Thai Sugar Cookies

An unexpected ingredient gives these Phuket treats a crunchy fortune cookie-like texture.

Serves
Makes 50–60 cookies
Time
30 minutes

AUSTIN BUSH

Published on April 18, 2024

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In his travels through the island city of Phuket, cookbook author Austin Bush noticed an abundance of sweets and snacks made with wheat-based flour. Though most Thai-style treats are rice-based, the cuisine of Phuket province is shaped by the history of its Chinese residents, most notably laborers who brought with them an appetite for wheat-based noodles, breads, and treats. These cookies, sold by a Phuket bakery in operation for more than two generations, are known by Hokkien Chinese as khanom naa taek, or “cracked top.” Their light color and small size make them a perfect snack to accompany coffee or afternoon tea.

Ammonium bicarbonate is an ingredient used as a leavening agent in many Thai sweets and baked goods. During the baking process, it releases both carbon dioxide and ammonia, and can produce a strong, almost noxious smell. At high heat, however, the aroma disappears completely, leaving behind a flavor akin to fortune cookies. (If your oven can’t reach as high as 500°F, Bush suggests cranking it to its maximum heat and baking a minute or two longer to ensure your cookies emerge crispy, toasty, and ammonia-aroma-free.)

Featured in “Decades of Travel Inform This Guide to Southern Thai Cooking” by Jessica Carbone.

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Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. ammonium bicarbonate
½ tsp. fine salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1–2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

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Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 500°F.

Step 2

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, ammonium bicarbonate, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the oil, egg, food coloring (if using), and 1 tablespoon of water. Using your hands, knead until the ingredients are well incorporated.

Step 3

Roll heaping teaspoons (10 grams each) of the dough into balls and space at least ½ inch apart on two large unlined baking sheets. Using your finger, make a shallow dimple in the top of each ball.

Step 4

Bake, rotating halfway through, until the cookies are just firm and slightly toasted on the bottom, about 7 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheets. The cookies are best eaten the day they are baked but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.