Chinese New Year is coming up, and with that comes the inevitable hoarding that goes on in our household. Last weekend we made a trip to the Chinese grocery store (which, incidentally, has a solid cafe next door churning out Chinese home cooking that we always stop at to refuel before heading back home). I needed all the supplies for our Chinese New Year celebration — ingredients for hot pot, cookies, supplies for dumplings … and the list goes on and on.

To get ahead of the food that I’ll be preparing, last week I made gluten free Chinese almond cookies. I’ve been messing around a bit with gluten free ingredients ever since we did our Whole30 a couple of years ago, and ever since one of my sisters adopted a gluten free diet to deal with her allergies.

Chinese almond cookies are a staple around the New Year. If you’ve ever been to a Chinese auntie’s house or a atmosphere-less, sticky Chinese restaurant, you’re almost certain to get a few of these shortbread-like cookies with a single almond pressed in the middle.

For this recipe, I used Doves Farm gluten free self-rising flour, which is a product available here in the UK.  In the U.S., I’d try Bob’s Mill gluten free flour (substitute 1 cup of self-rising flour with 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder plus a 1/2 teaspoon of salt).   The cookies turned out a little sandier than the regular version, but they still had the almond flavor and crunch that I associate with the regular almond cookies.
This post is part of a Chinese New Year Cookie Party!
There are more Chinese New Year cookies you can check out with a virtual #ChineseNewYearCookieParty some other food bloggers and I are having! This festive list of cookies created by these talented folks is really impressive. We’re inviting you to get to know these special cookies and try these recipes at home. You’ll find my recipe for Gluten Free Chinese Almond Cookies at the bottom of this post.

• Snow Fungus Soup by Vermillion Roots
• Bingka Ambon (Indonesian Honey Comb Cake) by What to Cook Today
• Chinese Peanut Cookies by Wok & Skillet
• Vietnamese Steamed Rice Cake by A Taste of Joy and Love
• Black Sesame Shortbread Cookies by Little Sweet Baker
• Ice Cream Mooncakes by Brunch-and-Bite
• Coconut Red Bean Pudding by The Missing Lokness
• Korean Caramelized Sweet Potatoes by What Great Grandma Ate
• Cashew Nut Cookies by Anncoo Journal
• One Bite Pinenut Cookies by Yummy Workshop
• Baked Coconut Walnut Sticky Rice Cake by Jeanette’s Healthy Living
• Black Sesame Cream Puffs by Pink Wings
• Cashew Nut Cookies by Roti n Rice
• Mini Peanut Puffs by Malaysian Chinese Kitchen
• Thousand Layer Cake by Daily Cooking Quest
• Pineapple Cookies by V for Veggy
• Almond Orange Spiral Cookies by Butter and Type
• Three Colour Dessert by The Viet Vegan
• Year of the Rooster Mochi by Thirsty for Tea
• Korean Tea Cookies by Kimchimari
• Sticky Sweet Cakes by Lisa’s Lemony Kitchen
• Sweet Rice Balls with Peanut Butter by Omnivore’s Cookbook
• Candied Ginger by Plant Crush
• Chick Egg Tarts by Dessert First
• Red Bean Soup with Black Glutinous Rice by Nut Free Wok
• Orange Scented Sweet Red Bean by Lime and Cilantro

Join the party on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) with the hashtag #SweetLunarNewYear and #ChineseNewYearCookieParty to share your cookie creations with us. Tag me @gritsandchopsticks so I can see. Happy baking! May the year of the Rooster be prosperous, fruitful and delicious for you!