If you love the savory and sweet combinations in cookies, you need to try these eggless laksa cookies with a great savory, umami taste from the laksa paste and amazing aroma of laksa leaves.
What are laksa cookies?
I basically use a good basic butter cookie recipe and toned down on the butter and infused with curry laksa paste and some curry leaves. This creates amazing savory, sweet, umami, a bit spicy, crispy crunchy cookies. It’s a great addition to the Chinese New Year cookie baking!
Ingredients
I’m sharing two versions of recipe here. Version 1 is from the latest update, which ingredients are listed below. Version 2 is the older version of this recipe with a melt-in-mouth butter texture.
1. Butter
I use unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, keep in mind that the laksa paste is savory too, so it is best to use unsalted butter if you can so your cookies won’t be too salty. You can also use room-temperature coconut oil (not melted)
2. Icing sugar
I won’t recommend using granulated or caster sugar. Icing sugar gives that melt in your mouth texture
3. Laksa paste
You can use homemade laksa paste. I use store-bought laksa paste
4. Laksa leaves
Laksa leaves or known as daun kesum in Malay, or rau ram/Vietnamese coriander in Vietnamese. If you can’t find any, curry leaves also give a nice aroma.
5. All-purpose flour
All-purpose flour is a common term in the U.S. It’s similar to plain flour or wheat flour (not whole wheat flour)
6. Baking powder and baking soda
These two are used to leaven the cookies and also help with browning and keep the acid-base balance in check. So please do not omit them
How to make easy eggless laksa cookies
1. Let butter comes to room temperature and soft. You can easily mash them with a spatula or a whisk. Mix it with the icing sugar. You can also use a mixer to cream butter and icing sugar until just combined
2. Add laksa paste and laksa leaves
3. Stir until combined
4. Sift in the dry ingredients and then use a spatula to mix until the cookie dough is moist and sticky
5. Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour
6. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Roll the cookie dough with a rolling pin in between two parchment paper into about 4-5 mm in thickness. I suggest 4 mm as a minimum. Don’t roll it too thin to have a good mouthfeel for the cookies
7. Use a cookie cutter to cut the cookies as closely as possible, so you don’t have to re-roll the dough too many times. Place the cut-out cookie doughs on a baking sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. They won’t spread much during baking. Gather the dough scrap and repeat the step above
8. If you don’t want to use a cookie cutter, you can also pinch off about 10 grams of dough and roll it round and then flatten slightly with a fork or your palm into about 4-5 mm in thickness
9. Put the baking tray in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking. Bake on a middle rack in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes (depending on how crispy crunchy you want them). I do 20 minute and they are crisp enough on the edge with a bit of softness in the middle (because my hubby likes them that way). If you prefer crispy crunchy type, you can add additional 3-5 minutes (depending on your oven too)
Tips
1. Chill the dough before you bake the cookies. Chilling the dough will prevent the cookies from overspreading during baking
2. Use a heavy-gauge aluminum pan
It transfers heat so well and its light color will give cookies a nice golden brown and won’t over brown like a dark-color baking sheet
3. Preheat oven 15-20 minutes before you plan to bake
4. Bake one tray at a time for the best result and keep the other tray in the fridge while waiting
How to store laksa cookies
1. Let them cool down completely on a cooling rack
2. Transfer to an air-tight container for about 3-4 days at room temperature
3. For longer storage, transfer to a freezer bag and push out all the air and seal the bag. They can be kept for one month. Simply thaw at room temperature before serving
How to freeze the cookie dough
1. Prepare according to the recipe up to the point where you roll and cut the dough with a cookie cutter
2. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, not touching each other
3. Freeze for one hour and then transfer to a freezer bag and they won’t stick to each other anymore. Push out all the air and seal the bag. They can be kept for up to 3 months
4. When ready to be baked, do not thaw and bake according to the recipe and add about 1 minute or 2 until the cookies are slightly brown at the edge
Did you make this eggless buttery laksa cookies 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!
The recipe was first published in 2021 and has been improved and updated on 1/3/2022 to have more laksa flavor and less butter. This gives a crispy crunchy type of laksa cookies.
Eggless Laksa Cookies
Ingredients
Version 1: More laksa flavor less buttery (crisp crunchy version)
- 40 gr butter
- 20 gr icing sugar
- 60 gr laksa paste store-bought or homemade
- 3 gr laksa leaves finely chopped
Dry ingredients:
- 125 gr all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
Version 2: More buttery taste, melt-in-the mouth texture:
- 115 gr butter
- 45 gr icing sugar
- 20 gr laksa paste
Dry ingredients:
- 100 gr all-purpose flour
- 23 gr cornstarch
Instructions
Prepare cookie dough:
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Let butter comes to room temperature and soft, but it shouldn't be melty. You can easily mash them with a spatula. Mix it with the icing sugar. You can also use a mixer to cream butter and icing sugar until just combined. Do not over cream them or your cookies will be crumbly. Add laksa paste and laksa leaves and mix until combined
- Sift in the dry ingredients and then use a spatula to mix until you can form a soft cookie dough. Flatten the dough into a disc. Wrap the dough with a cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so it's easier to work with
Shape the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
- To use cookie-cutter: Roll the cookie dough with a rolling pin in between two parchment paper into about 4-5 mm in thickness. I suggest 4 mm as a minimum. Don't roll it too thin to have a good mouthfeel for the cookies.
- Cut the cookies as closely as possible, so you don't have to re-roll the dough too many times. Place the cut-out cookie doughs on a baking sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. They won't spread much during baking. Gather the dough scrap and repeat the step above
- Without a cookie-cutter: If you don't want to use a cookie cutter, you can also pinch off about 10 grams of dough and roll it round and then flatten slightly with a fork or your palm into about 4-5 mm in thickness
- Put the baking tray in the freezer for about 10 minutes
Bake the cookies (Version 1):
- Bake on a middle rack in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes (depending on how crispy crunchy you want them). I do 20 minute and they are crisp enough on the edge with a bit of softness in the middle (because my hubby likes them that way). If you prefer crispy crunchy type, you can add additional 3-5 minutes (depending on your oven too)
- Remove from the oven and let them cool down on the pan for that crisp and crunchy texture
Bake the cookies (Version 2):
- Bake on a middle rack in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size of the cookies too). for that soft-melt-in-mouth texture. Let them cool on the pan for about 1 minute and then remove to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely before storing
Storage:
- Store the completely cooled-down cookies in an air-tight container and they can be kept for 2 weeks
8 comments
Hi Marvellina, I’ve tried the both versions of your laksa cookie recipe and I must say I actually prefer the previous one. Any chance that you can share the previous one with me again? Anyways I really appreciate your content you put here, thanks!
Hi Ding, I have posted the older version (version 2) in the recipe card. Good to know that you like that version 🙂
Hi Marvellina … wow thank you for this wonderful recipe. May I know what brand laksa paste you use? I live in HK so it’s a bit pricey to get laksa paste here.
Hi Madeleine, I used a Thai brand laksa paste we have here https://amzn.to/3sQ282p (just to show you the photo). I had tried it with Prima Taste brand too (a friend brought from SG) and that’s really good, but I can’t find it here unless buying it online.
Hi! Thanks for the recipe.
I attempted this using Prima’s laksa paste. The resulting cookies were really fragrant, but the butter taste was more prominent than the laksa taste. I’m thinking if adding more laksa paste might help? Anyway, really appreciate the recipe, the cookie turned out melty, fragrant, with superb texture.
Hi Serena, ah..okay, if you prefer to have more laksa paste, you can try adding another 15-20 grams of laksa paste and scale down on the butter (the same amount you add for laksa paste) and see if that gives you a more prominent laksa aroma.
thanks for the recipe.
I am going to try for CNY.
May I ask the texture as I like crunchy type.
rdgs
Hi, this is more of the soft melt in the mouth type. If you want them crispy, you can bake them longer. For 1 1/2 Tbsp size cookies I bake mine for 14-15 minutes for that soft texture, if you want crispy, can try add another 5 minutes and check. They also firm up further as they cool down