Chinese Walnut Cookies核桃酥hé táo sū

These beautiful cookies are traditionally served to guests on the Chinese New Year. But they can certainly be a great healthy snack choice for children as well as wonderful sweet treats for adults all year around. It is so easy to make. So just grab a bag of walnuts, along with other the ingredients already in your pantry, and head into the kitchen!

Makes 15 pieces

Recipe adapted from Mykitchen101en

150g all purpose flour中筋面粉
1 teaspoon baking powder
⅛ tsp table salt

Ingredients (B):

60g walnut
40g salted butter, softened (room temperature)
30g cooking oil
100g caster sugar白糖
1 large size egg, about 50g-60g. You will ONLY use 40g beaten egg. Save the other 10g beaten egg for egg wash (brush unbaked cookies)

Method

Combine 150g all purpose flour, 1¼ tsp of baking powder and ⅛ tsp fine salt, sift the flour mixture twice to incorporate and distribute the salt and baking powder evenly. Place walnuts in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into small bits. Pan roast the walnut bits with a dry pan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a spatula until fragrant or lightly brown. This recipe uses small amount of walnut, it should take about 2-3 minutes of toasting, set aside to cool.

Add walnut to a food processor/dry mill, mix with some flour mixture, about the same amount of flour from instruction 1. Adding flour will help keep the nut dry so that it can be ground finely without turning to paste. Combine walnuts with the flour mixture, press any lumps with a spatula to break them up, mix until well blended. Or if you prefer a coarse texture of the cookies, you can just skip the the food processor/dry mill step by pounding the walnuts into coarsely ground walnuts as indicated in the step 1.

Place 40g softened salted butter in a deep mixing bowl. Turn your electric beater into the slowest mode and beat the butter. Gradually add the 100g sugar and keep beating. Then add 30g cooking oil and 40g eggs. Keeping beating and mixing. The mixture will become fluffy and light. The whole process takes about 2-3 minutes.

Mix in dry ingredients, fold with a spatula until dough forms. Wrap the cookie dough with cling wrap and rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170℃/340F°.

Cookie dough is about 400g, Divide into 15 portions with 26g each, arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Roll each dough into ball-shaped and flatten slightly, press the cookies dough with your thumb to create a hollow center. Brush with egg wash.