Chinese Double Almond Cookies

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. 2

   In a medium frying pan, evenly coat both types of almonds with the smidgiest amount of olive oil. Pan roast the almonds for 5 minutes on medium-high heat or until the nuts darken but haven't burned. Keep the pan moving!

3. 3

   Salt and smash into small pieces.

4. 4

   In a large bowl, cream the sugars and butter together with a hand mixer for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

5. 5

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition, and add the almond extract.

6. 6

   In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt to remove any large lumps. Add the flour and crushed almonds to the butter mixture in small additions (not as I did, as evidenced by the above picture).

7. 7

   Line a cookie pan with parchment. Using a small cookie scoop, portion the cookies into 2 1/2 dozen cookies. Be careful, you may have to bake these in batches because the cookies do spread. In the center of each cookie, press a whole almond (go pretty deep) into the center. I like using a marcona almond because they're softer than the typical red almond, but the latter is more traditional. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the tops look dry.

8. 8

   Also, don't let the dough settle too long between mixing and baking. If you wait too long (like me, I was taking pictures), the butter soaks up the flour and the cookie loses its crispiness.

9. 9

   Check out Chow Creations on the web for more recipes and tips!

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.