Jennifer J. Chow's Auspicious Almond Cookies Recipe

Auspicious Almond Cookies. Image credit: Jennifer J. Chow

Jennifer J. Chow is an Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Lilian Jackson Braun Award-nominated author known for penning engaging stories filled with hope and heritage. Her cozy mystery series include the Magical Fortune Cookie Novels, the L.A. Night Market Mysteries, the Sassy Cat Mysteries, and the Winston Wong Cozy Mysteries (written as J.J. Chow).

You can learn more about Jennifer J. Chow and her work at jenniferjchow.com. If you sign up for her newsletter, you can get a fun, free recipe and learn about upcoming giveaways, events, and book releases.

Recipe Note From Jennifer J. Chow

I have fond memories of eating packaged almond cookies while growing up. In college, though, I decided to make fresh ones for a Lunar New Year party. More recently, I turned to almond cookie baking for a fun family bonding time. My older daughter came up with this beloved recipe for Auspicious Almond Cookies!

Auspicious Almond Cookies Recipe

Makes about 24 (2 dozen) cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

• 5/8 cup white sugar

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract (1 tsp if less almond flavor is desired)

• 1 egg

• 24 almond slices

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together into a bowl. Cut in the butter (very important, don’t skip this) until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the almond extract. Combine white and yolk of egg; add half of it to the bowl. Mix well. The dough will appear too crumbly in the beginning, but when you mix it long enough, it will get the right consistency (that’s why you only need half an egg).

3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Set them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Press down with your thumb to flatten each cookie slightly. Place an almond slice in the middle of each cookie.

4. Combine the other half of the egg and ½ tbsp water to make a light egg wash glaze. Using a basting brush, cover the tops of the cookies with the glaze. You can adjust the amount of glaze on each cookie depending on how much almond cookie shine you want.

5. Bake in oven until the edges of the cookies are golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Note: They taste even better the second day when the almond flavor has set in.

Culinary cozy mysteries by Jennifer J. Chow

Interview with Jennifer J. Chow

You can learn more about Jennifer J. Chow and her cozy mystery books in this Cozy Crime Reads interview with Jennifer J. Chow. She explains who inspired her interest in mysteries, how she researches characters and settings, and what organization aspiring writers can join to connect with other authors.

Jennifer J. Chow Cozy Mystery Bookshelf

Use the arrows on either side of the image below to see Jennifer J. Chow's cozy mysteries. Click on the image to see the book on Amazon.