Chinese Walnut Cookies

… and the 4-day weekend is over!

I love Chinese New Year because of its festive feel. Our neighborhood was lined up with lots of red Chinese decors, families and friends gathered together, and oranges and ang baos were given out for good luck and wealth.

Our family don’t usually celebrate CNY, but we do enjoy being work-free for 4.5 days! We got to spend quality time with our little one, and catched up with friends over a great meal and some desserts/coffee.

During the weekend, I also thought of doing some Chinese cooking/baking to theme up with the season. I made some walnut cookies which I will be sharing in this post.

Chinese Walnut Cookies

Recipe from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup walnuts, (grind 1/2, the other 1/2 cut in halves)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
30 g butter
1/2 teaspoon water
2/3 cup cooking oil

Egg Wash:

1 egg yolk plus 1 teaspoon oil

Method:

Mix flour, baking powder, ground walnuts, salt and sugar in a bowl.  Rub butter into flour until resembles crumbs. Add in water, oil and mix until the dough forms and becomes soft. (I added a little more oil until the dough came together.)

Mold the dough using a spoon or a small ice cream scoop, and flatten it a little with a fork. Top with half a walnut. Brush the top with egg wash.

Bake at 170 C (340 F) for 30 minutes or until the top is slightly brown. Let it stand on the baking pan to cool before serving or transferring in a container. Makes about 40 cookies.

They are nutty and yummy, perfect to eat with a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!