Chinese Almond Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups of almond flour, lightly packed
• 1 cup of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups of flour
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• Thinly sliced almonds

Directions

1. Combine the almond flour, salt, and butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. You’re looking for a pebbly, uneven mixture rather than a smooth dough.
2. Add one egg, setting the other aside for later, along with the almond extract. Drop the mixer to low speed and mix only until everything is worked in.
3. Sift the flour, sugar, and baking soda together, then add them to the butter mixture while the mixer runs on low speed. Stop as soon as the dough is combined.
4. Gather the dough, pat it into a disc, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for 2 hours to chill.
5. Set the oven to 325 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the reserved egg in a bowl and beat it.
6. Pull off pieces of dough and roll them into balls about three-quarters of an inch wide. Arrange them on the sheet about an inch apart, then press each one gently with your palm so it flattens into a coin shape.
7. Set a slivered almond on each cookie and press it in lightly. Brush the top of each cookie with a little of the beaten egg, using either a pastry brush or your fingertip, so the cookies bake up with a shiny finish.
8. Bake at 325 degrees F for 13-15 minutes, until the edges are just starting to tan. Let them cool on the sheet over a wire rack.