January 2018 Recipe Redux Challenge

This challenge was definitely a hard one! We have several kitchen appliances that we love to use, but one we definitely cannot live without is our oven! Our love for sweet treats definitely puts this kitchen appliance high on our list! These healthy Chinese New Year treats are the perfect guilt-free treat for the upcoming holidays!

Every year when January comes I can’t help but feel a little homesick. Since coming to school in the states, I haven’t been able to celebrate Chinese New Year, one the biggest holidays of the year, with my family.

Growing up, our family would go spend our holiday at our grandparents’ home – on a small, little island near Hong Kong. Their traditional 2 story villa, where my dad grew up, was like a little secret getaway for us. I loved going there because it felt like the “countryside” we had read about in so many of our storybooks.

We could bike to heart’s content through a maze of tiny little streets, twisting back and forth. We were even allowed to run around the island alone, exploring old temples, grand hills and cemeteries. We especially love going to the market place, filled with busy vendors selling fresh crabs, fish, delicious pastries, fried chips on skewers, and bread.

My favorite part of Chinese New Year would have to be the food.  A platter of sugary treats could always be found under the gorgeous branches of Cherry Blossom that sat majestically at the main table. These sugary treats was served to guests that came to “拜年” or pay their respects to the elderly. I loved to stick my hand to taste all the funny little treats, sometimes even grabbing a chocolate coins or coconut candy before I went out to play. Outside the balcony, there would be trays of my grandmother’s homemade (and my very favorite) “turnip cake”, nian gao and steamed mung bean rice cake ready to consume for the several days of celebration! The turnip cake was so big it had to be about 1m (3.2 ft) in diameter. Since we have over 30 people to feed, she always made sure to make enough food!

Since our Paleo Singaporean Pineapple Tart has been one of our most popular recipes, we wanted to introduce another allergy-free treat that you can share with loved ones and family this Chinese New Year. Almond cookies are extremely popular in many Chinese families. My family personally doesn’t have them as part of our holiday repertoire, but I dare say we should now 🙂

Traditionally, almond cookies are heavy laden with powdered sugar and oil! I’ve seen so many recipes with up to 1/2 cup of oil/butter! And so, after multiple trials we came up with these “deceptively healthy” Almond Cookies!

What’s amazing about these cookies is that they literally take less than 30 minutes from start to finish! Best yet, they are just 80 calories each! Not to mention they are paleo, gluten free, dairy free and oil-free! In fact we had to make these twice in 3 days since they were finished so quickly!  Our trusty taste-testers commented on how much they love the cakey texture and flavor of the cookies. In fact, they said that this is one of the best things we have created so far!

81 Calorie Chinese Almond Cookies 杏仁饼 (Paleo, Oil-Free, DF)

 

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Author: Unconventional Cooks

Serves: 15 Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• ⅓ cup tapioca starch*
• ⅓ cup coconut sugar
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 15 Whole Almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 350F.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add 1 egg and the vanilla. Knead the dough together.
4. Measure out 1 tbsp. Roll into a ball. Place on a lined baking tray.
5. Tap the top gently/rapidly with your finger to flatten the cookie. Press in a whole almond.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes (until the bottom is brown).

Notes

For Low Altitude & High Humidity:
- Add more tapioca starch
- Bake at 325F (lower temperature) for full 12 minutes.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 15 Calories: 81.3 Fat: 4.2g Carbohydrates: 8.5g Sugar: 4.6g Fiber: 0.9g Protein: 2.8g

3.5.3251

LOVE,

Zoe & Mia