I know... they're suppose to have a little almond sliver in the middle but I got lazy... but I thought... if I make a little indentation they can look like coin medallions!!! And the Chinese love it when things resemble money! They'll eat it up (haha... get it?). Ummm... hee hee?
Took me about 4 tries to get these cookies right, the first time had too much oil in it (generally, these cookies call for lard, but I don't have it in my heart to use lard in my baking... not even in my pies) and the icing sugar didn't quite dissolve well into the dough. The second time I added too much almond powder in them and they were just too dry and crumbly (although still good, reminded me of the peanut cakes I used to have as a kid). But the last and final try... mmmm... a not too sweet and tender crumbly cookie with a big kick of almondy goodness (thanks to the almond powder and extract) - a perfect bite size treat with tea or coffee. It's heaven with tea... hence I added the "tea" in the name of this cookie.
I know... I'm so creative. Please stop... I know I'm brilliant to come up with "Almond Tea Cookies"... please stop... I insist. eh-hem.
I haven't introduced them quite yet to my loyal customers, mainly because most of my family members gobbled them up. I made a whole batch for my father (I gave him 24 cookies) to give away to his friends for good luck... but he never gave them away and kept eating them for a whole week after CNY. I mean, I'm flattered considering my father is one of my biggest critics and he's from the typical Chinese older generation (this group generally does not like North American sweets instead favouring desserts such as the lightly sweetened Anna's Cake house sponge cake with fruit and whip cream).
Anyways.... so my passion is what I call "North American Nostalgic Comfort" and I'm most comfortable in preparing these types of bake goods in my kitchen. But for the past year or so, I've been interested in re-connecting with my Chinese roots. I think this is mainly due to the fact that ever since my mom passed away 1.5 years ago, she was the only one that tried to keep me in touch with the Chinese culture. Even my already bad Cantonese is getting worse as time goes on and I'm to the point where I don't even want to speak Cantonese to anyone beyond ordering from the push trolley dim sum carts. So with this in mind, I've been a bit more curious in Chinese cooking and dessert making (I foresee making egg tarts in the near future... made without lard!) - I suppose you can say my mom has inspired me to take the initiative to rediscover my roots as one of my fears is that I won't be able to pass on what my culture has to offer to the next generation in my family.
Question is... is Main Street ready to get a bit of Chinese bakery fusion? I think so... especially if they have it with a delicious cup of North American styled tea (with cream and sugar anyone?). Can't wait!
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