Light, airy, and fragrant Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies) are a Chinese New Year favorite. Only 5 ingredients.
One of my most enduring childhood memories of Chinese New Year in Malaysia was the “kuih-making” party among the women in the clan. My aunts and other relatives will converge upon Grandma’s house for the annual molding and baking of Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies), Kuih Kapit (Love Letter Crepes), and Pineapple Jam Tarts. There was a festive air about it as the women worked and gossiped about the latest family news.
Banned from the kitchen, the men played mahjong. The rattle of tiles provided a back drop while we cooked in the kitchen. The children pretty much shuttled between the two groups, playing and hoping for some early treats from the kitchen.
The Young Apprentice
When I was younger, I pretty much played with my cousins but as I got older, I began to take an interest in the kitchen going-ons. I started my unofficial apprenticeship by taking on simple tasks like putting little red dots on freshly baked Kuih Bangkit, folding Kuih Kapit into fan-shaped triangles, and filling tart shells with pineapple jam. The real secrets to making these confections were at the beginning of the process during the mixing of the dough. This task was reserved for the most senior matriarchs of the clan.
The Matriarchs
These women, namely Ah-Mah (Grandma) and Ah-Poh (Grand Aunt), put together the ingredients using only hand measurements. They could tell whether the mixture was correct by the feel of their hands. When asked, they would use the famous expression agak-agak, which is Malay for “guesstimate”.
Secret Recipes of Kuih Bangkit and Kuih Kapit
These formidable women would not simply divulge their hard earned secrets to casual inquiry. One has to work one’s way through years of apprenticeship with them before learning some of the inner secrets on the exact dough mix. This is the reason why every family has its version of what makes a successful Kuih Bangkit or Kuih Kapit.
Many of us left home without knowing the full details of the exact mixes. Hence, the difficulty in bringing these recipes to the modern audience. Also, having moved to different lands, the different types of flour needed may not be exactly what was once available.
Kuih Bangkit – Deceptively Simple
Kuih Bangkit, a powdery sweet cookie seemed very easy to make but is in fact very challenging. To get that light, airy texture is no small feat. The tapioca flour has to be pan fried with pandan leaves until light and fluffy. The egg and sugar mixture is hand whipped with a spring beater until light and frothy before the cooked flour and freshly squeezed coconut milk are added to the mix. It is then kneaded to form a soft pliable dough that is not too moist or dry. It sounds easy, right? Grandma and Grand Aunt certainly made it look easy but try recreating it in your modern kitchen and you will agree that this “not-too-moist-or-dry” thing is almost a fluke shot.
Room for Improvement
Not having attempted these since I left my childhood home, it took me several tries to get it right. I am fortunate to have inherited my Mother-in-law’s (another matriarch in her own right) wooden Kuih Bangkit molds which I finally put to good use. What you see here today is an approximation of the family recipe and like all approximations there is always room for improvements.
Similar Tools Used in Making These Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies)
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Stainless Steel 5 Inch Fine Mesh Flour Sifter
Hamilton Beach Power Deluxe Hand Mixer
Pyrex Prepware 1-Cup Measuring Cup
Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1 lb tapioca flour (450g)
- 6 pandan leaves (rinsed and dried)
- 2 egg yolk
- ¾ cup sugar / castor sugar (165g)
- 1 can coconut milk (14 oz/400ml)
- A few drops of red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Place tapioca flour in a baking tray. Cut pandan leaves into 3 inch lengths and bury them in the tapioca flour. Place in a 200°F (93°C) oven for 1 hour. Remove and allow tapioca flour to cool. **
- Sift cooked tapioca flour. You should get about 14 oz (396g) of cooked flour. Reserve ¼ cup (1 oz/28g) for dusting wooden molds.
- Do not shake coconut milk in can. Open and scoop out about ¾ cup (180ml) coconut cream/thick coconut milk. Set aside.
- Cream egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add ⅓ of the cooked tapioca flour and ⅓ of the coconut cream. Mix with a spatula. Continue until all flour and coconut cream are used up.
- Gently knead to form a soft dough. If dough appears to be too dry, add 1 to 2 additional tablespoons of coconut cream. Turn dough onto counter to knead if necessary. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Place dough back in the bowl and cover with a moist towel.
- Place reserved cooked tapioca flour in a muslin/filter bag. Dust wooden kuih bangkit mold.
- Pinch a little dough from the bowl and press into each of the wooden mold indentations. Trim off excess with a butter knife. Gently tap wooden mold on the counter to release molded cookies. Place on a parchment lined baking tray.
- If you do not have wooden kuih bangkit mold, you can use small 1 inch cookie cutters. Lightly flour working surface and rolling pin with a little cooked tapioca flour. Gently roll dough out to ¼ inch thick. Dip cookie cutter in cooked tapioca flour and cut into shapes.
- Bake cookies in a 325°F (163°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Bottom of cookies should be lightly browned. Remove and allow cookies to cool completely.
- Dot cookies with red food coloring if desired. Store in an air tight container for up to 1 month.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Update: January 12, 2018
Some people have suggested using sago flour in place of tapioca flour. Since sago flour is seldom available outside of Malaysia and Singapore, I had to purchase it on one of my visits back to Kuala Lumpur. Upon my return to the US, I made the cookies using the sago flour but was not satisfied with the results. The cookies lack flavor and the batter spread out and puffed up during baking. They did not look pretty at all. I have tried it twice. Once with just sago flour and another time with a combination of tapioca and sago flour. I have yet to get the combination right. Will try again soon. Stay tuned…
Update: February 8, 2018
Finally, after several tries I am satisfied with this version of Kuih Bangkit Sago and Tapioca Flours. You can get the recipe and read all about it by clicking on the picture below.
Love this kuih bangkit. Your mold is beautiful . I have one but too shallow but I would love to try out your recipe one day 🙂 Still in lazy mode heehee. Thanks Linda for sharing the recipe with us 🙂
Thanks Elin! I have two other molds that are also quite shallow. My mom-in-law used them well. Tiny and delicate Kuih Bangkit are actually better. They tend to have the melt-in-the-mouth effect.
Linda i love the kuih bangkit that yoy show i now live in Los angeles and teying to learn all the traditions kuih
I do have a mould like yours and will try out using your recipe
Glad you found my website! 🙂
These are just so pretty!
Thanks Kecia! 🙂
cant wait to try these
Mine turned out to be hard, and not much of the coconut taste. But my husband loves them. I prefer them light & crumbly.
Any advice?
Many thanks
For some reason, these cookies can be quite a challenge. As I have mentioned, it took me a few tries to get it right. I am not certain why but it may have to do with the humidity of the place and the moisture content in the tapioca flour and also the quality of the coconut milk. Make sure your flour is dry and fluffy and buy the best quality coconut milk you can find in your area. In the old days, freshly squeezed coconut milk was used.
Dear Linda
I have follow your Kueh Bangkit Recipe but it don melt inside mouth but after bake it become hard
I not sure am I using the correct flour
I use tapioca starch and every single step I follow your receipe
Hope to try again
I love your Receipe because every step you explain very detail and given the full receipe to us
I also love your voice
Thank you
Annie
You may want to try with tapioca flour instead of tapioca starch. Make sure to dry out the flour until it is light and fluffy.
Thank you so much for your kind comments. 🙂
gong hey fat choy!
I just made these using your recipe. I *doubled* the recipe because it’s CNY and my husband and family (from Penang) love them. I ended up using 1 1/2 cans of coconut milk and it was still too wet so I added about 1/4 cup extra (unfried tapioca flour). After baking they came out undone in the middle, not melt in your mouth like I expected. Should I have used coconut cream instead? Any ideas/thoughts. Thanks again for the video too.
Kong Hee Fatt Choy! Depending on the brand of coconut milk used, it is best to scoop out just the cream. Also, uncooked tapioca flour should not be used. It has to be dried out. That said, these cookies can be quite a challenge. Do not give up. You should get it after a few tries.
Thank you for posting this recipe. Just discovered your post. My childhood favorite cookie. Was wondering if heavy whipping cream could be incorporated in the event if the canned coconut was not creamy enough ? Also, if pandan extract can be substituted in the event if pandan leaves are not available? Thanks.
The fragrance of these cookies comes from the coconut milk and pandan leaves. Not sure if whipping cream can be used as a substitute. If you decide to give it a try, you will probably have to add some vanilla extract. I am not a fan of pandan extract. In my opinion, it does not smell anything like the real thing at all. Pandan paste is much better but you can only get pandan paste with added green food coloring which will tint the cookies a bright green.
Use the coconut milk that comes in a block. It’s packaged in a box that fits in the palm. It’s consistently thick and should do the job.
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but I think I will when i get down to making the cookies. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Linda,
These look really yummy and I can’t wait to try making it! However I was wondering to get the “cream” from the coconut milk, should i turn the coconut milk can upside down and refrigerate it? I heard that it can separate better?
Also, can i halve the recipe? If i can, does that change the baking/drying time of the tapioca flour?
I hope that made sense! Thank you very much.
Kind regards,
Sara
I have never tried turning the can upside down and so I would not be able to tell you if that would work better. I usually shake the can if I am using the milk for curries and other dishes. In this case, I open the can without shaking it so that the cream stays on the top.
You can certainly halve the recipe. Try baking/drying the tapioca flour for 45 minutes. If you see that it is not light and fluffy, then continue baking/drying for another 15 minutes. Hope that helps.
Hi, your recipe helps me alot! But i would to know if i still need to leave the tapioca flour for 5-7 days after baking it?
Can i use coconut milk instead of cream?
I am not sure where you got that 5 to 7 days bit from but it will not hurt to let the flour thoroughly dry out. As for the coconut milk, be sure to use as little water as possible to extract the coconut milk. Otherwise, the cookies may turn out hard.
I have given up making kuih bangkit long time ago until I chanced upon your recipe. I dug out the wooden mould that my mom had left me. And in one week, I have managed to make 2 batches. They were perfect. I managed to get the ‘not too moist not too dry’ consistency, n the ‘melt in the mouth’ effect. My mom would be very pround of me.
Yay…so happy to hear that your kuih bangkit turned out well! The trick is to get the flour really dry and fluffy and to add thick creamy coconut milk extracted without water if possible. 🙂
In the tropics where the humidity is more or less constant, the amount of time required to dry out the flour is more or less the same. In temperate climates, seasonal humidity affects the drying time, sometimes drastically.
Hi Linda..
I love your recipe and I want to try it out.
The problem is I m staying in California and no idea where to get the mold..
Do you think I can get it here in California?
But where and how to get the mold for Kuih Bangkit..??
Let me know.. thanks.
Eunice.
Please use 1 inch cookie cutters instead. I don;t think you will be able to find the mold in California.
Hi Linda,
Does it matter if the eggs are in room temperature or cold from the refrigerator when making Kuih Bangkit?
Leaving the eggs out for a few minutes may be a good idea so that they incorporate well with the sugar.
Hi Linda, I’m just curious, is there any significance behind the red dot? Luck perhaps?
The color white on its own is considered to be a mourning color. The red dot is to counteract that.
hi Linda,
I cannot find the mould here . Can I roll them into a ball instead?
Please use small 1-inch cookie cutters. A ball may be too thick.
Linda, I must tell you that I followed your recipe and the outcome was great! My kuih bangkit was so good although I encountered problems knocking out the biscuits from the mould. I dusted my mould very well or so I thought but the dough kept sticking to it and I had to dig out bits of dough. It was so much work. I eventually used some cookies cutters. They were big cutters but it was still tasty. I will use your recipe again but only after I purchase smaller cutters. I can’t see myself using moulds again. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I am so glad to hear that the recipe turned out well for you. Kuih Bangkit can be very challenging but it is definitely possible. Yes, the wooden molds can be tricky sometimes especially if they are new. Plastic molds are much easier to use.
Hi Linda,
Can I use Sago Flour instead of Tapioca Flour?
Yes, you can. Apparently, sago flour makes the kuih bangkit melt in the mouth. I have tried using 100% sago flour but was not satisfied with the results because it lacks flavor and the batter spreads when baking. Hence, the shapes are all too puffed up and not pretty to look at. I am still working on it to get the correct mix of the two flours. Will share once I get it right.
Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I am very happy that I have successfully made the kuih bangkit, my first attempt, following your recipe. How much sugar content to reduce if I want to make it for the elderly? Do I need to bake any excess flour ( from the 450g flour) after I have kept it for a week ?
You are welcome! I would not do less than half cup sugar or it will not taste very good unless you don’t mind it.
hi,
is Tapioca Starch Flour same as Tapioca Flour? Can I use Tapioca Starch Flour instead?
Please use tapioca flour and not tapioca starch.
Hello Aunty Linda!
A fellow KL-ite who’s living in New York! Thank you so much for your recipe! My first attempt at Kuih Bangkit was a success! Thanks to your video! I accidentally bought tapioca starch but it worked well because I didn’t over-knead it. I can’t express how helpful your video is. The kneading process is a tricky one and you helped me through it! The kuih was melt in your mouth and it reminded me of cny in malaysia. The biggest mistake I made was buying coconut Cream that was already sweetened. I cut down on the sugar but it’s still too sweet for my liking. I wish we could just buy fresh santan from the PakCik at the Pasar Pagi. Oh well! I know what to do next time!
I wish I could attach a picture to show you. I used a cookie cutter and the cookies are nicely cracked on the top. Anyway! I’m so glad I found your recipe!!
Good to hear from you Hui-Shan. I am glad to hear that my recipe worked out well for you. These cookies look deceptively easy to make but they can be quite a challenge. The trick is to be patient with the beating of the egg yolks and sugar and kneading the dough. People tend to want to put in more coconut cream than is necessary.If you think you should add just a little more is when you should stop. As long as the flour holds together and is workable, it will be just fine. 🙂
Hi is there any way of making these without eggs.as i am vegan. Thanks
I have not tried it but I think it will be lacking in taste.
Hi,
What is the difference in the cookie (taste and melt in mouth) for the 100% tapioca flour and the mixture of tapioca and sago flour?
How different will they turn out?
I’m deciding which recipe should I try out with?
Thanks!
I believe I have talked about it at length –> here.
Hi Linda,
I cant find tapioca flour here. Is there a way to substitute it with all purpose flour or corn starch instead?
Thank you
Do not use all-purpose flour. Other types of flour used are arrow root flour or sago flour but that may be even more difficult to come by here.
Hi
I baked the whole bag tapiaco flour (1 LB), and end result I get is 445g instead of 396g.
Did I baked it wrong ? Can I still use the flour or do i need to reduce it to 396g?
Thanks
For best results, it is advisable to get it as dry as possible.