Almond & Pistachio Schookies

A few years back I made a massive batch of these as one of the dowry gifts given to the 'male' family as part of my Aunts wedding. There must have been at least a hundred of these, all piled up high to form a pyramid. It was awesome fun and so yummy, been a while since I've made them so I decided to revisit and give it a twist by chucking some pistachios into the picture.

What is a 'schookie' you might ask? Well, its sort of a cross between shortbread & a cookie hence the name 'schookie'! These little babies are based on the little cookies that you get along with your sweet bean 'soups' at the end of dinner in a Chinese restaurant, traditionally, they're usually just almond flavoured.

These schookies look like dense little cookies but actually, they melt into the mouth with every bite. They're so easy and quick to make, ideal for baking in advance. Just store in an air tight container and serve with tea or coffee to impress friends and family when they come around to visit. Also, the schookies are not very sweet either which is perfect for those fussy older Asian women (like my mum) who complain about sweets being too sweet.

Almond & Pistachio Schookies

Makes 45 small schookies

100 g Almond Meal
100g roasted & chopped Pistachios
1 cup icing sugar
3 cups Plain Flour
1 cup Vegetable oil
1 egg
45 whole unsalted pistachios (optional)

Preheat oven at 150^oC & line baking tray with baking paper.

Sift the almond meal, flour & icing sugar into a bowl. Mix in the pistachios. (NB: I couldn't find ready chopped & roasted pistachios at my local Woolies, so what I did was dry roasted whole unsalted pistachios either in the oven or over a medium heat skillet and chopped them up myself.)

Gradually mix in the oil. The mixture should look quite dry and have a breadcrumby kind of texture.

Next, spoon about half a tablespoon (you can make them as large or small as you want so just use this as a guideline) of the mixture into your palm and roll into a ball & place onto the baking tray. Gently push down to flatten the base of the ball so it doesn't roll around. Repeat with the remaining.

Whisk egg lightly and brush over the tops of the balls. Optional: Push the whole pistachios into the middle of each ball.

Bake for 20-30 mins or until golden brown all over. Store in an airtight container, lasts for about 2-3 weeks.

Bon Appétit ♥