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Learn how to make these Chinese New Year peanut cookies that melt in your mouth with only 5 ingredients. The recipe can be made with peanut butter for convenience.
A few weeks before the CNY, my mom usually started to stock up on Chinese new year cookies. My aunts usually made them and I would go over to her house to help out. She literally made tons and tons of different kinds to distribute out to relatives. Lots of eggs, butter, sugar, and flour are involved for sure. It was my favorite thing to do!! So, here is another one of my favorite Chinese new year cookies, peanut cookies or what we call kue kacang(peanut) skippy in Indonesia. These cookies are also popular Hari Raya Cookies. They are also known as Mazola Peanut Cookies because they are made with Mazola brand corn oil, which is popular in Malaysia.
TO USE PEANUT BUTTER OR GROUND-ROASTED PEANUTS?
Traditionally, Chinese peanut cookies are made with ground peanuts, but in Indonesia, they are made with peanut butter, skippy brand to be exact, but you don’t have to use skippy brand. The result is equally delicious. If you are lazy (I won’t tell!) definitely use peanut butter 😉 You definitely don’t have to roast your own peanuts too, there are lots of store-bought roasted unsalted peanuts you can purchase to save time and that’s what I did.
HOMEMADE CHINESE PEANUT COOKIES MADE EASY
The step-by-step instruction is applicable to both using ground peanuts or peanut butter.
1. If using roasted peanuts, grind them into a fine texture. The ground peanut will be “damp/wet” because some of the oil has been released
2. Place ground peanut or peanut butter (whichever one you are using), sugar, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix with a wooden spoon.
3. Then add half of the cooking oil (don’t pour in all at once), and continue to gradually add the oil. Mix with your hands until you can form a dough that will not fall apart.
4. Shape the dough into balls about 10 gr each. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 1/4 inch apart, they don’t expand much. Continue with the rest.
5. I made three different styles. You can use a straw to make a small indentation in the middle (mine are a bit too deep). You can also use a fork to gently press the dough ball down while making the crisscross pattern, or you can simply insert a half piece of peanut on top of the cookie dough
5. Brush with egg wash
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F (190 C) for conventional oven for 15-18 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. If you use a convection oven, bake at 350 F (180 C).
TOP TIPS YOU NEED TO KNOW
These cookies are really easy to make and pretty straightforward, but knowing a few tips or so won’t hurt either
1. I recommend using creamy peanut butter and not natural peanut butter. Natural peanut butter tends to have its oil separate and float to the top. This will affect the final result of your cookies
2. Gradually add in that oil.
The amount of oil in the recipe is just an estimate. Definitely pour it in bit by bit until you can form a dough. You may not need all of them or you may need more
My sister-in-law shared this kue skippy recipe with me and I really loved how they turn out. Melt-in-the-mouth and 5 minutes after they were out of the oven, my husband swallowed 6 of them !! and here I thought I made too many!
Did you make this melt-in-mouth Chinese New Year peanut cookies recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
The recipe is updated on 11/14/2022 to improve the taste and texture further and to update the baking temperature and time. I no longer use baking powder in the recipe.
Chinese New Year Peanut Cookies (Mazola Peanut Cookies)
Ingredients
Option 1: Using peanut butter: (recommended)
- 200 g creamy peanut butter see notes 1
- 50 g cooking oil peanut oil or any neutral-tasting oil works
- 225 g all-purpose flour
- 70 g icing sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt if peanut butter is low sodium or not salted, you can use 1/4 tsp
Option 2: Using ground roasted peanuts
- 200 gr roasted unsalted peanuts see notes 2
- 90 gr cooking oil peanut oil or any neutral-tasting oil works
- 200 gr all-purpose flour
- 75 gr icing sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Egg wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ tsp water
Instructions
- Edited: Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) for a conventional oven. If using a convection oven, preheat to 350 F (180 C). Prepare egg wash by lightly beating the egg yolk with 1/4 tsp water. Set aside
If using roasted peanuts:
- I use store-bought skinless peanuts that are already roasted and unsalted. If you use raw peanuts, roast them in the oven at 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven, 330 F (165 C) for 8-10 minutes, stirring them halfway. Let them cool completely
- Place the roasted peanuts in a food processor and grind until fine in texture and the peanuts will feel "damp/wet" because some of the oil from the peanut has been released, but don't ground into a peanut butter consistency though
Prepare the cookie dough:
- UPDATE: I have recently tried without baking powder with a good result, so I have removed it from the recipe.
- Place ground peanut or peanut butter, sugar, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix with a wooden spoon. Then add half of the cooking oil (don't pour in all at once), and continue to gradually add the oil. Mix with your hands until you can form a dough that will not fall apart. If the dough feels dry, add a bit more oil, one teaspoon at a time.
Shaping the dough:
- Shape the dough into balls about 10 gr each. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 1/4 inch apart, they don't expand much. Continue with the rest.
- I made three different styles. You can use a straw to make a small indentation in the middle (mine are a bit too deep). You can also use a fork to gently press the dough ball down while making the crisscross pattern, or you can simply insert a half piece of peanut on top of the cookie dough
Bake the cookies:
- Brush the cookies with egg wash and bake for about 15-18 minutes (updated) on the middle rack. Rotate the pan halfway through baking, front to back so they bake evenly. They should be golden brown. If you make larger cookies, you may need a few minute extra
- Remove from the oven and let them cool for about 15 minutes before removing them to cooling rack to cool down completely. They are very soft when they are warm. Store in the air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 month
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
Marv’s Recipe Notes
- I recommend using creamy peanut butter instead of natural peanut butter as the oil in natural peanut butter tends to separate and this will affect your final result. I use skippy no-stir creamy peanut butter. Chunky peanut butter will work too as long as it’s not the natural type.
- If you use raw peanuts with skin, get about 300 grams. Then roast the nuts and remove the skin. You may have some leftovers for you to munch on and use the rest for the recipe
- The recipe is updated on 2/7/2024 to improve the recipe for using ground peanuts. I no longer use baking powder in the recipe (video is not updated yet)
51 comments
Can I use caster sugar instead of icing sugar?
I haven’t tried it with caster sugar, I know it’s going to change the texture of the cookies, it probably will give you a slightly “sandier” texture.
May I suggest that you put the title Malaysian Chinese New Year Peanut Cookies instead of Chinese Peanut Cookies. People who are living abroad may have confused and thought it’s a recipe from mainland China. I love your recipes and will try some of them.
Hi Judy, thank you for the suggestions! Since these are popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore for Chinese New Year, I just call it Chinese New Year Peanut Cookies to avoid confusion 🙂
Can I use melted butter instead of cooking oil?
I have not tried it with butter yet, but I don’t see why not. Let me know how they turn out if you give it a try 🙂
In your video for the peanut cookie, it show you used baking powder but your written recipe didn’t include baking powder. May I know if baking powder is needed & if yes how much to add?
Hi Sarah, my older recipe used to use baking powder like you saw on the video (I haven’t had a chance to edit the video yet). I have updated the recipe over a year ago and no longer uses baking powder as reflected in the recipe card.