Chinese New Year is known for its many festive, symbolic dishes but we can’t forget about one of the best parts of the meal–dessert! Chinese Walnut Cookies, also known as Hup Toh So, are adorable bite-sized cookies that may be small in size but big in flavor. They’re not cloyingly sweet and instead, get a fantastic nuttiness from the generous amount of chopped up walnuts in the dough. Top them off with an extra walnut and you’ve got yourself the ultimate Lunar New Year cookie! While you can find them in most Chinese bakeries year round, they’re incredibly easy to make at home. Could this be the perfect weekend baking project before the celebrations begin next week? We’re thinking yes!
Walnuts are not only delicious, they’re also incredibly healthy and are considered one of the top “superfoods”. In fact, they’re the only nuts that that contain a significant amount of omega-3. In relation to the Lunar New Year, walnuts symbolize the happiness of the whole family and are used in many different recipes. As the holiday is centered around family gatherings and unity, you can imagine how in demand these nuts are this time of the year. For this recipe, we’ve used our Organic Walnuts, which make great snacks and appetizers once shelled. Besides baking them into cookies, they can also be fried with a bit of sugar and then tossed into savory dishes for a tasty garnish.
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1. Combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. In another large separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
2. Combine your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients. Incorporate the toasted, chopped walnuts and half of the beaten egg to this mixture. Knead this mixture until it becomes a dough.
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, divide your dough into 12 equal portions. Roll them into balls and place them onto a greased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4.Press the walnut halves firmly into the center of each cookie.
5. Brush the top of the cookies with the other half of the beaten egg.
6. Bake the cookies for about 20-25 minutes. Allow for them to cool for at least 15 minutes after you’ve taken them out of the oven.
Have you ever had walnut cookies before? What other dishes are you looking forward to eating this Lunar New Year?
