Chinese Walnut Cookies (核桃酥)

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Chinese New Year is approaching, food bloggers here are busy baking CNY cookies.  I have baked pineapple tarts, almond cookies, peanut cookies. How about you?

Since there is still one week away, I'd like to bake one more type of CNY cookies. Read a few posts about Chinese Walnut Cookies (核桃酥) recently.  Some recipes add alkaline water, some add shortening, some use vegetable oil, some use butter.  Despite the difference in recipes, I notice there is one thing in common:  food bloggers are trying to create the traditional taste of walnut cookies from their hometown, from their childhood memories.



In my hometown, Chinese walnut cookies are crunchy and full of walnut fragrance. There is no butter in it,  but for sure there are walnuts. They are so delicious that I have always been tempted to buy them whenever I see similar ones at bakery shops here.  However, the taste is not the same.  Pure peanut oil and walnut meal are the key ingredients to keep these Chinese walnut cookies crispy and addictive.

The easy recipe is from 君之, who I believe shares the same memory of Chinese walnut cookies as me.  I can't say these are the best-ever Chinese walnut cookies, but they are the best cookies of my childhood. It's amazing that my two daughters, who do not like walnuts,   love these walnut cookies !


CHINESE WALNUT COOKIES (核桃酥)

Ingredients
  • 400 plain flour
  • 160g icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sodium Bicarbonate
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ammonium (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 50g walnuts,  grounded
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cup peanut oil


    • Egg wash
  • 1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon milk
  •  
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, add flour, sugar and the rest of the dry ingredients, mix well.
  2. Beat the egg slightly and mix with peanut oil.
  3. Add the oil mixture into the flour mixture. Fold with a spatula until form a soft dough.
  4. Divide dough into 30g each. Roll into balls  and place onto a lined baking tray, 2cm apart.
  5. Flatten with your palm. Brush with egg wash.
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 mins or until golden brown.

Recipe adapted here.


Photobucket

I am linking this post to Bake Along hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids. This month's theme is Chinese New Year Cookies.

Comments

  1. Miz Helen26 January 2014 at 10:34

    What yummy cookies, they look so pretty, sure wish I had one right now! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope you have a great weekend!
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete
  2. kitchen flavours26 January 2014 at 23:43

    This is another one cookie that I am tempted to try, but have to wait until after CNY! Lots of cookies to try! The difference in ingredients is really interesting. I guess each hometown has their own originality and uniqueness. Thanks for sharing this cookies from your childhood, now it will be your children's turn to keep these cookies in their childhood memory!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Zoe28 January 2014 at 16:40

    Glad that you have found your most ideal hup toh soh! I guess everyone has their interesting expectation in their most fav hup toh soh... I think that you are totally right that our fav version is usually the one that we often eat throughout our childhood.

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  4. lena30 January 2014 at 00:50

    i didnt make a lot of cookies but i hv baked some almond cookies yesterday and maybe if i hv time tmrw, may be doing a small batch of cashew nut cookies. you know i hv never tried peanut oil..i think i shld get a bottle next time for my cny cookies..especially for peanut cookies..i heard that they really make a difference.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Michelle B30 January 2014 at 07:20

    We always seem to crave what we grew up with. Doesn't matter if they are the "best ever" or not! Those familiar flavors just bring back memories. I'm glad your daughters liked these. Years from now, they may have fond memories of Walnut Cookies.
    Thank you for linking this week!

    ReplyDelete

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