The day we visited Macau was a rainy one. We splashed around from Senado Square to the Ruins of St. Paul, hunted down Margaret’s Cafe e Nata for caramelized, blistered Portuguese egg tarts only to discover to my utter dismay that it was closed on Wednesdays, and eventually ended up, soggy-toed, in the Venetian Macau, which I suspected meant we were doing Macau wrong but at least meant that (1) we were nice and dry and (2) I got my Portuguese egg tart fix after all at a Lord Stow’s Bakery.
Along the way, almost every place we visited had a red-marquee’d outpost of Koi Kei Bakery nearby, filled with boxes of festively-wrapped baked goods and offering samples of stout little Macau-style almond cookies. I have no idea how I lasted until the end of the day, because I am normally powerless in the face of anything free, but I finally tried a sample at a Koi Kei kiosk in the middle of a concourse in the Venetian Macau. It was so good that I promptly doubled back for another one, spent the rest of my time there wondering whether the employee at the kiosk would recognize me if I went back for a third, and, when it was finally determined that I’d maxed out on the Appropriate Number of Samples a Reasonable Adult Can Take, tried to convince B2 to go back for me. Really, this is why I can’t go anywhere nice.
Macau-style almond cookies are tender and crumbly, sweet but just a tad savory, and fragrant from almond and mung bean flour. I did end up buying a tub of them from Koi Kei like a respectable person, and enjoyed them, one crumbly piece at a time, for weeks afterward. I don’t know how I forgot all about them after that, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago, randomly reminiscing about our trip and thinking of Lunar New Year this weekend, that I remembered how much I loved them and set out to try to make them at home.
Once you track down mung bean flour, they aren’t particularly difficult to make, but the first several batches I tried just seemed not quite right. A first batch, with almond butter and equal parts mung bean flour and almond meal, had a nice flavor but a gummy texture, another batch with shortening had good texture but no flavor. The third, with coconut oil, was really good but just a bit too coarse and not the powdery, melt-in-your-mouth goodness I remembered. And the latter two were murderously hard to get out of the mooncake mold I was using. So, with my entire kitchen under a thick layer of cookie crumbs, I finally hunted around on the Internet for Koi Kei’s ingredient list. At least according to one source, they seemed to use more mung bean flour than almonds, a bit of peanut, and the interesting addition of milk powder and cornstarch. A few tweaks later, lo and behold — they were, at least to me, perfect.*
Happy Lunar New Year to those of you celebrating! I hope it’s full of love, family, and friends. And lastly, thank you so much for your kind comments on this last post. I am so touched, and so very grateful!
*OK, so they were no easier to get out of the mold. But I’ve written the recipe below using an alternate method, baking them nice and easy in a mini cupcake tin. Hurray!
PrintMacau-style almond cookies
Macau-style almond cookies are traditionally made using lard, but I went the simpler route and, after it worked well in mooncakes, used coconut oil instead, another fat that is solid at room temperature. (Shortening is the more common replacement for lard, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the taste in these cookies.) The addition of non-fat dry milk powder and cornstarch makes the cookies more tender, but it is not essential (and can be omitted to keep it vegan and grain-free). As written here, the cookies won’t turn out in the flower shapes pictured, but will look like the smaller, almond-topped ones instead. For the more intricate patterns, see Notes below.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 g) mung bean flour
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar
- ½ cup (50 g) almond meal
- 2 tablespoons non-fat dry milk powder (optional, omit to make it vegan)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional, or sweet potato starch, to make it grain-free)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (75 g) melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup sliced almonds (about 24 sliced almonds)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the mung bean flour, powdered sugar, almond meal, milk powder, cornstarch, and salt until well-combined. Add the coconut oil and peanut butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work it into the flour until very crumbly and thoroughly distributed. The final mixture should be dry and crumbly, but should hold together easily when squeezed.
- To form the cookies, grease and flour (with more mung bean flour or regular flour) a 24-cup miniature cupcake tin. If desired, place a sliced almond into each cup — they’ll be on top once the cookies are inverted out of the tin. Press 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cookie mixture into each cup. (See Notes on forming the cookies in the flower shape pictured.)
- Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool completely, then overturn the cupcake tin onto a large baking sheet and bang the tin firmly against the sheet. The cookies should come right out.
Notes
To form the cookies like the flower-shaped ones shown, you’ll need a plunger-style mold (I used these mooncake ones) or a wooden mold like this. I found these to be a devil to get out of the molds, so I would advise against this method despite how pretty they are, but if you have the patience, I’d recommend the following: (1) Flour the mold well in between each cookie, tapping out any excess. (2) For a plunger-style mold, press 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cookie mixture into the mold and press it first against your palm so that the mixture won’t fall out when you turn it onto a flat surface. Press down on the plunger very firmly, then lift the mold and use the plunger to push the cookie out. Place on a baking sheet and repeat. (3) For a wooden mold, press the cookie mixture into the mold until full, then overturn the mold and give it a good firm thwack to dislodge the cookies. The cookies made using the mold will need a few more minutes in the oven, about 20 minutes instead of 15. I have found that experimenting with the ratios of flours is just fine, just as long as they add up to 200 grams. To that end, I expect that if you could find traditional Chinese almond powder (perhaps something like this) the cookies would taste even closer to the storebought version than these did, and you might be able to substitute more of the mung bean flour for the almond powder and still get the nice, tender texture that I was going for. Mandy at Lady and Pups just posted a fascinating explanation of the difference between American and Chinese almonds here; as she noted, almond extract is closer to Chinese almonds, and so I’ve used just a tad here to compensate. Finally, peanut flour is a common ingredient over in Asia, and I suspect it may have been the ingredient in the traditional cookies, but I didn’t hunt it down for this recipe — if you have it, I expect you could replace the peanut butter with one tablespoon of peanut flour and one tablespoon of water. (The recipe also works, if you were curious, with one tablespoon of water instead of peanut butter altogether.)
Amanda | What's Cooking
These are so beautiful.I really want to reach through the screen and grab one. You really had to go deep with these! In glad you figured it Ott so that I don’t have to 😉 Happy lunar new year to you. I hope your year is full of more good things, maybe not another bar exam though. Xo
Linda
These sound wonderful! Q: I have some “besan flour” (ingred = split chick peas) that is finely milled. Do you think that might work in place of the mung bean flour? Thx!
Sandra Giffin
You can make your own mung bean flour. Here are instructions I found. Probably cheaper than buying it. http://christensenka.squarespace.com/imported-20100106014405/2009/4/22/homemade-mung-bean-flour-gluten-free-vegan-high-protein.html
Linda
Hi Sandra, so cool, I’ll try this. It sounds doable and healthy. 🙂 Thanks very much!
heirloomrosebud
These are SO cool. I can see how they’d be hard to get out of the tin – so proud of you for getting this far. XD And I love your fact-checking and sleuthing to bring the best version of this to the world! 😀
Rachel – Lipstick & Gelato
http://www.lipstickandgelato.com
patisseriemakesperfect
I love the intricate ones so much though I’d probably try and persevere with those, although I appreciate your tips, but they are so pretty!
Considering The Radish
These are so lovely. I want to hunt down a mold right now, but as per your warning I think I’ll go the cupcake tin route.
amy h
ahhhhh taking all the baby size samples at Koi Kei is my biggest witness…just. cant. help. myself. beaaaautiful cookies!
Dalila G.
How wild are these little beauties! 🙂
They look deeelish, I could eat them all with no problem.
almost properly
Wow!! These are gorgeous (and delicious looking!). I love almond flavored anything.
TeaseMeGirl
Mmm…..!!! Those sound so amazing right now! I have an adorable mini acorn/chestnut pan that I think would be the perfect shape for these cookies! I was just curious: do you think almond butter would be an acceptable substitute for the peanut butter?
tworedbowls
Hi, I’m so sorry I missed this question for so long! I can’t imagine this is still on your radar, but just in case it is — almond butter should work! As noted, I tried using more of the almond butter in place of the coconut oil in earlier versions and wasn’t a fan, but just a tablespoon should be fine. Thank you so much for the kind words (and I think these in the mini acorn shapes would be unbelievably cute!!)
SoybeanJenny
LOL! No worries — I appreciate the reply even after all this time! Thanks! 😀
Rosie
I have not seen biscuits made so thickly nor in such beautiful shapes before. They are so unique and I bet they’d make a great gift. Simply cannot wait to give the recipe a go! Do you think mung bean flour could be substituted for another flour, such as chickpea?
tworedbowls
Hi Rosie, so sorry that I missed this, and for so long! I’m afraid I don’t know how it would work with chickpea flour (a poor answer after taking so long to reply). It seems like it could, but I can’t say for sure… Please let me know if you do try it!
Todd Wagner | HonestlyYUM
STOP IT!!! These look AMAZING!! Seriously can’t wait to give them a try. Uggggh, so pretty! (sorry for all the caps).
Kerry
I was very intrigued by your adventure in getting these right, particularly as I can’t work out what they should be like!
We bought a few boxes in Hong Kong without knowing what they were like and when we tried them found them incredibly dry and crumbly. If eaten in small chunks they were however delicious with a flavour that developed as you chewed.
Is that how they are meant to be, and what your recipe has achieved – something that should only be eaten in small quantities or with a drink?
Wendy
I have trying many recipes but this recipe the most perfectly match on me.
The taste is very great. very much thank you for the right recipe
★★★★★
Margaret C Pless
I made these for Quarantine Easter 2020 and they are fabulous!! I’m very inexperienced in Chinese pastry but after this experience, I want to learn more. Also, maybe I have lower standards… but banging the cookies out of my wooden mold wasn’t that difficult. Maybe 1/3rd of them broke, but I just put the dough back in and re-shaped. I did use a bit more liquid; added a tablespoon of milk because I had no milk powder and an extra tablespoon of oil because I used dehydrated peanut powder instead of smooth peanut butter. No fake almond flavoring was necessary, though I wonder if the cookies would benefit from 3/4 – 1 teaspoon of Disarono liqueur.
★★★★★
Anonymous
Thank you so much for your recipe. Yummy!
★★★★★
Leanne
Hi Cynthia,
Love your almond cookies n have made it twice and it is just such a great recipe. However, I am still craving the Chinese ‘ Hang Ngaan’ taste. I have bought a tin of Po Ma almond powder. It’s normally made into a drink. As it is sweet, do you think I can substitute it for icing sugar? Thank you for all the wonderful recipes you have posted!
tworedbowls
Hi Leanne, thank you so much for such kind words! I am not familiar with Po Ma almond powder, so I’m sorry but can’t say for sure how it would work as a substitute. Just guessing, however, it may not be exactly right as sugar technically adds moisture to baking recipes. I hope you get what you are looking for!
Sherry
Hello