Having cookies named after names of places, is very very misleading when it doesn’t mean the origin. How very confusing of it to question “oh why is there London in the London Almond cookie” or why is there “German” in “German Crunch Cookie” ? Anyhow, both cookies have proved that it doesn’t need to be from a certain country or city some few thousand miles away to be that popular and delicious. Or was it because it had names of London and German in them, that’s why it’s so popular ? Haha ok I’m confusing myself. Anyho, both cookies are a favourite and staple during festive seasons celebration here in Malaysia (and Singapore too).
London Almond consist of a whole almond, baked with a sort of crunchy biscuit around it, then coated with chocolate on a mini paper cup. It is meant to be a tiny 1 bite size cookie but I made it just 3 grams too big. Don’t think that 3 grams is nothing, in a cookie, it means going from size M to size L, or even possibly 2 sizes up. So in order not to be a size up during CNY, make your cookies one size down ? Hehehe 🙂
This cookie come in 3 parts. 1, the almond. 2, the crunchy biscuit that encases the almond then 3rd, the melted chocolate that pours over the biscuit, then often sprinkled with toasted nibs or sprinkles. In this case, almond nibs would play well. The ingredients are fairly simply but, depending on your preference, you can add some crunch to it. I’ve seen some that uses crushed cornflakes or nestum to give that bite-y mouthfeel when munching this cookie. If you prefer it plain, then a simple sugar cookie base will make the cut. I also toasted the almond before wrapping with the cookie dough as it gives the almond a bit of crunch and toasty taste. Recipe adapted from here.
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 60g icing sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 200g plain flour
- 25g rice flour
- 25g nestum
- 200g toasted whole almonds (toasting is optional)
- 100g chopped almond nuts
- 400g dark chocolate (for coating
- Sift the plain flour and rice flour into a medium sized bowl. Add in nestum. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed (I use the K beater) until it turns pale and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolk, and mix until just combined.
- Add the sifted flour mixture in two parts, mixing well after each addition. You should now have a cohesive dough.
- Take a small piece of dough (6g each) and flatten it slightly. Wrap the dough around the almond, then form it into a cylinder. Alternatively, you may prefer to form it into a round ball.
- Place the wrapped almond on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Repeat with the remaining dough and almonds, until all the dough is used up. You may end up with some extra almonds, you can either snack on these or chop them up to use as a topping.
- Bake in a 175’C preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until slightly golden. Cool the baked cookies on a wire rack. Once cooled, place each cookie in a small paper case.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave (30 seconds for 2-3 times)
- Using a teaspoon, spoon the melted chocolate over each cookie. Try to ensure the chocolate goes up to the edges of the paper cases, as it makes for a prettier cookie.
- Sprinkle the tops of each cookie with chopped nuts. If the chocolate takes a long time to set, put in the fridge for 10 minutes or so.
