15 Traditional Chinese Lunar New Year Desserts

Fortune Cookies bring a delightful surprise to dessert tables with their hidden messages inside. These crisp, folded treats combine egg whites, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and flour, with cornstarch adding an extra crunch to each bite.

The baking process flows smoothly when the thin batter spreads across a baking sheet in small circles. After turning golden brown in the oven, each cookie transforms as messages slip inside the warm circles.

The cookies take shape through gentle folds, creating the distinctive fortune cookie appearance that people know so well.

The oven needs just 10 minutes to work its magic, though shaping must happen while the cookies remain warm and bendable. Once cooled, these treats hold their special form, ready to share their secret messages with anyone who breaks them open.

Mochi is a chewy and sweet dessert perfect for celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. The base comes together with glutinous rice flour, regular sugar, and water, while different fillings like sweet red bean paste or fresh fruit add extra flavors inside.

To make this dessert, simply combine the rice flour mixture until it forms a soft dough, then steam it until perfectly tender.

Once steamed, the dough gets divided into small portions, filled with chosen ingredients, and shaped into round cakes. A light coating of cornstarch keeps these treats from sticking, creating the perfect texture for sharing during holiday gatherings.

Chinese almond cookies serve as a special treat during Chinese New Year, symbolizing coins that bring good fortune. The cookies blend all-purpose flour, almond flour, butter, sugar, and almond extract, with a single almond pressed into each top, making every piece distinct and special for holiday gatherings.

To make these traditional sweets, mix the butter and sugar until light, then blend in the flour mixture to create smooth dough.

Shape small portions into rounds, place almonds on top, brush with egg wash, and bake until the edges turn golden. The finished cookies emerge crisp outside and tender inside, carrying the promise of prosperity through the holiday season.

Durian pie offers a fresh take on Chinese Lunar New Year desserts. This cool, creamy treat shows how the strong-smelling durian fruit can become a delightful dessert that everyone at the celebration enjoys.

The natural smoothness of durian works perfectly in this no-bake pie, creating a texture similar to cheesecake. The bottom layer combines graham crackers and coconut flakes, mixed with warm browned butter until they form a tasty crust.

Above this base, you'll find layers of sweetened cream blended with fresh durian pieces. The filling combines heavy cream, condensed milk, and coconut cream, which come together to create a smooth, rich taste. Between these creamy layers sits more fresh durian, adding its unique flavor to every slice.

After the pie rests in the freezer, it needs a short time to soften before serving. A light touch of lime zest on top adds a fresh flavor and bright color. During Lunar New Year gatherings, this pie shows guests how unusual ingredients can become favorite desserts. 

Dalgona candy is made with just two simple ingredients - sugar and baking soda - creating a crispy, golden candy that delights both kids and adults. This treat gained worldwide attention after appearing in a popular TV show, but it's been a beloved street snack in Korea since the 1960s.

Making this candy is quick and straightforward. The sugar melts in a small pan or ladle over heat until it turns a warm amber color. A pinch of baking soda creates the candy's airy texture and light brown shade. Once pressed flat, each piece gets stamped with a pretty shape before it hardens.

When the candy cools down and turns solid, it becomes a crunchy treat perfect for sharing during holiday gatherings. The simple ingredients come together to make a sweet that's both tasty and entertaining, especially when friends and family try to carefully eat around the stamped design.

During Lunar New Year festivities, this matcha cake brings a fresh addition to celebration tables. The recipe needs cake flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and matcha green tea powder, which creates its distinct color and flavor.

The smooth frosting uses cream cheese, heavy cream, and sugar to complement the cake layers. The preparation starts with mixing ingredients in separate bowls. The egg whites get beaten until they're light and airy before joining the rest of the batter.

After combining everything, the mixture goes into two cake pans. Between the layers and on top goes the creamy frosting, which stays soft but holds its shape. A mix of matcha and powdered sugar dusted over the top adds the final touch.

After baking for thirty minutes and letting it cool, the result is a two-layer green cake that tastes exactly right - not too sweet, with a clear matcha flavor. Its light texture and balanced taste make it a favorite choice at holiday gatherings when families come together to celebrate the new year.

Pandan popsicles serve as a cooling dessert during Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. Fresh pandan leaves create a fragrant tea filled with vanilla and almond notes.

The simple mixture combines pandan-steeped water with sugar, producing a light, refreshing base for frozen treats. A few drops of pandan extract add a soft pastel green color to these icy delights.

Making these popsicles requires minimal effort in the kitchen. The pandan leaves steep in boiling water with sugar until the mixture thickens. Once cooled, the liquid goes into popsicle molds for an overnight freeze.

White chocolate drizzled on top hardens quickly, while coconut flakes add extra sweetness and texture. These frozen treats provide a light alternative to traditional heavy festival desserts.

The smooth, cool popsicles melt slowly, releasing layers of pandan flavor. Keeping a batch in the freezer makes it simple to grab one whenever the temperature rises or when craving something sweet during the celebrations.

Tang yuan is a meaningful Lunar New Year dessert, perfect for celebrating family bonds on the festival's 15th day. These sweet dumplings contain a rich filling made from ground black sesame seeds or peanuts mixed with sugar and oil, nestled inside a soft rice flour wrapper.

To make the Tang Yuan recipe, prepare a smooth filling from crushed sesame seeds or peanuts, sugar, and oil, then freeze it into small balls. The outer covering comes together by mixing rice flour with water and condensed milk to form a simple dough.

After wrapping the frozen filling in the rice dough, these little dumplings cook in boiling water until they float. When ready, each dumpling offers a delicate, chewy outside that leads to a sweet, nutty center.

Served in warm water, Tang Yuan brings warmth and sweetness to winter celebrations, making it a cherished part of Lunar New Year traditions.

Mooncakes are delicious golden-brown pastries that sparkle during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. They're made with a delicate outer crust and filled with smooth pastes created from red beans, lotus seeds, black sesame seeds, or a mix of fruits and nuts.

A pressure cooker helps create the perfect filling texture. To make these treats, mix golden syrup, alkaline water, oil, and flour for the crust. The filling cooks until smooth in the pressure cooker.

Press the dough and filling into special molds that create pretty patterns on top. After baking, the crust turns a rich brown color, and the filling stays soft and sweet inside.

Store-bought filling pastes work well if time runs short. The finished mooncakes have a tender outside and sweet, creamy inside - ready to share at holiday gatherings. Each bite brings together the soft pastry and rich filling in perfect balance.

Fa Gao is a special steamed fortune cake that brings good luck during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. It's prepared with a simple mix of brown sugar, all-purpose flour, rice flour, baking powder, oil, and water.

The special steaming process creates beautiful flower-like cracks on top of each cake. To make these lucky treats, start by making a sugar syrup with brown sugar, oil, and hot water.

Mix this with the flours and baking powder until smooth. Pour the batter into small fluted molds and steam them in batches. The steamer does the special work here - turning plain batter into puffy cakes with split tops that look like blooming flowers.

The finished cakes come out soft and chewy with a gentle sweetness. Each cake rises tall with cracks on top, which people say looks like a flower opening to welcome good fortune. These cake types stay fresh in their molds for days, ready to bring luck to anyone who eats them.

Yakgwa is a deep-fried sweet cookie that's perfect for Lunar New Year celebrations. It's made with flour, sesame oil, soju (Korean rice wine), pine nuts, and a special honey-ginger syrup mixture. The careful folding and layering process creates beautiful patterns in each cookie.

To make these treats, mix the flour and sesame oil until crumbly, then add soju and ginger syrup. After folding and rolling the dough several times, cut it into small squares and make a tiny hole in each center.

The cookies fry slowly until golden brown, then soak in a sweet mixture of jochung and honey. A few pine nuts on top finish each cookie perfectly. 

When they're done, each cookie has delicate layers inside, with a crispy outside and sweet syrup-soaked middle. The finished treats have the perfect balance of crunch, sweetness, and nutty flavor that makes them special for holiday celebrations.

This dessert brightens festival tables as people welcome prosperity and luck for the upcoming year. The round shape represents unity, while sesame seeds scatter across the surface like tiny wishes.

Each sesame ball starts with rice flour dough, which creates a pleasant texture. Inside sits a smooth lotus paste filling that offers subtle sweetness. The outside gets covered with small sesame seeds before cooking begins.

Asian grocery stores stock these simple ingredients year-round. The preparation transforms basic components into special treats. Hot oil heats in a large pot until ready.

The balls need careful attention as they cook, moving steadily through the oil. Minutes pass as they grow larger, developing a firm outside layer. The inside stays soft, creating different textures in each bite.

Ube Crinkle Cookies fill plates during Lunar New Year celebrations. The purple color comes from ube extract and ube halaya, which create a mix of nutty and vanilla tastes. These cookies turn simple parties into moments to remember.

Basic ingredients include flour, eggs, and butter, plus the special ube items and condensed milk. The dough takes shape easily in one bowl. Each small piece needs two coatings - plain sugar first, followed by white powdered sugar on top.

The baking steps stay straightforward. Roll the dough into small rounds, coat them in both sugars, then put them on flat pans. The oven changes these soft pieces into cookies with firm edges.

Lines appear across the tops as they bake, making patterns in the sugar coating. After cooling, the cookies feel soft in the middle but keep light, crisp edges. The purple shade peeks through white sugar cracks.

It combines soft glutinous rice with dried fruits and nuts, creating a mix of smooth and crunchy textures in each bite. The dish needs glutinous rice as its base, plus jujubes (dried dates), chestnuts, and pine nuts for extra relish.

Dark ingredients like brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil blend together to make a sauce that coats the rice. To make Yaksik, soak the rice first, then cook it with the sauce in a pressure cooker.

After cooking, mix in the chopped fruits and nuts. Press everything into a pan and let it cool. The rice turns slightly sticky, holding all the pieces together. Cut the cooled mixture into neat rectangles.

The finished Yaksik has a light brown color from the sauce. Each piece contains bits of fruit and nuts mixed throughout the rice. During New Year gatherings, people share these rice cakes and talk about good times ahead.

This light dessert connects to Chinese traditions, as red beans stand for strength and power in Chinese culture. It's prepared with dried red beans, tapioca pearls, dried tangerine peel, and a bit of sugar.

To make this soup, soak the red beans overnight until they soften. Next, combine the beans in a pot with water, tangerine peel, and a pinch of baking soda. The tapioca pearls join later, adding small clear spots throughout the red soup.

Let everything simmer together until the beans turn completely soft. Take out some beans, mash them up, and put them back in to make the soup thicker.

Add sugar and keep cooking until the tapioca pearls look clear. When done, the soup becomes smooth and warming, perfect for sharing during cold New Year days.