These cookies capture the aromatic and creamy tastes of Thai tea in a soft and chewy, crinkled-textured delight. Now imagine biting into a warm and flavorful crinkle cookie, and finding sweet and gooey strands of mochi inside!
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What is Thai Tea?
Thai tea, commonly known as "cha yen," is a popular and flavorful beverage originating from Thailand. It has a unique flavor profile, combining the richness of black tea with the creaminess of condensed milk. It is often sweet and can have hints of spices like star anise, tamarind, and crushed cardamom. The resulting tea has a distinct burnt orange color and a unique taste that is creamy, sweet, and slightly spiced!
What is Mochi and What Does It Taste Like?
Traditional mochi is a Japanese rice cake made from mochigome, a sweet glutinous rice. The process involves soaking the rice, steaming it, then pounding it into a smooth dough. It's then molded into various shapes and typically filled with something sweet, like red bean paste.
It is also possible to use glutinous rice flour to make a slightly different version of the treat. Glutinous rice flour, called mochiko, is a modern convenience that allows you to skip over the labor-intensive pounding phase! To make mochi, mix the glutinous rice flour with water and sugar, then microwave the mixture until it forms a sticky dough. Once done, the mochi will have a smooth, elastic consistency and can be shaped into various forms, making it a quick and convenient way to enjoy this chewy Japanese treat at home.
Glutinous rice flour is a common choice for dessert recipes with a delicately sweet and almost milky flavor. Its distinctive composition also results in a sticky and chewy texture when used in baking. Overall, mochi has a fun combination of chewiness and sweetness that makes it perfect as a filling for these cookies!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These Thai tea cookies are soft-baked with a chewy texture from the mochi filling!
- Bursting with Thai tea flavor in every bite.
- Crinkles create beautifully decorated cookies without the work!
- You can prepare the cookie dough in advance, and fill them with mochi to bake another day.
Tools
- Spice grinder, food processor or mortar and pestle - Used to grind your Thai tea leaves into a fine powder.
- Spatula - Using this will prevent overmixing your cookie dough. More about that in the "Tips and Tricks" section!
- Kitchen scale - Used to measure out most ingredients in my recipe. It's also used to carefully measure each portion of cookie dough to ensure uniform cookies and to avoid having remaining dough at the end!
- Cookie scooper - If you don't have a kitchen scale, you can also use the 2-tbsp cookie scooper to measure out your cookie dough balls.
- Baking sheet - You'll of course need a baking sheet to bake the cookies on! I recommend this one so you get perfectly baked and easily removable cookies.
Ingredients
Mochi
- Glutinous rice flour - I recommend Koda Farm's Mochiko brand. You can typically find it at Asian markets, but if you can’t, you can order it online. You can also use any other brand of glutinous rice flour; just make sure it says "sweet" or "glutinous" rice flour.
- Cornstarch - Used as a thickener, and when used in combination with flour, it can “soften” the hard proteins in gluten. It's also used to prevent the mochi sticking all over your hands. You can absolutely substitute cornstarch with potato starch.
- Milk - Adds creaminess, enhancing the flavor and softness of the mochi. You can also substitute with water if you don't have milk.
- Coconut oil - You can also substitute with unsalted butter.
Thai Tea Cookies
- Thai tea mix - I mainly use the Pantai brand with success. I have tried other thai tea mixes (like the 'Number One' brand) with the same taste, but different color (it came out a more murky orange). If you want that bright orange color, I recommend using Pantai. Also, make sure you are using the traditional loose leaves and not the instant kind!
- Milk - This does not have to be whole milk. Feel free to use any milk of your choice!
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - Although I usually call for room temperature butter in my cookie recipes, I will be using melted butter instead for these particular cookies! Working with melted butter gives you a very buttery cookie and will complement the other ingredients well (more about that in the "Frequently Asked Questions" below).
- Granulated sugar - Used to sweeten both the mochi and cookie.
- Egg - Make sure it is at room temperature, or you can leave it in a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes if you forget to do this beforehand.
- Vanilla extract
- Granulated sugar and powdered sugar - Roll your cookie dough balls first in the granulated sugar, then in the powdered sugar.
Tips and Tricks
- Sprinkle cornstarch over the mochi to prevent it from sticking to your hands, the surface, and each other, making it easier to handle. After cutting the mochi, dust each freshly cut side with cornstarch, using only as much as necessary.
- Do not overmix your cookie dough. Doing this can lead to tough and dense cookies. When adding in your flour, it's essential to mix the ingredients just until they come together to avoid developing too much gluten.
- Use a scale. When you’re ready to roll out the cookie dough into individual balls, I HIGHLY recommend using a scale to weigh each ball perfectly. Since everyone’s batter will weigh differently by the end, I advise weighing your whole batter first and then dividing into 11 to 12 balls (aim for 45-50g each). This is to avoid too-small or too-big cookies!
- Do not skip the chilling step. Especially because the recipe calls for melted butter, chilling the cookie dough before baking is absolutely essential. This will hydrate the flour, again helping the cookies to stay thick with a soft and chewy center.
- Make sure to work quickly when rolling the cookie dough and coating it with the sugars so the dough doesn’t get too warm before baking. If that happens, just pop the uncoated doughs back in the fridge for a few minutes until they set again.
- If baking one sheet at a time, make sure your next batch of uncoated dough balls are chilling in the fridge. This will prevent the cookie dough balls from becoming too warm before it goes into the oven. When ready to bake, that's when you can take them out, coat them quickly, and then bake.
- Do not overbake these cookies. These cookies should have soft, under-done, gooey centers. Monitor the baking time closely and take them out when the edges are lightly golden. They will continue to firm up as they cool on the baking sheet. Since everyone’s oven temperature may be different, I recommend first baking 1-2 cookies to gauge the best bake time for your batch.
Storage Instructions
- Storing - The mochi in these cookies can firm up and go bad quickly. It's recommended to consume these cookies on the day they were baked. Nevertheless, if stored in an airtight container, they can still be enjoyed for up to 3 days at room temperature. Just have the expectation that they will not look as visually appealing as when they were freshly baked!
- Freezing cookie dough - Make sure your mochi-stuffed cookie dough balls are uncoated in order to freeze them. In this state, they will freeze for up to 3 months. Before baking, let the frozen dough balls thaw at room temperature for at least 15-20 minutes before coating them in the sugars. Proceed with the baking instructions, making adjustments to the bake time by adding a few minutes if necessary.
- Freezing baked cookies - Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw them at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHY IS MY MOCHI TOUGH AND FIRM?
Extended cooking will result in increased dryness, making the mochi hard and rubbery when microwaved for too long. Also, not covering your mochi with cornstarch or wrapping it will lead to rapid drying, resulting in an unpleasantly hard texture.
WHY ARE YOU USING MELTED BUTTER FOR THE COOKIES?
Although traditional crinkle cookies use oil, I found that melted butter works best for my crinkle cookie recipes. This will create a richer and fudgier center, which means chewier cookies with a dense, compact texture. Expect a perfect balance of crisp edges and a soft, chewy center!
WHY DO YOU ROLL YOUR COOKIE DOUGH IN GRANULATED SUGAR BEORE ROLLING IN POWDERED SUGAR?
The granulated sugar provides a coating that encourages the distinctive "crackled" appearance during baking, while the powdered sugar, applied afterward, contributes to the cookies' characteristic crinkled texture by absorbing moisture and forming a delicate, sweet crust on the exterior. This combination enhances both the visual appeal and the overall taste and texture of the crinkle cookies!
WHY DID MY COOKIES SPREAD TOO MUCH?
The primary cause of crinkle cookies turning out flat is inadequate chilling of the dough, as warmer dough tends to spread faster, resulting in flattened cookies. Also, overmixing the cookie dough batter can contribute to cookies with a flatter appearance. When adding in the flour, make sure to mix only until just combined.
WHY DID MY COOKIES NOT SPREAD ENOUGH?
If your dough is too cold, the cookies may not spread adequately in the oven. If the dough has been chilled overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before rolling in your sugars.
WHY DIDN'T MY COOKIES CRACK?
Cracks commonly appear on the cookie surface when the top dries out before the interior sets, leading to expansion and cracking. If your crinkles aren't cracking, make sure that your oven is at the correct temperature by using an oven thermometer and that the leavening agent (baking powder) is not expired.
PrintRecipe
Thai Tea Mochi Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hr 30 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Category: cookies
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
These cookies capture the aromatic and creamy tastes of Thai tea in a soft and chewy, crinkled-textured delight. Now imagine biting into a warm and flavorful crinkle cookie, and finding sweet and gooey strands of mochi inside!
Ingredients
MOCHI
- 120 g glutinous rice flour
- 35 g granulated sugar
- 250 g milk
- 15 g coconut oil
- cornstarch, for coating
THAI TEA COOKIES
- 2 ½ tbsp Thai tea, ground
- 35 g milk
- 240 g all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 90 g unsalted butter, melted
- 160 g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- granulated sugar for coating
- powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
MOCHI
- Mix the flour, sugar, and milk in a microwaveable bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute.
- Remove bowl from the microwave and give the mochi mixture a quick mix to disperse the liquid. Cover and pop back into microwave for another 1 minute.
- Remove bowl from the microwave, and add the coconut oil to the hot mochi and mix. Cover and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Lightly flour a surface with cornstarch, Knead and stretch the dough onto the surface and separate into 12 equal portions. Coat each piece with a little cornstarch and set aside.
THAI TEA COOKIES
- Grind the loose leaf Thai tea into a fine powder using a spice grinder, food processor, or a pestle and mortar. Pull the powder through a sieve to get rid of larger particles. Make sure you have a total of 2 ½ tablespoons of ground Thai tea!
- In a small bowl, combine the sifted tea with milk and mix thoroughly. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter and sugar. Then add in the egg, vanilla, and Thai tea mixture until well combined.
- Fold in the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the granulated sugar to one small bowl and the powdered sugar in another. Set it aside.
- Each batch of cookie dough should make about 12 equal balls weighing about 45-50 grams (or about 2 tablespoons each). Flatten each ball out, add a piece of mochi to the middle, then carefully pinch in the edges to completely cover the mochi and form back into a ball¹.
- Coat each ball with granulated sugar, followed by a layer of powdered sugar, and arrange them approximately 1-1.5 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. If your baking sheet can't accommodate all the cookie dough balls, keep the remaining uncoated ones in the fridge until you're ready to bake.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the tops crack and the bottom edges begin to brown. After letting them cool on the pan for 2 minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
Notes
¹ Cookie dough can warm up quickly! If you feel like the dough has warmed up too much, pop them back in the fridge (uncoated) for at least 15-30 minutes and proceed with coating.
Karen
This looks like a very interesting baking project with delicious results. If I’m making the cookie dough a day ahead and refrigerate overnight, should I make the mochi balls the day of baking or the mochi balls can be made a day ahead as well? Do you think substituting evaporated milk for regular milk will give a taste more like Thai ice tea? Do you think the thicker consistency of the evaporated milk will work though? Thanks.
Anna Yang
Hi Karen! You can also make the mochi up to a day ahead - make sure to place the mochi in an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place. If you have the bandwidth though, I recommend making the mochi the day of baking as it is the freshest!
I have not tried making these cookies with evaporated milk. But you can certainly reconstitute evaporated milk by adding water! To substitute, I recommend using half the quantity of regular milk required and mixing it with an equal amount of water. Let me know how that goes!
Eliza
I don't have a microwave. How could a pressure cooker, saucepan or oven work for the mochi part? When I made my first mochi, I used the oven method but I'm don't see how it'll work the same to match what the recipe calls for. Any suggestions would be great. I have quite a lot of leftover rice flour I'd like to use up and these cookies look insanely good. thanks!
Anna Yang
Hi Eliza! You can certainly cook your mochi on a stovetop. On medium heat, cook the rice flour, sugar, and milk in a saucepan, stirring continuously. When you notice the mixture thickening, lower the heat and keep stirring until shiny and translucent. Pour your mochi onto a cornstarch-dusted surface to cool briefly before handling!