Chinese New Year is a time of celebration, good luck and to welcome the year ahead. Here are some traditional Chinese New Year desserts that would be a great addition to your Chinese New Year celebrations.
Chinese New Year brings with it a host of sweet treats, but the vast number of food and drink options can often be overwhelming. This article will help you pick the best sweets and treats to enjoy this Chinese New Year.
Find the best traditional Chinese desserts for you here!
1. Black Sesame Rice Balls (Tang Yuan)
Black Sesame Rice Balls (Tang Yuan) (莱元莎饼) is a classic Chinese snack. It is made of sticky rice wrapped in a traditional black sesame seed paste, which is a delicious snack with a unique taste.
Black Sesame Rice Balls (Tang Yuan) is a popular Chinese dessert made with glutinous rice flour and black sesame seeds. It is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
2. Water Chestnut Cake
This recipe is a copy of the classic Water Chestnut Cake popular in Taiwan. It is so rich, moist, and delicious. It is served as dessert at family gatherings.
This recipe for Water Chestnut Cake is a wonderful cake for special occasions and for celebrations.
This is a very popular dish in China. It is made from water chestnuts, which are often served as a snack or appetizer. This Water Chestnut Cake is a light and moist Chinese dessert that reflects the season.
3. Chinese Peanut Cookies
These are the best peanut cookies. They have a wonderful crunchy texture and come out of the oven both tender and chewy. These cookies made with peanut butter, granulated sugar and egg whites are a healthy touch.
Chinese Peanut Cookies are crispy and chewy, sweet and savory, crunchy and chewy, and more than a little addictive. This will be a great choice for anyone looking for a delicious, simple recipe to try.
4. Crispy Peanut Dumplings (Kok Chai)
This is an authentic and delicious recipe for Kok Chai. Kok Chai (also known as “Keoi Gai”) is a popular Chinese breakfast dish that is made from fried dough. The dough is deep-fried and served with sugar, peanut butter, and sesame seeds.
Crispy Peanut Dumplings (Kok Chai) is something that kids would never get tired of eating. These crispy dumplings are a fun snack to eat with a cup of tea or coffee.
5. Fortune Cookies
Fortune Cookies are a light, fluffy cookie made from a simple batter of egg whites, sugar, and flour. The name comes from the way the batter looks when it is dropped from the spoon: like a fortune cookie.
They are commonly eaten for dessert in China.
Fortune Cookies are one of the most colorful and original Chinese cookies. These crispy treats are usually made using palm fruit, flour and egg. Learn the history of this popular snack and how to make it.
6. Honeycomb Cookies (Kuih Loyang/ Kuih Rose)
These are a delicious Malaysian version of honeycomb. Kuih Loyang is made with dark colored sugar, and Kuih Rose is made with light colored sugar. You will need a heavy-duty nonstick pan for these.
A new version of this classic traditional Chinese dessert, made with melt-in-your-mouth soft chunks of honeycomb. Honeycomb cookies is a traditional Indonesian sweet snack made from sugar, flour and water.
7. Chinese Fried Sesame Dessert Balls (Jian Dui)
A sweet and savory treat in one bite. Chinese fried sesame dessert balls are made by coating some sweet sesame seeds with a thin layer of egg and then frying them in a pan.
Chinese Fried Sesame Dessert Balls (Jian Dui) is a traditional Chinese dessert which is one of the most popular Chinese desserts.
Chinese Fried Sesame Dessert Balls (Jian Dui) are a yummy, crispy treat that you can enjoy any time of the year. For a Chinese twist, try it with some sweetened red bean paste. Try this out for yourself!
8. Almond Thin Cookies
Almond Thin Cookies are the perfect cookies for a tea time snack or a quick mid-afternoon pick me up. Made with almond flour, erythritol, egg whites and melted butter, these cookies are ultra-low carb, sugar-free, and gluten-free.
Rich and tasty cookies that are perfect for dunking in tea or coffee and are just a really simple dessert which isn’t too heavy and something small to enjoy.
9. Chinese Egg Tart
This recipe for Chinese Egg Tart is a simple yet elegant dessert. It’s a great way to finish off the meal.This Chinese egg tart recipe is a delicious dessert.
It is very easy to make and can be served as an individual dessert or shared as part of a larger meal.
A traditional Chinese pastry. The dough is rolled into a flat sheet and cut into square shapes. The filling is a mixture of egg yolk, Sichuan pepper, and scallions.
10. Jian Dui (Crispy Sesame Balls)
These Chinese Fried Sesame Dessert Balls (Jian Dui) are crispy and light and a great way to end an Asian-inspired meal.
 Chinese fried sesame dessert balls (Jian Dui) is a popular snack from south China’s Guangdong province. It is made of sweet red bean paste (Maocha) and sesame nut.
These tasty Chinese fried sesame dessert balls are a very popular and traditional dim sum snack. They are made with glutinous rice flour, dark brown sugar, and sesame seeds.
11. Osmanthus Jelly (Gui Hua Gao)
This is definitely something you will enjoy. It is love, something very sweet. It is exciting and beautiful. It also includes a lovely edible flower which will really impress anyone you are making this for.
Depending on the occasion, you do not want something heavy and you want something light and delicate to show off.
This is the dessert for you. It also has a beautiful smell as well which gives it that extra hint of delight.
12. Eight Treasure Rice (Ba Bao Fan)
The name means thriving in life which is something to explain immediately and is something quite beautiful to create yourself.
This is a very simple recipe for anyone to make, but you need to make sure you are following the steps cautiously.
You don’t need too many ingredients for this recipe, but you might have to go out and buy certain ingredients you won’t have in the home.
It’s definitely a treasured dessert and is one you should be adding to your list.
13. Preserved Kumquats
Most people absolutely love this dessert recipe because they are very sweet and tangy, a mouthful of joy.
They are bright and glamorous and will definitely catch the attention of anyone you are making them for, and they also have a lovely, soft texture.
They are very delicate and resemble oranges but are smaller. They have a sweet taste balanced out with some sour flavor too which people love.
They aren’t too difficult to make because it is all about the flavors you are putting into them and less about the presentation in this case.
Conclusion
Overall, traditional Chinese New year recipes are very simple but are lovely because of their well balanced flavors and use of natural ingredients.
They are definitely something different to try and make in comparison to the regular chocolate cake and it would be something that would impress your guests and be something a little bit more special than usual.
Trying different cultures’ recipes is important because it widens your scope of taste.
Hopefully this guide has provided you with some of the best traditional Chinese New year dessert recipes to choose from. They all range in difficulty and different flavors. Some are sweet, some sour, and some even quite savory.
You probably have not heard of the majority of them because they are traditional dishes, but they are definitely worth trying.
These are the easy 13 you could choose from and offer a wide range of different types of desserts with different meanings. They are very interesting to learn about and eat as well. Enjoy your desserts.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many different types of Chinese desserts, but they also have desserts which are specifically for eating on New Year which they say can bring good luck.
The Chinese are linked very closely to their food and give even their desserts meaning by name which is very special and magical.
Therefore, Chinese desserts might be an interesting change this year, to try something new and special.
Nian Gao is the most popular type of cake eaten by the Chinese cultures, which is a rice cake which is very sweet and simple.
You will find with many Chinese recipes that they appear very simple, but it is all about the texture and flavor over anything else.
13 Traditional Chinese New Year Desserts
Enjoy the Chinese New Year with these traditional desserts but it can be difficult to choose the right one for you. Find some of the best recipes right here!
Ingredients
Directions
- Pick a recipe from above
- Click the recipe name and visit the website
- Collect the ingredients and the food
- Enjoy – don’t forget to leave a review
Recipe Video
Cooking is great for your mental, physical, and emotional health. What’s the worst that could happen? Find a recipe that you like the sound of and cook it along with me. You might even unlock a new passion!
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