Princeton Food Scene: Maple sugaring time, Lunar New Year, and a tasty gluten-free almond cookie recipe

Maple sugaring time

It’s midwinter, and even though the weather seems too cold to do much of anything outside, it’s time to tap sugar maple trees.

Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell Township will welcome visitors this Saturday, Feb. 1, who want to help put taps in the farm’s maples. The taps will slowly drip sap – not enough to harm the trees – into buckets. The following Saturday, Feb. 8, the farm team will begin the work of collecting the sap to make syrup in the sap house.

Tapping the trees begins when freezing nights follow thawing days and the sap begins to flow. Visitors can help both weekends and possibly learn how to tap their trees at home. They can sample the farm’s whole wheat pancakes dressed in the freshly made syrup and also can purchase lunch.

Anyone who wants to participate should dress appropriately for the weather. It can be cold, wet and windy among the maple trees.

Admission to the farm and parking are free. For more information see the website howellfarm.org.

Celebrating the Lunar New Year

The Year of the Snake has arrived, and the Lunar New Year celebration continues for the next two weeks. It will include community gatherings like those at several local libraries including Princeton one at Public Library on Feb. 15. There also will be a celebration Feb. 15 at Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrence.

Celebrations include families dining on traditional foods such as jiaozi, Chinese dumplings, for good fortune. Dumplings gained their spot as a tradition because the word jiaozi sounds similar to an expression meaning “transition from old to new.” Other favorites are noodles for longevity and nian gao (glutinous rice cake) for prosperity.

Gatherings also will include tables filled with sweets such as these cookies from kingarthurbaking.com, which can be made using traditional wheat flour or gluten-free. 

Chinese Almond Cookies

Dough:

¾  cup almond flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or a gluten-free flour such as King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour

½ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

½ teaspoon almond extract or almond emulsion

Topping:

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water (egg wash)

18 whole almonds

  1. To toast the almond flour: Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the almond flour and stir constantly until it turns golden and becomes fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the toasted almond flour from the heat and immediately transfer it to a medium bowl (this stops it from burning).  
  2. To make the dough: To the bowl with the toasted almond flour, add the all-purpose (or gluten-free) flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk together until well combined. Set aside.  
  3. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and almond extract until combined; the butter may look slightly curdled at this stage, and that is OK. 
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until it forms a soft, sticky dough.  
  5. On plastic wrap or your favorite reusable wrap, form the dough into a roughly 8×8 inches square and wrap to seal. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 2 hours. Do not skip this step; chilling the dough allows you to handle it successfully going forward. 
  6. To bake the cookies: Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and use a bowl scraperbench knife, or a tablespoon scoop to divide it into 18 equal pieces (about 24g each). 
  7. Roll each piece of dough into a 1 to 1 ½ inch ball and place all 18 dough balls onto one of the prepared baking sheets. (Arrange the cookies close together so that they fit on a single baking sheet, but aim to leave about 1″ between the cookies, if possible; you’ll arrange them on two baking sheets before baking.) 
  8. Brush each dough ball with egg wash and place an almond in the center. Using the palm of your hand or the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten it to 3/4″ thick (this keeps the almond in place). Place the baking sheet with the flattened cookies in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes for the dough to firm up.    
  9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center position.  
  10. Arrange 9 of the flattened cookies evenly on the other prepared baking sheet. Space out the remaining 9 flattened cookies and return the baking sheet to the refrigerator while you bake the first batch of cookies. 
  11. Bake the cookies for 17 to 18 minutes, or until the tops turn a light golden color. 
  12. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely.  
  13. Repeat with the second baking sheet of cookies. 
  14. Storage instructions: Store Chinese almond cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage.

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