KUEH BANGKET

Makes about 40 cookies

These bite-size cookies are popularly prepared for the Chinese New Year. They were traditionally made using copper or brass kueh bangket cutters, then decorated with a cookie pincher. Dry-frying the sago and tapioca flours is an extra step but it is essential in removing any excess moisture from the flours to give the cookies their characteristic melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Sago flour 500 g (1 lb 1½ oz)
Tapioca flour 250 g (9 oz)
Pandan leaves 2, cut into short lengths
Coconut milk 350 ml (11⅔ fl oz)
Icing (confectioner’s) sugar 300 g (11 oz)
Egg yolks 5, beaten
Salt ½ tsp

1.   Heat a clean, dry wok over very low heat. Add sago and tapioca flours and pandan
leaves and dry-fry until flour mixture is light and fluffy. Remove from heat and set
aside to cool completely. Set some flour aside for dusting work surface.

2.   In a pot, heat coconut milk with icing sugar over very low heat, stirring until sugar
is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

3.   Stir beaten egg yolks and salt into cooled coconut milk mixture, then pour into cooled
flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing gently to obtain dough.

4.   Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).

5.   Dust a work surface lightly with reserved flour. Roll dough out into a 0.5-cm (¼-in)
thick sheet, then use a kueh bangket mould or a small cookie cutter to cut out cookies.
Place on a lined baking tray. Decorate cookies using a cookie pincher.

6.   Bake cookies for about 15 minutes until cookies are just lightly coloured. Remove from
tray and place on a wire rack to cool.

7.   Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

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PERANAKAN HERITAGE

Cooking