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Kuih Dahlia Cherry Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit Susu)

written by Marvellina Updated: December 16, 2024
13.5K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE RECIPE VIDEO
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Butter cookie dough is piped to form beautiful flowers and swirls and topped with glazed cherries and baked to perfection. These buttery and crumbly cookies are popular for occasions like Christmas, Chinese New Year and Hari Raya.

Kuih Dahlia Cherry Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit)

What is kuih dahlia/semperit?

Kuih dahlia or semperit is popular in Malaysia and Singapore. In Indonesia, we call it kue semprit, or sometimes semprit susu if milk powder is added. It is basically piped butter cookies topped with glazed cherries. Kids to adults love kuih dahlia. I mean…who doesn’t like good ol’ butter cookies!!

When I was still in middle school, I would go over my aunt’s house to help her baking trays and trays of cookies to distribute to families and relatives for Chinese New Year. We took about 1 week to bake several different kinds of cookies and cakes. Several of the cookies that she often made are these Kue Semprit, Kue Bangkit, Kue Salju, Kue Skippy, Kue Nastar, Kue Kapit, Lapis Legit Prune, Kastengel, and Bika Ambon.

The recipe rundown

1. Taste: Buttery, lightly sweet
2. Texture: Crisp on the edge and soft buttery texture
3. Level: Intermediate

Kuih Dahlia Cherry Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit)

How to make kuih dahlia/semperit

1. Line baking sheets with parchment papers. Cut the butter into smaller pieces. I usually let the butter sits out at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (depending on the temperature where you are) before I plan to start making the dough.

2. The butter should be soft and not melting. When you press on it, it should yield without resistance. Remember, the butter shouldn’t be melty, if it is, it’s way too soft, refrigerate it a little bit

3. In a mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and set aside.

4. Crack one egg in a bowl and whisk with a fork to combine, measure out 25 grams to be used later. Once the butter has softened, place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, use the flat beater (if using standmixer) and mix at low speed for 1 minute and then increase the speed to medium and mix until the sugar and butter are mixed through, about 2 minutes. Do not overmix the butter here. There’s no need to beat until pale and fluffy.

5. Add the egg and continue to mix.


6. Lower the speed and then gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture in 3-4 batches until you get a thick batter. Do not overmix. You will still see some loose flour. Use a rubber spatula to gently mix it into the batter


7. Preheat oven to 320 F (160 C) for conventional oven, 300 F (150 C) for convection oven. Cut off about 1-inch of the piping bag and place the piping tips into the bag and fill up the piping bag with the dough. Push as much air out as possible. The 1M tip will create dahlia design.

8. Pipe the cookies from the straight angle and pull up and twist a bit to “cut” off the dough. Pipe it a bit high as the cookies will flatten a bit as they bake

9. Pipe the cookies about 1 inch apart as they will spread when baked. Place one cut glazed cherries. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking

10. Place on the middle rack. Bake for 18-20 minutes rotating the pan  halfway through baking.
The cookies will still be  very soft when they are just out from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool off completely. Store in an air-tight and dry container and it can last for a month

Family’s feedbacks

The first time I made these, the family thought the cookies weren’t sweet enough and so I increased the sugar a little bit and they think this amount is perfect without being too sweet. They love the buttery aroma and slightly crisp edge but still has that soft buttery texture.

Kuih Dahlia Cherry Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit)

Important tips

1. Please make sure the butter is soft but not melty
2. Do not cream butter and sugar too much or the pattern will be blurred when you bake the cookies
3. Preheat your oven when you start working on the batter
4. Bake until the edge just started to turn brown. They will appear very soft when they first out of the oven and that’s normal. Let them cool down on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack
5. The butter cookies taste best the next day as the flavor has developed
Kuih Dahlia Cherry Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit)

Did you make this kuih dahlia recipe?

I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag 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!
Kuih Dahlia Cherry Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit)

Kuih Dahlia Cherry Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit)

Kuih Dahlia Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit Susu)

Prep Time 45 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Chill the dough 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
Servings 40 cookies (about 6 grams each)
4.8 from 4 reviews
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

  • 135 gr cake flour
  • 35 gr corn starch
  • 10 gr milk powder
  • ⅛ tsp Small pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

  • 135 gr butter unsalted, softened
  • 65 gr icing sugar
  • ½ large egg beaten

Decoration:

  • 5 Glazed cherries

Tools you need:

  • Wilton 1M piping tip
  • Piping bags

Instructions
 

  • Cut one cherry into 6-8 tiny pieces. Line baking sheets with parchment papers. Cut the butter into smaller pieces so they soften faster. I usually let the butter sits out at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (depending on the temperature where you are) before I plan to start making the dough. The butter should be soft and not melting. When you press on it, it should yield without resistance
  • In a mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and set aside. Crack one whole egg in a bowl and whisk to loosen the egg. Measure out 25 grams to be used later. Once the butter has softened, place the butter and sugar in a bowl of the stand mixer, use the flat beater and mix at low speed for 1 minute and then increase the speed to medium and mix until the sugar and butter are mixed through, about 2 minutes. Do not overmix the butter here. There's no need to beat until pale and fluffy. You can even do this manually without the mixer
  • Add the egg and continue to mix. Add the dry ingredient and stir to combine until you get a sticky dough

Piping:

  • UPDATE: Preheat oven to 320 F (160 C) for conventional oven, 300 F (150 C ) for convection oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place your baking rack 3rd from top and 3rd from bottom. Cut off about 1-inch of the piping bag and place the piping tips into the bag and fill up the piping bag with the dough. Push as much air out as possible. The 1M tip will create dahlia design.
  • Pipe the cookies from a straight angle and pull up and twist a bit to "cut" off the dough. Pipe it a bit high as the cookies will flatten a bit as they bake. Pipe the cookies about 1 inch apart as they will spread when baked. Place one cut glazed cherries. Chill the cookies in the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking

Baking:

  • UPDATE: I suggest baking one tray at a time. Place the pan on the middle rack. Bake for 18-20 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through baking
  • The cookies will still be very soft when they are just out from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool off completely. Store in an air-tight  and dry container and it can last for a month. These butter cookies taste best the next day onwards. They may appear a bit dry on the same day you bake them as the flavor hasn't developed

RECOMMEDED TOOLS

Baking sheets
Parchment Paper
Mixing Bowl
Electric hand mixer

*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*

Nutrition Facts
Kuih Dahlia Butter Cookies( Kuih Semperit/Semprit Susu)
Serving Size
 
1 cookie
Amount per Serving
Calories
49
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
3
g
5
%
Saturated Fat
 
2
g
13
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Cholesterol
 
10
mg
3
%
Sodium
 
33
mg
1
%
Potassium
 
9
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
 
5
g
2
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
2
g
2
%
Protein
 
1
g
2
%
Vitamin A
 
90
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
 
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
4
mg
0
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I'd love to see your photos/videos on Instagram

 

previous post
Teochew Png Kueh (Teochew Glutinous Peach Shaped Kueh)
next post
Hari Raya Cookies (Kuih Kering Lebaran)

16 comments

WooLY December 16, 2024 - 5:50 am

You mentioned in Step no. 4. Crack one egg in a bowl and whisk with a fork to combine, measure out 25 grams to be used later. I can’t see anywhere in the recipe that you used the 25 grams of egg later. Kindly clarify.

Reply
Marvellina December 16, 2024 - 7:52 pm

You will see it on step 3 : “Add the egg and continue to mix. Add the dry ingredient and stir to combine until you get a sticky dough”

Reply
Judy January 28, 2024 - 10:11 am

Hi May I wonder what is the substitute for milk powder? Or can I omit it? Thank you

Reply
Marvellina January 28, 2024 - 7:07 pm

There is no substitute for the milk powder. It’s there to give some milky aroma. You can omit it if you don’t have any.

Reply
Judy January 29, 2024 - 11:22 am

Tha k you

Reply
Maggie February 5, 2023 - 5:45 am

Hi, thank you so much for the recipe. It’s delicious. However, the beautiful piping becomes flatten after baking. 🙁 I tried to be careful not to overmix the butter and sugar, but maybe I did. The batch that I baked with silicone mat turned out better (the piping is less deformed, but it’s still quite blurry). Anything else I should have watched out for or do differently? Thank you!

Reply
Marvellina February 5, 2023 - 8:54 pm

Hi Maggie, did you chill the dough before baking? or try to chill it longer,that helps to keep the shape of the cookies so the butter doesn’t melt too quickly in the oven, that’s usually the main cause. EDIT: I have recently adjusted the baking temperature. Lowering the temperature helps the cookies not to melt too fast.

Reply
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