The combination of buttery and melt-in-your-mouth eggless cookie dough and savory pork floss, roasted seaweed, and toasted sesame seeds are some of our family’s favorites. If you enjoy sweet and savory cookies, you don’t want to miss out on this one.
A friend of mine gave me a funny look when I told her about these pork floss seaweed cookies. She thought it sounds too weird 🙂 Well, it may sound very weird but to me, it’s weird and unusual in a good way. I always dig sweet-savory combination in cookies, cakes, and dessert 😉
The recipe rundown
Taste: the sweetness from the butter cookie dough pairs well with the savory taste of meat floss, Korean roasted seaweed, and nutty aroma from the toasted white sesame seeds. I love the combo for sure!
Texture: Melt-in-mouth texture with tiny bits of meat floss in there
Level: Easy
Pros: This is a very easy recipe to make and does not require a mixer
Cons: It’s definitely not waist-friendly 🙂
Ingredients
1. Butter
I use unsalted butter, but you can use salted butter and omit the salt in the recipe
2. Icing sugar
Icing sugar is also known as confectioner’s sugar. I don’t recommend replacing it with granulate sugar or caster sugar
3. All-purpose flour
All-purpose flour is equivalent to wheat flour with medium gluten-content
4. Cornstarch
This is similar to what they call cornflour in Singapore and Malaysia, but we call it cornstarch in North America. It’s the starch extracted from the corn. Don’t be mistaken with cornmeal, which is grind-up corn
5. Salt
6. Pork floss
Pork floss is available in Asian grocery stores. You can use chicken floss, fish floss, etc
7. Roasted seaweed
I use Korean roasted seaweed snack pack. They are salted and ready for consumption
8. Toasted white sesame seeds
Toasted white sesame seeds add a nice nutty aroma to the cookies
How to easily make pork floss seaweed cookies
1. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. 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. Stir in the meat floss mixture and combine well.
3. Sift in the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold and combine into a sticky cookie dough
4. Cover and chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour
5. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). I use a 1 Tbsp-size cookie scoop and scoop the cookie. You can use a spoon too or make them smaller if you wish. The dough is sticky but manageable because it’s cold. Roll it into a round ball and place them about 1 1/2 inches apart. The cookies will spread some but shouldn’t overspread
6. I suggest baking one tray at a time for the best result. Keep the other tray chilled in the fridge. I use a conventional oven (bottom heat, no fan). Place the tray in the middle rack and bake for 14-15 minutes for a soft melt-in-your-mouth texture. If your cookies are smaller, 12 minutes should do it. Add another minute or two if you want crispier cookies. The time is just a reference. Your oven may differ slightly
7. Remove from the oven and let them cool down on the pan for 5 minutes. They appear to be still very soft but will firm up as they cool down. Transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely
How to store baked cookies
Simply let them cool down completely and then transfer them to a cookie jar with a tight-fitting lid. They can be kept for few weeks at room temperature. You can also freeze them. Simply transfer the cooled down baked cookies into a freezer bag, push out all the air, and seal. Keep them in the freezer for no more than one month for the best result
Make-ahead cookie dough and freeze
1. Prepare and shape the cookie dough into individual dough ball as directed in the recipe
2. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Don’t let them touch each other. Freeze for 1 hour and then transfer to a freezer bag. They won’t stick to each other anymore. Push all the air out and seal. Label and date the bag. They can be kept for up to 3 months
3. When ready to bake, do not thaw. Follow instructions in the recipe and you may need to add 2-3 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the cookie you make
Did you make this 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!
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pork Floss Seaweed Cookies
Ingredients
- 230 gr butter unsalted and softened
- 75 gr icing sugar
Dry ingredients:
- 200 gr all-purpose flour
- 45 gr cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
Mix-ins:
- 50 gr pork floss or other meat or seafood floss of your choice
- 10 gr toasted white sesame seeds
- 15 gr Korean roasted seaweed
Instructions
- Cut the meat floss and seaweed into tiny pieces. Add sesame seeds and set aside
Prepare cookie dough:
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. 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
- Stir in the meat floss mixture and combine well. Sift in the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold and combine into a sticky cookie dough. Cover and chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour
Shape the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). I use a 1 Tbsp-size cookie scoop and scoop the cookie. You can use a spoon too or make them smaller if you wish. The dough is sticky but manageable because it's cold. Roll it into a round ball and place them about 1 1/2 inches apart. The cookies will spread some but shouldn't overspread
Bake the cookies:
- I suggest baking one tray at a time for the best result. Keep the other tray chilled in the fridge. I use a conventional oven (bottom heat, no fan). Place the tray in the middle rack and bake for 14-15 minutes for a soft melt-in-your-mouth texture. If your cookies are smaller, 12 minutes should do it. Add another minute or two if you want crispier cookies. The time is just a reference. Your oven may differ slightly
- Remove from the oven and let them cool down on the pan for 5 minutes. They appear to be still very soft but will firm up as they cool down. Transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely
8 comments
One of the most unusual cookies I’ve ever made- at least by American dessert standards… but they’d be right at home in a Chinese bakery and definitely bring to mind all those seaweed/kelp candies from Asia that are more sweet than salty. It’s a classically sweet butter cookie withs a notable salty-umaminess, but not as meaty or sea-tasting as you’d presume from the ingredients.
I had to use my best judgement with the floss and flour since I only have an analogue scale that doesn’t do smaller precise measurements (for a half-recipe), but I think it still worked out okay. My cookies had a little more spread than the photo here, but they still look like cookies lol. I might save my floss for congee, but it was definitely a neat recipe to try.
Ha..ha..you are right! Very unusual cookies by American standards for sure 🙂 My American friends were a bit scared to try this, which I don’t blame them at all because it’s hard to imagine pork floss and seaweed in a cookie, though I must say they also put bacon bits in cookies, but bacon bits probably sound more appealing than pork floss lol! What do you think of the cookies? You can try to chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 15-20 minutes right before baking if you don’t want them to spread too much.
The floss and congee are favorite combinations of mine 🙂
Hi Marvellina
As a follow-up to my earlier post regarding converting to “American” measurements.
This is the result of my conversion… hopefully they’re accurate:
1.1 Cup Butter Unsalted and Softened
3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
Dry Ingredients:
1.4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
6 TBSP Cornstarch
1/4 Tsp Salt
Mix-Ins:
1.8 Oz Pork Floss or Other Meat or Seafood Floss
1 1/8 TBSP Toasted White Sesame Seeds
.5 Oz Korean Roasted Seaweed
Doug
Thank you Doug! 🙂
Hi MARVELLINA
I enjoy your blog and copied several of your wonderful recipes.
Thank You for sharing your recipes and knowledge.
The only thing I wish was different is your ingredients portion.
After using “American” measurement for 80 years,
it’s cumbersome to having to convert “grams” to cups/ounces/pounds/pints, etc.
Have you considered using “American” and “Foreign” measurements ?
That would make your blog “perfect” in my eyes.
Doug
Hi Doug, I’m in the process of trying to include both measurements metric and American in all of the recipes. It might take a while, but that’s definitely one of my goals too 🙂 Thank you for helping to convert the pork floss seaweed cookies 🙂 I hope you enjoy them if you have the chance to try!
We finally got the ingredients and can’t wait to try this recipe out.
I hope it’s up to your standard 🙂