Chinese Almond Cookies

When I was a kid my dad had a Chinese friend who owned a very good Chinese restaurant. After an excellent meal there (yes even as a kid I knew an excellent meal!) a little plate of these cookies would arrive at our table. They no longer serve these yummy cookies but make them yourselves and you will enjoy their unusual taste. With that thought you must not replace the lard with another fat. The cookies owe their flavor to the lard.....sorry

1 cup of Lard (buy in the grocery store, it comes in tubs and small blocks, keeps really well)

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

Cream until smooth

Add: 1/2 Cup almond butter (comes in jars like peanut butter)

1 teas Almond extract (be sure & take a sniff of the measuring spoon when you are done)

Gently stir in:

2 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 teas. baking powder

1/2 teas. salt

(I reduce salt in all my recipes but will give you the original amounts)

Roll the dough (it is a firm dough) into large balls, walnut size Place 2" apart of un-greased cookie sheet. Press blanched almond halves on each cookie. Flatten with palm of hand.

Mix 1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon water together and brush over cookies avoiding the cookie sheet.

Bake 18-20 min at 350 degrees Makes little over 2 dozen

How to blanch almonds

Buy whole almonds heat a pot of water to boiling drop in almonds leave long enough to see skins loosen, they bubble up, N Don't leave too long or almonds will get soggy Drip in cold water and remove almonds from shells. This is very easy if you did this correctly If you got the almonds too wet dry them in an oven at lowest temperature.