Those cookies are very worth doing. They focus the flavor on the red bean paste while looking fancier than they are difficult to cook (which is always a good thing).

Ingredients (2 person):

  • 1 egg
  • 50 grams of salted butter
  • 100 grams of flour
  • 25 grams of icing sugar1
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 100 grams of red bean paste2
  • optional: 1 additional egg for brushing3
  • optional: sesame seeds

Preparation:

  • whisk the egg in a bowl
  • add the softened4 butter and mix until homogeneous
  • add the flour, icing sugar and vanilla extract
  • mix until smooth5
  • cover and refrigerate for one hour

Assembly

  • get the dough on a floured6 surface
  • using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a long rectangle
  • shape the red bean paste into a thick bar and place it in the middle of the rectangle
  • carefully fold the two sides of the rectangle over the bar and flip it to put the seam down
  • cut the resulting bar of dough into squarish cookies

Decoration

  • whisk the additional egg and brush the cookies with it7
  • sprinkle some sesame seeds on the cookies

Baking

  • bake 20 to 25 minutes at 360F (180C)
  • let cool down a little before eating

Credits:

This recipe is mostly my notes on China Sichian Food’s Red Bean Paste Cookie.

  1. Also known as powdered sugar in the Americas. In a pitch, you can blend some white sugar or just use the same weight of white sugar. ↩︎

  2. You can make it yourself but it is significantly easier to just buy it (you will find it in Asian grocery stores or even on the Internet). Crème de marron (chestnut cream) would be an acceptable substitute. ↩︎

  3. This would be enough for 6 people’s worth of cookies. ↩︎

  4. You can leave it on the counter until it is soft or microwave it for 10 to 20 seconds. ↩︎

  5. Here you might think that you do not have enough dough. Don’t worry, it will be enough. ↩︎

  6. The dough will be sticky. ↩︎

  7. You can use a brush or your fingers. ↩︎