Searching for the best Chinese almond cookie recipe? We compared 9 different traditional and non-traditional recipes in search of the crunchiest, flakiest and flavorful cookies!

If you’ve never had a Chinese almond cookie before, you’re in for a treat! Many people enjoy almond cookies during Lunar New Year as the round shape symbolizes coins and the almond represents luck–they’re meant to bring good fortune and prosperity.
However, I think they’re fully appropriate as a year-round treat–you’ll find them at Asian bakeries year-round. Growing up, I remember eating almond cookies as an occasional post-meal treat at restaurants (though fortune cookies are now much more common in most Chinese restaurants).
In classic Asian dessert culture form, Chinese almond cookies are typically not too sweet. Texturally, they’re usually lightly crunchy, sometimes crumbly, and sometimes flaky, almost verging on a shortbread texture. In order to find the best, I baked 9 different recipes in one day and asked tasters to rank them all. Let’s dive into the recipe comparison!
Methodology
- 57 total tasters tasted samples of all 9 cookies
- Each taster ranked each cookie on a scale from 0-10 for flavor, texture and overall as a whole (data is shown under the Results section below)
- All recipes were baked the same day of tasting for freshness
- Ingredients were measured by weight according to King Arthur (unless the recipe specified weights)
Ingredients
- Gold Medal bleached all-purpose flour
- Kirkland almond flour
- Kirkland unsalted butter
- Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Imperial granulated, brown and powdered sugar
What is a traditional Chinese almond cookie?
Per The Nibble, Chinese almond cookies appears to have originated sometime during the 19th century as Chinese immigrants began to enter the U.S. They’re likely more of an Asian-American creation, though they can now be found in bakeries across Asia as well.
In my research, I found two general styles of Chinese almond cookies. The first feels closer to a crisp American-style cookie: round, flat (maybe 1/2″ or less thick), crunchy yet airy. The second is squatter and almost more ball-like with a pasty, crumbly, sandy texture, closer to shortbread. Both styles are brushed with egg wash for the signature glossy look and golden hue and topped with an almond.
The most traditional characteristic of a Chinese almond cookie recipe is undoubtedly the use of lard, and I actually found that lard can help achieve either of the above textures. Most modern recipes use butter, shortening or oil in place of lard. To me, the latter (shortbread-esque) cookie feels more like an old-school traditional almond cookie while the flatter, crunchy version feels like a modernized version. Both are delicious and covered in this bake off.
Results: The Crowd Favorite
This was a tricky bake off to judge as I knew not every taster would have context for what a traditional Chinese almond cookie should taste like. (Although I knew that my taster audience would be heavily Asian thanks to Bay Area demographics and thus likely to have some level of context.) I myself, in fact, made a point to go pick some up in Chinatown before the bake off to refresh my memory.
I suspected that including a mix of traditional and non-traditional recipes might lead to a winner that wasn’t traditional (spoiler: I was right). However, what I considered to be the most traditional AND delicious landed in second place, so I feel that these results are pretty fair!
Our crowd favorite, 31 Daily, actually doesn’t bill itself as a non-traditional almond cookie the way others do. However, it’s much more buttery, flat and crisp compared to a traditional cookie. It’s delicious, and it’s easy to see how this was the crowd favorite. Full crowd ratings below:

As always, I encourage you to read through the entire blog post to decide which sounds best to you (the winner is not always everyone’s best!).
Factors for the best Chinese almond cookies
In choosing just 9 recipes to compare, a lot of different considerations went into each recipe. Did the recipe use lard vs. butter vs. oil vs. shortening? All-purpose flour only or with added almond flour? A high vs. low baking temperature? Reverse creaming vs. regular creaming? I’ll discuss some of my findings from testing the various recipes below.

Use oil or lard for a traditional texture, but butter for flavor
I was SO curious to see compare lard (the traditional fat in Chinese almond cookies) against the typical suspects (butter, oil, shortening). In the end, the two recipes that used lard ended up in second place (What to Cook Today) and fifth place (Nom Wah). I absolutely loved the sandy, slightly flaky texture of What to Cook Today, though I was less enthused about the light and foamy crunch of Nom Wah’s texture. Though I wasn’t as sensitive to the flavor of lard, several tasters commented on a “porky flavor” or less desirable aftertaste to these cookies.
Our butter contenders had a wide spread from first to ninth place. 31 Daily shows that while butter isn’t traditional, it can yield cookie with outstanding flavor and crunch. However, without the right amount of sugar/flour/eggs to balance the butter, these cookies can end up cakey (Eat, Little Bird) or a bit puffy (King Arthur).
Life Currents was the only recipe to use 100% shortening. While I do think the shortening helped contribute to the crunch, I think it was mainly the low and slow bake time that made these cookies extremely crunchy. The shortening didn’t do any favors for the flavor, which leaned heavily on sugar and almond extract.
Meanwhile, our single oil contender, Red House Spice, had a similarly sandy texture to my beloved What to Cook Today. This was a bit surprising as I expected shortening to be the best textural sub for lard–but oil actually seems to do the trick as well.
In summary, lard will probably yield the best traditionally sandy or crunchy texture. But if you’re adverse to baking with lard, oil is a great alternative. Butter will, of course, always give you the best flavor, but I need to do more experimenting to see how it works as a substitute for lard.
Almond extract for flavor over almond flour
Out of the 9 recipes, 6 used a mix of almond and all-purpose flour while the rest used all-purpose flour only. Six recipes also used almond extract while the rest did not. Virtually every recipe that didn’t use almond extract had taster complaints of not enough almond flavor.
Greedy Girl Gourmet is a great example of a recipe that’s heavy on the almond flour (2 cups per 1.5 cups all-purpose flour) with no almond extract and barely tastes of almond. Instead, the heavy proportion of almond flour leads to a slightly astringent, dense texture. Meanwhile, Life Currents uses no almond flour but a full tablespoon of almond extract that is quite prominent in the finished recipe.
The top three recipes used both almond flour and extract–a clear signal that the two work well together. But if you want a stronger almond flavor, lean on the almond extract over the almond flour!
A sliced almond on top is demure and economical
The almond on top of the cookie is meant to represent luck and feels mostly decorative. While collecting recipes for the bake off, I paid little attention to the type of almond placed on top. However, one taster wrote me afterwards and said “my Chinese American tasters felt strongly that only blanched almond halves or slices be used” and I now see why. Here are all the toppings I tried:
- Whole almond: While it looks nice, having a whole almond on top of the cookie is a bit obtrusive and breaks up the texture of the cookie.
- Blanched whole almond: This requires more work to boil and then peel the almonds, and again a full almond is a bit bulky.
- Almond slice: Unobtrusive and the most economical! This is my top pick.
Some recipes called for brushing the egg wash on the cookie before placing the almond; others called for the almond before the egg wash. I prefer the latter technique as it gives a lovely glazed look to the almond.
Salt well
Just a quick note on salt–the highest praise most Asian desserts can receive is a “not too sweet.” Accordingly, it’s important to balance the sweetness with sufficient salt. It’s rare to find a cookie recipe that doesn’t call for salt, but Nom Wah didn’t and was tragically bland. Perhaps they meant to lean on the lard for flavor, but just a note to make sure to add salt if the recipe doesn’t call for it! 1/2 to 1 tsp for most standard cookie recipes should be sufficient.
I actually kind of like a coarser kosher salt like Morton’s in these cookies because it doesn’t dissolve as well as finer salts and gives you tiny pops of salt.
Analysis of all 9 Chinese almond cookie recipes

Eat, Little Bird: pale, slightly bready cookies reminiscent of scones
With just 6 ingredients, this recipe was easy to assemble. I was intrigued by the short ingredient, the relatively low amount of sugar and reverse creaming-esque technique. Rather than creaming butter and sugar together, you simply rub softened butter into the dry ingredients before mixing in the eggs. The trickiest part is dividing the dough into smooth tubes of dough that you chill before baking. While you can slice the tubes into rounds and bake, I chose to roll the dough into balls for the “more rounded cookie” option. Unfortunately I found the dough quite dry and hard to work with–the dough kept crumbling when we tried to roll them into balls.
These baked up significantly puffier than the photos with a breadiness that results from the low ratio of sugar (not enough to flatten the shape or induce chewy/crispness). Despite the egg yolk wash, these were the palest cookie of the bunch with just the tiniest hint of golden hue. Their strangely soft, floury and cakey texture reminded me of a slightly firmer scone. The bland yet more-ish flavor also reminded me of a British tea scone with its faintly sweet starchiness. Honestly, I could eat many of these cookies (especially with tea), but they’re not at all what I would expect from a classic almond cookie.
Taster comments:
- It’s light/delicate in flavor and not very sweet. Very pale and sort of floury but in a good way. Good chew. We really liked it and could imagine making them. This one and [Nom Wah] were our favorites.
- I wasn’t expecting a soft texture but really liked it, I just wish it had more almond flavor.
- Has a soft short bread texture. Taste a bit floury and the least almond flavour came through. However it’s a hit amongst the kids.
- Disappointed when I put it in my mouth, but after more thought I’m not mad. Like a scone I think it needs a tea, and it’s not sweet. Is this supposed to be healthy? If yes I’d rate it higher. No matter what I couldn’t taste the almond.
- Cakey, pale and soft, but dry. Sort of powdery in texture, unlike a traditional almond cookie. Tastes more like a sugar cookie than an almond cookie. No almond flavor.
- Bland, soft, doughy, if I blind tasted it I wouldn’t know it’s meant to be Chinese almond cookie
- The texture is the only saving grace because this is unfortunately not an almond cookie. Very soft and melts in your mouth but I did not enjoy the flavor because there was no flavor in this cookie and almost 0 sweetness. My least favorite cookie.

Greedy Girl Gourmet: thick, slightly chewy, almond flour-heavy cookies
Zhen specifically calls these out as Asian-American, non-traditional Chinese almond cookies. While she notes that more traditional recipes are made with oil and aren’t crunchy, hers are made with butter for a crisp texture and buttery flavor. She specifically omits vanilla extract (she never tasted vanilla in Chinese baked goods growing up) and almond extract (she says it doesn’t add much flavor since there’s so much almond flour). I like that she gives the option to top the cookies with either a whole or sliced almond.
Unfortunately, my cookies didn’t spread nearly as much as her photos, nor did mine have the same golden hue. Given the high ratio of dry ingredients (3.5 cups) to wet ingredients (1/2 cup butter + 4 egg yolks), the dough did seem suspiciously dry during the assembly process. I measured the dry ingredients according to King Arthur’s ingredient weight chart and I suspect the spread disparity could be due to using different weights for the flour and almond meal. However, the recipe doesn’t list weights so it’s impossible to tell.
Ultimately, my dough baked up into round, perky cookies had a decent amount of almond flavor from the almond flour. The centers were slightly moist and chewy in a way that reminded me of cookies made with coconut flour and almost felt adjacent to marzipan. The outside was nicely crisp, but the almost circular form doesn’t fit the bill of an almond cookie for me. While the light sweetness was nice, this felt texturally too heavy on the almond flour for my preference.
Similar to: Cooking Therapy
Taster comments:
- Probably my favorite. The bite/exterior is harder but then the inside is soft and not crumbly. Good balance of sweetness.
- At first bite, I thought it was stale (though impossible) then it became pleasantly chewy. Light flavor, like a tea biscuit. Enjoyable but not “almondy” enough. Would eat more but might not make more.
- Not an almond cookie to me, but I liked it, I guess? Hard cookie (but not in a bad way), very robust… not much almond flavor. But the good thing is that it’s not too sweet and has a mild buttery taste.
- Texture is hard. Tastes like almond without extract which is nice in a way but not memorable. Lack of depth of flavor.
- This one has an eggier taste as opposed to almond. Texture was also chewy. Overall it wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t call it an almond cookie. I want to be able to smell the almonds before I even have the cookie!
- Dense, very tight crumb, and a little tough to bite. Not sweet enough.

King Arthur: nutty, slightly puffy cookies with a crisp edge and chewy center
Developed by Hetty McKinnon for King Arthur, this is another non-traditional recipe that uses butter for a soft middle and crisp exterior (vs. the traditional crisp texture from lard). This recipe caught my eye for its mix of all-purpose flour with almond flour that gets toasted to deepen the flavor. The creamed butter dough is quite soft and sticky and requires chilling for 2 hours for easier handling.
Thanks to the toasted almond flour, these came out with a whole grain-y, speckled appearance (I may have taken the toasting a smidge too far). Mine looked a bit puffier than the craggy tops in King Arthur’s photos, which could possibly be due to variance in egg size (I measured my egg weight out to 50g). In any case, this led to a cookie with crisp edges but a slightly cakey quality around the mid-ring before getting to a soft chew at the center of the cookie. The flavor was again a bit heavier on the almond flour than I’d prefer. Overall, this felt like a wonderful crisp-chewy American-style cookie with a hint of almond.
Similar to: Table for Two, Simply Recipes, Omnivore’s Cookbook
Taster comments:
- I was surprised but this was my favorite cookie. I really enjoyed the flecks of almond and the full almond on top. I thought the texture was good – not too crunchy and not too soft and sandy, even though it’s less authentic than I remember.
- It’s the best looking cookies so far. The crumb is tender resembles soft cookies. Love the look of the almond speckles on it. Almond flavor is there. I think it’s a matter of preference, this cookie is good for people that like soft cookies. I would add a bit more salt to when you release the recipe 😉
- Great color and look, has a very moist, cakey mouthfeel which I liked a lot. The texture was very different from the rest of them but it had a very subtle flavor.
- The softest cookie, I think I prefer a bit more of a crunch. Flavor is quite subtle.
- Almond flavor comes through mildly, it’s not what I picture when I think the traditional almond cookie – almost feels like a westernized version of an almond cookie (in both taste and look). A little cakier with a melt in your mouth texture, neither of which is what I’m used to for almond cookies. The flavor almost tastes a little savory.
- I’m typically not as into “puffy” cookies as others, but I could see how others might love this one. The bready notes calmed down a bit when left overnight, so much to my surprise it got better with age, but I still would prefer most of the others.

Red House Spice: crumbly, compact cookies with a good salt balance and barely-there sweetness
These are hands down the easiest cookie to make from this bake off. After mixing all the dry ingredients together, you’ll pour in the oil and mix with a fork until combined. The only tricky thing here is getting the right texture. Measuring oil by weight according to King Arthur, 1/2 cup of oil is 99g. However, my container of vegetable oil showed 1 tbsp of oil as weighing 14g, which would mean 1/2 cup should be 112g.
To be consistent with the rest of my bake offs, I used King Arthur’s weight and ended up adding around 6 extra tbsp to get a uniform dough that held together (but barely). Similar to Eat, Little Bird, these dough balls were fairly difficult to form because they kept crumbling apart. Could I have added more oil to get a dough that looked like the photos? Yes, but I was worried the cookies would be too oily and my final dough did match the description (uniform texture, falls apart easily).
Similar to What to Cook Today, these had a crumbly, flaky texture that falls apart so easily in a mouth, it’s kind of a wonder they stayed together while baking. I loved the glossiness of the egg wash–my cookies looked just like the photos! I also appreciated the technique of brushing the egg wash over the almond to give it extra sheen.
Taste-wise, we finally had our first traditional-style cookie. The sweetness is quite subtle with little pops of salt that almost make it savory. The flavor profile felt very much like a classic Chinese almond cookie to me, as did the crumbly texture that almost turns to a paste in your mouth. These were one of my favorites! They feel similar to What to Cook Today, but with a less crisp bottom and a less strong almond flavor.
Similar to: Just One Cookbook
Taster comments:
- It has a savory nutty lardy flavor to it. It’s crumby and creamy like [What to Cook Today] but [WTCT] has a better mouthfeel when eating it. Taste like traditional almond cookies.
- Texture – like Chinese peanut cookies, which I like. Flavorful enough
- Also an interesting flavor! But I really liked it. It had the correct crumbly texture as well. Overall a great cookie and maybe a more “modern” almond cookie compared to [What to Cook Today] – like if [WTCT] would be from a Chinese bakery, #8 would be from a hip new Chinese restaurant.
- Similar texture to #6 in how it’s sandy and melts in your mouth, but falls short of it due to flavor and aftertaste–could use more almond, but nice salt level. Has an aftertaste that I don’t really enjoy (maybe it’s the lard sneaking back in)… leaves your mouth feeling oily and unpleasant.
- This seemed almost shortbread-like to me. Felt particularly buttery, a little nutty/salty and crumbly/flaky. Didn’t taste a lot of almond.
- Wrong texture, tastes like it was fried in bad oil. Draws all the moisture out of your mouth. Too tiny.

Nom Wah: flat, craggly cookies with a feather-light crunch
This recipe comes from the official cookbook of the famed New York dim sum spot, Nom Wah. This was an unusual recipe that calls for powdered sugar instead of granulated and cornstarch in addition to flour. This was one of two lard recipes that I tested, so I had high expectations for a traditional result. No mixer needed for this recipe–you can simply fold the wet ingredients (melted lard, egg yolks, almond extract) into all the dry ingredients. It then calls for the unique step of kneading by hand for 3-5 minutes to coax the dough together into a ball.
The double wash egg technique was also unique. Most recipes just wash the top of the dough ball. But Nom Wah calls for brushing all sides of the dough ball with egg wash, letting it sit for a minute, then brushing it again before placing a toasted almond on top.
The double yolk wash results in a kind of splotchy golden pattern that was aesthetically pleasing to me. However, some tasters didn’t like it and even thought it contributed to an unpleasant eggy flavor. Size-wise, these are exactly what I think of for a classic almond cookie–not too thick or thin, and generously round. The feather-light crunch and crumbly texture kind of melts in your mouth. All signs were there for a perfect classic cookie except…the flavor. These tasted quite bland to me, but they get major points for nailing the texture. I’d add at least 1/2 tsp of salt if I made these again.
Similar to: The Woks of Life
Taster comments:
- Tastes like a cookie from a Chinese bakery. Loved the topping and it crumbled really nicely. Super crunchy, crumbly and light.
- This one has a similar interesting taste as #5. Is it lard? It lacks a depth of flavor but the texture is very authentic to the boxed almond cookies. In fact I’d say this is very similar both in flavor and texture to the almond cookies in the snack aisle of Chinese grocery stores.
- Definitely tastes authentic, rich and crumbly and a little oily but not soft or hard. I liked the texture, although it did fall apart a little bit. Not a fan of the aftertaste.
- This one almost tasted savory to me. Very buttery and kind of crumbly/sandy/melt-in-your-mouth in texture. Kind of nostalgic of store bought but not very good ones.
- Looks sloppy, glaze was too thick and gloppy. Good crumble and the right texture for a traditional almond cookie. Not enough almond flavor. Looked good but didn’t rate high because it was bland.
- Too crumbly, and too eggy from the egg wash. Taste one note just sweet. Lack of almond flavour. The egg taste is not pleasant.

Life Currents: thick and crunchy almond cookies with a light sweetness
I had originally nixed this recipe since I know most people don’t prefer to bake with shortening. However, I kept thinking about the unusually low and slow bake time and finally added it back into the mix. After tasting Chinese almond cookies from a few bakeries, I suspected this baking technique would do well in duplicating the same crunchy cookie texture. This was the only recipe that uses a mix of white and light brown sugar. It also uses a whopping tablespoon of almond extract–far more than most recipes!
Sure enough, after baking for nearly 40 minutes at 275/325, these cookies were EXTREMELY crunchy. In fact, I found them a little too hard. Whereas Nom Wah has a light and crumbly crunch, these have a harder snap with almost no crumbly interior. The flavor is great–I liked the caramelized notes and there was a decent almond presence from the extract. But overall, these felt just a bit too dry and crunchy than my ideal. I’d be curious to try these again baked just at 350 for ~18 minutes.
Taster comments:
- A snappy cookie with a really tasty well balanced toasted almond flavor.
- I like the flavor and the crunch, though I wish the cookie were a bit less thick given it’s harder texture
- Liked that this had a shattering, right before “snap” kind of texture, there was a little bit of fat on the tongue with it but not in a bad way. The almond flavor was much lighter than [31 Daily], still good but could have been a bit stronger to get a higher score (still tasty) but was just a bit on the sweet side for me. Liked it, but stronger almond flavor and less sweet would have made it even better!
- Compared to [Jessica Gavin] this one has a more authentically Chinese tasting almond flavor. It’s also more crunchy like a Chinese almond cookie but it’s lacking the traditional crumbly inside.
- Crunchy but not as tender or as enjoyable to eat as [31 Daily]. Almond extract flavor a bit too strong. It has oily feels to it on the roof of your mouth.
- Harder cookie with a crunch, has a weird aftertaste (maybe it’s the lard???) I did not enjoy this cookie. Flavor isn’t the best.

Jessica Gavin: picturesque crisp yet slightly chewy-centered cookies with a subtle almond flavor
If you search for Chinese almond cookie, Jessica’s recipe is likely one of the first that you’ll stumble upon. This is a unique recipe that uses almonds three ways for maximum flavor: almond flour, almond extract and almond paste. With just 8 tsp of almond paste, I was almost reluctant to include it (it’s a small amount of a niche ingredient), but ultimately I was too curious to not try it. This recipe follows a standard creaming process with the almond paste creamed in with the butter. Happily, no chilling is required before baking the dough balls off.
And the result? Many people responded to my story on Instagram calling this the perfect looking cookie, and I have to agree. The perfect browning, roundness and size were extremely pleasing. These had a delightful crunch around the edges and a slight chew to the middle. Jessica notes that you may encounter pockets of almond paste in the cookies, but mine seemed uniformly incorporated after baking.
Despite the three types of almond flavor, I found the flavor nice and subtle–not quite as prominent as 31 Daily as an example. Like King Arthur, the slight chew to these gave these more of a modernized Asian-American style almond cookie. While not a strictly traditional cookie, it’s an easy pick for a crowd-pleasing cookie!
Taster comments:
- Tender yet crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Subtle almond flavor but there’s a nice brulee flavor that’s very nice. Well balanced. This is the favorite.
- OMG the flavor. My husband and I both immediately knew this was the one. There’s a well-rounded flavor (likely the fat) that lasts and is addictive.
- It’s not giving almond cookie, but I almost like it better. Good crunchy edges and a softer middle. I definitely don’t taste much almond in this one (almond flavoring hits at the end), but I really like it. I mostly get caramelized sugar (kind of like the pineapple bun topping).
- This one tasted like an American cookie. The almond flavor is more similar to frangipane. After the initial crisp, the interior texture is on the chewy side and not crumbly like traditional almond cookies.
- Purely flavor-wise, this cookie is great! One of my favorites of the bunch! It’s complex, has this playful, unique caramel-corn note and the first bite reminded me a bit of the bolo-bao crust on a pineapple bun. It was airy, light almond, slight chew–as a standalone cookie, 10/10. As an almond cookie, it doesn’t fit the traditional profile.
- I like the texture a lot, nice and soft in the middle. Flavor is good and buttery, not enough almond flavor though.

What to Cook Today: thick, traditionally sandy cookies with a pasty finish
I was debating between the two Chinese almond cookie recipes on Marvellina’s site and in the end went for the traditional lard-based one. (Her oil-based one is similar to Red House Spice.) Marvellina notes that lard is what gives these cookies their signature tender and crumbly texture.
With just a touch of almond flour in addition to all-purpose flour, this recipe also doesn’t require egg for binding. The melted lard and almond extract is all that holds together the dry ingredients, basically guaranteeing a tender cookie with barely any gluten development. This dough was much more hydrated than the Red House Spice dough and was easy to form into balls. And the result?
These cookies have such a sandy texture that picking one up will leave a film of grit on your fingers. There was an interesting dual texture between the browned and crisp, melt-in-your-mouth bottom vs. the pale, flaky and sandy top half of the cookie. I LOVED this contrast. These are a clear winner if you’re looking for a traditional almond cookie. Subtly sweet and melt-in-your-mouth delicate, these were my personal top pick!
Taster comments:
- This is the one. Perfect in every way. You have the hint of sweet, the salt to balance toward the end, and a beautiful flaky texture. It’s sandy in the best way possible and all of it combines together to melt in your mouth beautifully. This is the quintessential almond cookie for me. This is the best one out of the nine cookies!
- Love the taste of almond, right balance of almond and eggy. Closest to traditional texture and mouth feel. Had a great crumble and a fine grainy texture.. A little small but top notch. Would make this one and be happy to eat it.
- This is the almond cookies that I grew up eating. Very tender, crunchy and crumbly. Love the balance between the salt and sweet. Maybe there’s lard in there to make it flaky? Tastes rustic and nostalgic to me.
- One of the most the most interesting, especially with respect to texture. Nice almond flavor, maybe a tad sweet. Yes, leaves a sweet aftertaste. But even with that might be my favorite
- Reminds me of a Mexican wedding cookie or butter cookie in texture. I love this cookie! I love the crumbly texture (this has been by far the most crumbly). This is THE cookie for me. Great almond flavor and I liked the size.
- Hmm a really sandy texture. The crunch is nice, but I don’t like the sandiness – I wish there were a few less sugar crystals? The flavor does not stand out to me, could use more almond

31 Daily: thin, buttery, ultra-crispy and flavorful cookies
This was one of four butter-based recipes and the only one to use powdered sugar and cornstarch instead of regular sugar. Like King Arthur and Jessica Gavin, this also uses the creamed butter method. The dough only requires a short chill while the oven heats.
With the highest ratio of fat (nearly 31%), these had the highest spread of all the recipes I tested. The 1-inch balls flattened into large, incredibly crisp cookies with a delicate, almost insubstantial-feeling buttery crunch. One taster described this as “closer to a tuile than an almond cookie” and I think that’s the perfect description. Mine look thinner than the photos so it’s possible baker’s error may have occurred (though if so, it was a happy error–it goes without saying that I triple checked the ingredient quantities). While I don’t think this really fits the bill for a traditional Chinese almond cookie, this is an undeniably tasty cookie.
Note: the recipe doesn’t list salt in the ingredients, but the blog post notes that if using unsalted butter (which I did), you should add ~1/2 teaspoon. Don’t miss this part!
Taster comments:
- My favorite. nice thin, delicate and crispy texture with natural almond flavor. Almost like a lace cookie. Not sure if I’d call this an almond cookie but more like a thin sugar cookie that’s heavy on the almond flavoring.
- Buttery, not too sweet, light and flaky. Felt like this one had the most pronounced almond flavor of them all.
- Tastes like a crunchy sugar cookie, in the best way. I typically like chewier/softer cookies, but this tastes like an almond cookie should, imo. I like that it’s delicately sweet without being overpoweringly so, with a hint of almond flavor.
- Very crispy, just right amount of sugar and almond flavor. Enjoyable to eat but doesn’t look and taste like the one I grew up eating.
- Love the light texture and the crunch! It kind of melts in my mouth. But not enough flavor – it tastes more like a shortbread than an almond cookie.
- Too flat and large, doesn’t look like typical almond cookie. Good buttery flavor. Delicious but not a Chinese almond cookie.
Recommendations
Erika’s picks: What to Cook Today, Red House Spice, 31 Daily
Crowd favorite: 31 Daily
Best traditional flaky style: What to Cook Today, Red House Spice
Best traditional crisp style: Nom Wah, Jessica Gavin
Easiest to make: Red House Spice
Best almond flavor: King Arthur, 31 Daily, Life Currents
Yang X
I was looking for recipes and came upon this one! Wow you did not need to go this hard but the graphs and data analysis is amazing, I love it!!!
Jessie Ann
Thanks for another great bake comparison! Just a quick note to say the link for the lard based cookie actually goes to an oil based recipe?
erika
Thanks Jessie for catching–the link should be updated!
J
your bake offs are so helpful for me in finding the best recipes! it looks like the recipe for What to Cook Today doesn’t include almond extract as you’ve mentioned in your analysis. Was there another almond cookie recipe you used instead from this blog?
erika
Omg I linked the wrong recipe, thank you for catching! It’s fixed now!
Paula
31 daily’s Chinese almond cookie looks totally different on their website
erika
I mention that there could be an element of baker’s error–will report back if I remake again!
Jason
This is consistent with the website. Great idea for a website, but the quality control on the bakes is not what it should be for fairness to all recipes.
I’ve come across a few instances where the baker says they know they baked a recipe incorrectly but still entered it into the competition!
erika
It’s true, but I haven’t come up with a good solution to this issue as a single baker trying to bake all the recipes in one day for freshness. I’d rather document everything that happens, mistakes and all (as are bound to happen in others’ kitchens), then leave a recipe out for what is sometimes a minor mistake. When I have time, I will rebake recipes and update the blog post. I try to be fair in my commentary when I know an error happened.