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"  Last night, my daughters received a package from my mom filled with their Chinese New Year goodies. In addition to red envelopes stuffed with cash (college fund!), they tore open packets of candies and cookies. Symbolic of a sweet year to come, these treats are similar to Western treats, but taste surprising and unique. For starters, a lot of them are gluten-free and dairy-free. Butter doesn&amp;#039;t play a role in traditional Chinese cooking and wheat flour is used in the North, but desserts skew towards nuts and fruits, like oranges. (Check out my Asian desserts cookbook The Sweet Spot, co-authored with pastry chef Pichet Ong, to find out more!) For the new year, we&amp;#039;re snacking on nut and sesame brittle, candied coconut, and almond cookies. But my girls&amp;#039; favorite treat is sweet rice flour dumplings. The dough is easy to handle so they&amp;#039;ve been rolling them from the time they were toddlers. The resulting little balls are boiled and served in a sweet gingery soup. They have the texture of a soft gummy bear and that stretchy chew and their circular shape symbolize our unity as a family. Here&amp;#039;s to another year of sticking together! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/a24085/chinese-new-year-sweets/>