Almond Shortbread Cookies
Before practicing Chinese medicine, I was a florist. Our flowers were shipped in from a distributor in Chinatown in San Francisco. Every year at the Chinese New Year boxes of delicious almond cookies arrived with the flowers. We feasted on the decadent little treats while arranging the next dozen roses or ‘lovely lump’ of mixed flowers – and the next, and the next – you get the picture. Years later, I started playing with recipes until I tweaked one enough to have the flavor without the preservatives. These are my favorites.
Ingredients
3 cups all purpose, organic flour
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cup butter softened
3 tsp almond extract
3 tsp vanilla extract
almond halves or slivers for decoration
lemon zest optional
Instructions
Use a food processor (or very diligent work with a mortar and pestle) combine sugar and salt until very fine and powdery, about 60 seconds. Add the almonds and process until well chopped, about 20 seconds or longer if you prefer smaller chunks. Don't have a food processor? I actually do this step by hand with a mortar and pestle.
Add the butter, vanilla and almond extract and zest (if desired) and pulse or stir until very smooth. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary. Add the flour and pulse until a soft dough forms.
Portion the dough into halves, roll dough into a log shape about 10-12 inches long and 1in diameter. Wrap and freeze for later use or chill for about 1 hour before baking.
Before baking, remove chilled dough from the fridge and allow to set at room temperature while oven heats. Preheat oven to 350° F. Place rack in center of oven. Use floss to slice off dough in 1/2 inch sections. You can use a knife to cut the cookie dough, but you may need to reshape the cookies into rounds. Position cookies on sheet about 1/2 apart. Optionally place an almond half or sliver on the top of each cookie pressing it in gently. Bake 8-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Health benefits: Almonds are neutral and sweet, nourishing Qi and Jing. The cookies are sweet overall so they will nourish yin. Avoid eating too many though, they are rich and will make damp conditions worse.
Primary season: Late Summer/Transition
