Almond London Cookies

This confectionery may look like just any ordinary homemade chocolate truffles, but don’t let your eyes fool you. This is actually the all-famous Malaysian festive cookie called ‘Almond London Cookies’!

Almond London Cookies are very popular especially when celebrating the end of the Ramadan (fasting month). Festive cookies are normally petite in Malaysia as it is common to try a few different types of cookies when visiting our friends and families over the festive season. Eating a huge cookie could possibly destroy our chances at trying out different types of cookies, so I guess that’s why people in Malaysia are more inclined to creating small cookies. And that’s why these Almond London Cookies are the size of a chocolate truffle!

Almond London Cookies are a Malaysian creation. Their tempting flavours managed to win the hearts of all the different races in Malaysia. I’m not sure where the word ‘London’ came from though.

I was introduced to this cookie by my Malay friends when I visited their homes during their festive season. Once I had a bite of this cookie, I immediately loved it and couldn’t stop eating it! I mean, who can resist the perfect combination of crunchy and fragrant toasted almonds wrapped around with buttery and crumbly sweet butter cookie that is oozed with dark decadent chocolate and topped with texture inviting roasted almond nibs? This cookie spells the best of all worlds – chocolate, cookie and confectionery heaven!

Seriously – the creator of this cookie must have been a genius!

Being a huge fan of this cookie, I sadly haven’t had these cookies for five years. Since I couldn’t find them anywhere in Australia and missed eating these cookies so much, I decided to make them myself!

After scouring the internet for recipes on how to make this delicious festive treat, I managed to come up with my own version of Almond London cookies. My version is more cost effective, rich in flavour and chocolaty. The addition of milk in my new version brings the cookie dough to the next level in terms of texture and taste.

I find that these cookies are best eaten after they left overnight to harden for their taste to develop. Though I can assure you that once you start eating these cookies – you can’t stop eating them! So if you are preparing them for guests, don’t start eating them before your guests arrive.

My best advice to you is – if you’re up and running and would like to indulge in a sweet treat yourself or would like to impress your loved ones with a sweet delight, here is my contribution to you.

Here’s my recipe:

ALMOND LONDON COOKIES
Makes approximately 52 cookies

Ingredients:
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
75 g icing sugar
1 medium sized egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
200 g plain flour
25 g rice flour
Whole almonds
300 g dark cooking chocolate
80 g slivered almonds
2-3 tbsp milk

Method:
• Preheat your oven to 170 C.
• Spread a baking tray with the whole almonds and toast them in the oven for 12-15 minutes, turning the almonds around every five minutes.
• Take them out and cool before keeping in air-tight jars.

• Next, dry fry the slivered almonds until lightly browned. Then chop them into rough pieces. Cool and store them in air-tight jars as well.

Take the slivered almonds once they turned lightly brown to avoid them from burning.

• Now , start making the butter cookie dough by creaming the butter and icing sugar.

When creaming the butter and sugar, you want to make sure the butter is softened for easier mixing.

Your butter and sugar mixture should look something like this.

• After they are well combined, add the egg and vanilla essence. Continue mixing the ingredients.

• Sift the plain flour and rice flour. Mix them in small portions into the butter mixture to form a soft dough. Then, add 2-3 tbsp milk to the dough. If the dough is too soft or sticky, add some flour. Then mix again.

Mixing the flour in small portions ensure the flour is evenly distributed to form the dough.

Your prepared cookie dough should look something like this.

• Take about ¾ tsp cookie dough and flatten it with your hands. To make an even layer for the cookie dough, I normally like to press the sides of the dough with my fingers.
• Next, place a toasted whole almond in the centre of the flattened dough and wrap the dough around the almond. Shape the cookie dough into a small log.

Step 1: Flatten dough and place whole almond at the centre of the dough.

Step 2: Fold the dough into half.

Step 3: Gently enclose the dough to cover the entire almond.

Step 4: Shape the dough into a small log.

This is what your cookie will look like before baking them.

• Bake the cookies at a preheated oven at 175 C for 20-25 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool cookies completely before proceeding with the chocolate coating.

Your cookies should turn golden brown like this after baking.

• Melt the cooking chocolate using the bain-marie method. To do this, you need to place the chocolate in a large bowl under a smaller saucepan with simmering water and turn the gas to low heat. During this process, do not let any water get into the chocolate as this will ruin the melted chocolate texture.

Melt your chocolate in a big bowl over a smaller saucepan of simmering water. Don’t let water get into it!

After melting, your chocolate should look shiny like this.

• Dip the butter cookies into the melted chocolate with a spoon and transfer the cookies to the small paper cups with a fork.

Gently dip and coat the entire cookie with chocolate using a spoon.

Lift up the cookie with a fork so that the excess chocolate drips off.

Gently place the cookie in small paper cups.

• Immediately sprinkle the cookies with chopped almonds before chocolate hardens so that the almonds will stick to the cookies.

• Leave the cookies to cool completely before transferring them to air tight containers.

• Enjoy eating them!

Are you hungry yet? Maybe it’s time to start baking.

Do you love baking or cooking? How about baking cookies? Or do you just love eating?

Share your thoughts here.

Cheers,
Caroline Poh