away. They are among my favorite cookies-- thanks for the recipe!

Mmmm....my favourite cookies. They are very popular during Chinese New Year. I'll be making soon.

Is almond flour the same as gound almond?

Yes, you can make almond flour by slowly and carefully grinding bleached almonds into a flour. However, this can be dicey as it's a VERY quick jump from almond flour to almond butter. Bob's Red Mill makes a great and affordable almond flour which you usually find in the baking section of stores. ~Garrett

I hate those cookies so, so, so much. They're a staple at Hong Kong weddings, where they are NEVER eaten.

Well, Lai, I appreciate that random bit of trivia. Still, this is a pretty darn tasty recipe that I bet could change your mind. In the U.S. people love these, but Hong Kong is an unique culture in between China and England that has its own tastes and food trends. ~Garrett

These sound wonderful. I've never made these before but I love almond crescents so I'm certain I will enjoy these. Thanks!

I love almond cookies. Thanks for the recipe :D.

I just love almond cookies. As a kid, that was the much anticipated treat after a wonderful Chinese meal in Windsor, Canada. What a delightful trip down memory lane.

By the way, I've just bookmarked this site. Thank you for making it so easy to print your recipes without pictures or ads. This is just such a user friendly site.

These bring back lots of good memories of celebrating Chinese New Year in Vancouver's Chinatown. I'm looking forward to introducing these cookies to my kids.

These look very crunchy. While I'm a fan of almond anything, I always pass these up in Chinese food restaurants. Garrett, do they have a more chewy consistency, or are they more the hard, tooth breaking variety I find at local Chinese food restaurants? :)

They are light and crispy. ~Garrett

Do you think one of the butter substitutes such as Smart Balance sticks could be used intead of two sticks of butter? I would love to cut the cholesterol down a bit on these! I love almond anything but am on a reduced cholesterol diet!
Thanks for great recipes!

Never even heard of the stuff. Give it a shot and let us know if it works. ~Garrett

I have taken Chinese cooking classes from "authentic" chinese chefs, and they never use almond flour. That being said, Trader Joe has almond flour that is considerably less expensive than Bob's Red Mill--and I mean considerably!

I'll have to try this recipe. Let it not be said that I don't have an 'open mind'!

This is an "authentic" Chinese-American recipe. Not a Chinese recipe. (Huge difference.) You won't find these in Hunan, but you will find them in the U.S., England, and Hong Kong. ~Garrett

This is *soooooo* cool! I am 12 and love baking and I can't wait to try these!

Elise, Garrett,

Just like fortune cookies, I had never seen or tasted them while I was in Asia. But I actually love both, they are great. :)

I love Chinese almond cookies-- It was the first cookie recipe I attempted when I moved on my own. I was missing a bunch of ingredients so I had to improvise. They turned out really good but nothing like what I had intended. These look so lovely. Thanks for the recipe!

Does it go without saying that if you have a nut allergy, these are not the cookies for you, or is there a way to modify, and still get to enjoy?

Yeah... you can't take the nuts out of these cookies. No way. ~Garrett

Wonderful! This recipe looks both delicious and easy. My boyfriend is Chinese, and this would be a great way to surprise his mother on Chinese New Year. Thanks for the great idea.

My dad was recently in town for my wedding in Bhutan, and took my Bhutanese siblings-in-law (and our 8 nieces and nephews!) out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. He wanted to get these almond cookies for dessert so the kids could try them, but we don't even get fortune cookies at Chinese restaurants in Bhutan, so I might just have to make these (with the hand-churned butter that we get from the village, natch) so the kids will know what they've missed out on!

Sidenote: my dad is originally from Taiwan and my mom from Shanghai, and our whole family enjoys these cookies--Chinese-American they may be, but they appeal to us all!

I love almonds, too bad the hubs is allergic. I guess I get the whole batch to myself:)

I made them. I made my own almond flour first. I blanched the almond, let them dry (no almond flour), but when you grind them in a processor, don't do it for too long, you'll have butter.

They taste exactly like the ones I got as a kid, in Chinese restaurants of course. Lite, crunchy and sandy, but not too sweet. Great recipe, thanks so much. I gave some to my Chinese neighbor, he liked them, or so he said. Anyway, I love them!

Not sure where I'm going to find almond flour, but when I do, I'm going to make these cookies!

Another place you will definitely find ground almonds (almond flour) is in any kosher deli/section of a supermarket. Passover baking recipes are entirely based on them, as is much general Jewish cooking. This recipe very much reminds me of my grandmother's almond macaroons!

Happy New Year to all the Chinese readers!

Just finished making these. Not only do they taste amazing, my entire apartment smells fantastic. Just in time for me and my family to celebrate the New Year.

Garrett!!! thank you for this amazing recipe. I just pulled the last batch out of the oven. They taste fantastic - just in time for our honoring the Chinese New Year (we aren't Chinese though). These will be perfect as a dessert. Oh, I would highly recommend using almond flour instead of trying to substitute. I don't think this recipe would come close to excellent as it does otherwise. None of our grocery stores had almond flour, however. If anyone lives in Northern Ohio, you can find Bob's Red Mill at Marc's! Our Trader Joe's didn't have it. Thanks, again, Garrett for another great recipe. Happy New Year!

I made a batch of these Chinese Almond Cookies yesterday. They are wonderful! Great texture and a perfect outside crispiness.

This is among my favorite cookie recipes now and is definitely a keeper. I think they would ship well as homemade baking gifts.

Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Best almond cookies ever! To get the texture I wanted - slightly crunchy but mostly soft - I reduced the amount of butter to 3/4 cups. (If you desire almond cookies totally soft, I suggest 1/2 stick of butter).

Also, because I'm lactose intolerant, I substituted the unsalted butter for Earth Balance vegan margarine sticks with no problems. Because it's already salted, I omitted the pinch of salt.

As for flour, I did a whole wheat pastry flour & unbleached white flour mix (as if this somehow makes these cookies any less sinful!).

P.S. Trader Joes sells almond meal (ground almond flour) for super cheap (in relation to Whole Foods, that is). Good luck!

Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I have been looking for this recipe for a long time. Most Chinese restaurants outside of Chicago never serve these so I am eagerly looking forward to making these. I really prefer these cookies over the fortune cookies.