Dinner Diva's Goes to China

This month's Dinner Diva's theme was pretty easy, the theme was Chinese Food. I don't think I've ever really made Chinese food at home before, since it's so easy to just get take out. Turns out it was another great theme, as always! This month it was Gina's turn to host, for the main course she made delicious chicken and broccoli with mushrooms, and fantastic homemade fried rice, which was really cute. She was so cute in setting the table to match the theme and even put out the fried noodles, duck sauce and everyone got a fortune cookie.

Michele was on appetizers and made an awesome scallion pancakes and even brought some edamme along too, although we're not sure if those are really Chinese. I had a difficult time getting the edamme out of the shell, I blame it on user error. But I did pick up a bag at Trader Joe's the other day since they were a great snack. Michele put some sesame oil and Cajun seasoning on them for some extra flavor!

I was up for dessert this month, I had no idea what a traditional Chinese dessert was but then I remembered Chinese Almond Cookies. We usually don't do cookies but these were perfect. I even learned that almond cookies symbolize coins and will be sure to bring you good fortune. Everyone absolutely loved these cookies, and they were SUPER easy to make. I think these will be making another appearance in the future. I loved the almond flavor, it also gave me an excuse to finally use some of the almond flour I bought at Trader Joe's and never used.

Chinese Almond Cookies Recipe
Source: My Recipes

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I used closer to a teaspoon)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half white flour, half almond flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk
1/3 cup blanched whole almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add whole egg and almond extract and beat until well blended. Stir or beat in flour and baking powder until well blended. Cover bowl and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, flatten each slightly, and place each about 1 inch apart on buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with milk to blend. Brush cookies lightly with egg mixture; discard any remaining. Press an almond into the center of each cookie and sprinkle each with about 1/8 teaspoon sesame seeds. Bake cookies in a 325° oven until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.