Mochi Stuffed Almond Cookies - 찰떡쿠키

Chinese new year is just right around the corner and soon it will be the year of the monkey!! This is one of my fav holidays, because it represents new beginnings, good food and merriment with the family. Back in Hong Kong, we used to get a week break from school and the day would start with wearing new red colored clothing, taping all kinds of good omens written on red paper on our doors and walls. Then we would go about town visiting friends and families to wish them a happy new year and to collect red envelopes full of money! I never did get to see where all that money went, since my mum said she would "safe-keep" it for me :/

I really miss the CNY atmosphere in Asia. People are super happy and the whole city is decorated in all kinds of red colors including red building lights, red candles, and red lanterns. Everyone is singing CNY songs and wishing each other luck for the new year and there are lion dances and fireworks going off in the background. The typical new year foods are so so so good. Usually there is a mochi/rice cake dessert called nian gao, literally meaning "higher year" and so it's lucky for every household to eat it during cny so that their whole year will be very prosperous. I've kind of adapted the traditional Chinese almond butter cookies and added a gigantic mochi filling in the middle so that you too can have some lucky cookies for the new year :D!

Here are some blogger friends who decided to take a spin on Chinese New Year cookies. Check them out below!

• Vermilion Roots - Vegan Cornflake Cereal Cookies
• The Missing Lokness - Fried Red Bean Puffs
• Daily Cooking Quest - Chinese Peanut Cookies
• Curious Nut - Chocolate Almond Cookies
• What To Cook Today - Tapioca cookies
• Butter & Type - Red Bean & Strawberry Pinwheel Cookies
• Wok & Skillet - Pineapple Jam Tarts
• Bams Kitchen - Sesame Spiral Pie Cookies
• Brunch-n-Bites - Cherry Blossom Cookies
• Foodie Baker - Chinese Gluten-Free Peanut Cookies
• Hapa Nom Nom - Honey Almond Cookies
• Omnivore's Cookbook - Quinoa Sesame Brittle
• Yummy Workshop - Browned Butter Chinese Walnut Cookies 
• Thirsty for Tea - Macau Almond Cookies

Mochi Stuffed Almond Cookies - 찰떡쿠키

makes 10 cookies

1 cup flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbsp condensed milk
1 tsp almond extract
3 tbsp butter, melted
egg wash + almonds

Filling
1 cup glutinous rice flour (mochiko)
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F and prepare greased baking tray or line with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a medium bowl, melt butter and then beat in sugar, salt, condensed milk, almond extract and lastly a beaten egg. Mix dry and wet mix together until you get a smooth yellow dough. Wrap dough in seran wrap and let it rest while you make the filling
3. For the mochi filling. In a medium bowl, mix mochiko powder, sugar, salt and milk. Microwave on high for about a minute. Take out to mix with a heat proof spatula (be careful because it will be hot). It won't be done yet, so microwave for another minute. It is done when it looks like one block of white mochi. Protect your hand with gloves or use the spatula to cut out 10 equal sizes of mochi (or let it cool a little first haha)
4. Once your cookie dough has rested for about 20-30mins, evenly divide into 10 balls. Flatten balls of dough in your hand, place mochi in the center and wrap around. It will take some molding with your hands to get it around the mochi. Repeat for the other cookies
5. Make egg wash with a beaten egg and brush on top of cookies and press in an almond
6. Bake for 10-15mins or until golden. Cool for 5 mins before eating. You can keep remainders in a ziploc bag in the fridge, but the mochi will harden and the cookies will need to be microwaved for 20-30secs to soften it again!