korean honey cookies - yakgwa

Name: Korean Honey Cookies - Yakgwa
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 15 min
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 3 cups vegetable oil (for deep-frying); ## HONEY COOKIES; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup sesame oil; 1/4 cup honey; 1/4 cup rice wine or sake; 1/4 cup water; ## GINGER-SPICED HONEY SYRUP; 1 cup honey; 1/2 cup rice syrup (substitute honey if you can't find rice syrup or rice malt syrup); 1/2 cup water; 1 small piece gresh ginger, sliced thinly (or you can use 1 to 2 tsp ground ginger); ## TOPPING; 2 tablespoon(s) sesame seeds; 1/4 cup - pine nuts, finely chopped

3 Pinches

Vickie Parks

Renton, WA

Updated on May 27, 2019

Yakgwa (or sometimes spelled Yak-kwa) is a traditional sweet cookie from Korea. Instead of cutting the dough into diagonal-edged rectangles as covered in the recipe instructions below, some families prefer to roll the dough into a large circle and then use 1-inch cookie cutters to make round cookie shapes with decorative scalloped or flower-like edges. The title translates to 'medicinal confection' (as yak means medicine and gwa means confection), because earlier generations valued honey for its medicinal qualities, and many honey-based dishes were named 'yak'.

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prep time 1 Hr

cook time 15 Min

method Deep Fry

yield about 60 cookies

Ingredients

3 cups vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
HONEY COOKIES
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup rice wine or sake
1/4 cup water
GINGER-SPICED HONEY SYRUP
1 cup honey
1/2 cup rice syrup (substitute honey if you can't find rice syrup or rice malt syrup)
1/2 cup water
1 small piece gresh ginger, sliced thinly (or you can use 1 to 2 tsp ground ginger)
TOPPING
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup - pine nuts, finely chopped

How To Make korean honey cookies - yakgwa

Step 1

Add flour and sesame oil to a medium-size mixing bowl, and mix together with your hands. Rub the flour between your hands and fingers until well combined.

Step 2

In another bowl, whisk together the honey, rice wine (or sake) and water together. Add the flour mixture to the honey mixture, and knead gently with your hands until a dough forms. It should be the consistency and texture of a pie crust. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes.
Step 3

After 30 minutes, roll dough on a lightly floured a flat surface into a square about 1/2-inch thick. Cut dough into 1-inch strips. Then with a knife, cut strips to make 1-inch rectangles with diagonal edges (sort of diamond-shaped). Or if preferred, use 1-inch cookie cutters with scalloped edges to cut flower-shaped circles. Using the tip of a fork, pierce holes into center of the tops of each cookie.
Step 4

MAKE GINGERED-HONEY SYRUP: Place rice syrup, honey and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and them immediately remove from heat. Transfer syrup to a baking dish large enough to hold all the cookies at once, and set aside.
Step 5

Heat oil in a saucepan to 300°F.
Step 6

Working in small batches, place cookies in oil, and let deep-fry about 4 to 5 minutes or until puffy and all cookies are floating on the top, gently turning occasionally for even frying.
Step 7

Remove cookies from oil, and place in Gingered-Honey Syrup for a few minutes (to allow syrup to be absorbed), turning at least once to allow even coating.
Step 8

Using a slotted spoon, remove cookies from syrup and place on strip of parchment paper. Sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds and pine nuts on top of each cookie.
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