Macau Almond Cookies
I love my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, but if anyone were to ask me what my favorite kind of cookie was, it would hands down be the Macau-style almond cookies or "xing ren bing." They are these crumbly, almost shortbread-like cookies made with almonds, mung bean flour, sugar and shortening or lard.
Now, you have to like sandy and "short" cookies to like this cookie. (And of course almonds, which perfume throughout.) The mung bean flour gives the texture a smoothness and creaminess as you chew. A lot of people like to put in big pieces of almond to add texture, but since I like my cookies really sandy, I opted to do a pretty fine ground without adding additional almonds at the end.
The only big change I made to these cookies was instead of shortening or lard, I opted for coconut oil, which may be a bit more healthy and also will give the almond cookies a nice backsplash of coconut flavor. (Don't worry if you don't like the taste of coconut. The almond extract more than covers it.)
A note on the molds - search for "moon cake molds" on Amazon and you should get a fair amount to show up. While the plastic ones do not look as impressive or pretty as the more expensive wooden ones, they will make the cookies look better (cleaner and more defined) and come out a lot easier. So just keep that point in mind when you purchase it.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grind almonds and powdered sugar until finely ground.
2. Add in mung bean flour and mix well.
3. Add in coconut oil and mix with fork until mixture is crumbly.
4. Add in almond extract and water. Mix until mixture is moist and lumpy throughout.
5. Grease and dust molds with coconut oil and powdered sugar.
OR layer mold with plastic wrap. (Much easier if you are using wooden molds!)
6.Put several tablespoons of mix into molds. Press firmly just until cookie comes together. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. Let cool before serving.
Recipe
(Serves 12-15 cookies)
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 cup powdered sugar, add some for dusting wooden molds
- 2 cups mung bean flour
- 2/3 cup coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 2-3 tablespoons water