For Lunar New Year, any festivity or a rainy day

My daughter and a friend made these cookies recently for a Lunar New Year party at my daughters' school. The cookies are easy to make with children and also were a big hit at the party with the 2 to 5 year old group (and adults). This is a recipe I adapted from one appearing in the wonderful older collection The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook by Gloria Bley Miller.

Ingredients

45 whole almonds
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Directions

1. Blanch almonds: bring 2 cups water to boil in a small saucepan. Add almonds and boil for 2 minutes. Drain almonds and allow to cool to touch. Peel off almond skinds and discard skins. (This is a great job for children ages 5 and up.) Seperate almonds into 10 and 35 (again, a counting activity!). Grind the 10 almonds into a find powder with a small chopper or food processor. Leave the 35 almonds whole.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets with peanut oil.
3. Mix peanut oil and sugar together in medium mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg in a cup and add, along with the ground almonds and almond extract. Blend well.
   
4. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the peanut oil mixture. You can mix with your hands at this poing and knead the mixture into a dough.
   
5. Pinch off small balls (about size ping pong ball) and place on cookie sheet. You should end up with 35, give or take one or two.
   
6. Press each ball flat with a drinking glass bottom (until about 1/2 inch thick).
   
7. With your finger or a chopstick (for New Year), make an indentation in the center of each cookie and press in a whole almond lightly.
   
8. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.