I haven'tmade these yet and if I did I would use butter instead of shortening. I collect many many diferent ethnic recipes. This recipe uses an egg wash glaze but I guess you could try to recreate a sugar icing/glaze to put on top once they have cooled from the oven. Hope this helps
Chinese Almond Cookies
A northern China variation of this cookie uses pine nuts instead of almonds.
1 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose floor
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
5 dozen whole blanched almonds
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat shortening with granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Add whole egg and almond extract; beat until well blended. In another bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder; add to creamed mixture, blending thoroughly. To shape each cookie, roll about 1 tablespoon dough into a ball. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets, then flatten each slightly to make a 2" round. Gently press an almond into center of each round. Place egg yolk and water in a small bowl; beat together lightly with a fork. Brush mixture over top of each cookie with a pastry brush. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to racks and let cool. Store airtight.