I’m thrilled to be a part of this wonderful event, Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap hosted by Lindsey and Julie to help raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. It’s feels good knowing that a small donation can help go a long way and I get cookies sent to my door step. How great is that?!
I don’t remember how I discovered there was a national cookie swap; probably read someone’s blog much like you but what I do remember, is thinking how much I wanted to participate later in the year. So to not miss the deadline, I subscribed to their email and stalked their Facebook page. Nothing much was happening but then… I got that email. You could probably imagine how excited I was when I read, “The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2013 is here!” I immediately signed up.
The procrastinator that I am, (literally the worst!) I couldn’t decide what cookies to make till the Friday before they had to be shipped! I was stumped. You see, when you give a person too many options, it becomes more difficult to choose. So yea, out of all the cookies in the world I had the hardest time deciding. I guess I’m just complicated like that.
But then I thought, “Hey sugar cookies are popular during the holiday season, why not make those” then suddenly, I remembered my once cookie-decorating-epic-fail from a terribly shaky hand. To start those at 11 PM on a Friday night with it having to be shipped by Saturday morning, “I don’t think so!” I resorted to the books.
I found a recipe called for Chinese five-spice and wondered what this could taste like. My boyfriend’s brother always had a unique stash of spices and this was one of them. After I bought the spice I went straight over to Michael’s to purchase tins for shipping when I stumbled upon the “Chinese” holiday take-out containers. GET IT?! 🙂
Hahaha I just had to.
So if you’re wondering what on earth do these cookies taste like? It’s quite simple actually, it like a spiced sugar cookie with a bite of almonds. And if you’re curious to know what Chinese five-spice really is, it’s a culmination of any 5 of these spices: anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, ginger, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. This recipe is super easy to make and makes the perfect 3 dozens cookies I needed for the swap.
I want to give another thank you to the bloggers that I received cookies from. You’re cookies were so good I didn’t even have time to take a photo!
- Ausra at Vaikai ir vanile
- Kelli at Confections + Coffee
Also, for more cookie inspiration, check out the bloggers who I gave cookies to:
- Wanda at My Sweet Zepol
- Becca at Crumbs and Chaos
- LeAndra at Love & Flour
Chinese Five Spice Almond Cookies
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pouch of sugar cookie mix
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with silicone mat or parchment paper; set aside in a cool area.
- In large bowl, stir cookie mix and five spice until blended.
- Stir in fat and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in almonds.
- Roll dough into 36 (1-inch) balls. Dip one side of each ball into coarse sugar about halfway in.
- Place on cookie sheet, sugar-side-up, 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 2 minutes and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to further cool. ENJOY!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Cuisine: American
Chinese Five-Spice Almond Cookies recipe adapted from Betty Crocker Pockets: Fall Baking