Chinese Almond Cookies

You can blanch the almonds if you like. To do this, boil almonds in a pot of water for 1-2 minutes until the brown papery skins start to loosen and wrinkle. Remove them from the boiling water and cool in a bowl of ice water. Drain and slip skins off by gently pinching one end of the almond. The nuts should slip right out of their skins. Allow almonds to dry.

For the cookie dough: Preheat oven to 325 F. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the flour mixture and shortening until combined. Add the egg, milk, and almond extract; mix well.

Use a #50 cookie scoop to evenly portion dough and knead each scoop of dough in the palm of your hands 5 or 6 times. Then roll them into balls and place balls of dough on a Silpat or parchment lined sheet pan, 12 at a time. Make a depression in the center of each ball of dough with your thumb and gently press a blanched almond into the depression.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until they just start to turn light golden around edges.Remove pan from oven and set on a rack. Cool them for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe makes 40 cookies.