Soft and chewy crinkle cookies are infused with the flavor and sweetness of sweet red bean paste is amazingly good. The recipe can be made with egg or without egg.
I always have sweet red bean paste in stock. I usually make a large batch and then portion it out into smaller portions and freeze. So I was craving
for crinkle cookies and I want to use up my red bean paste stash and that’s how these sweet red bean paste crinkle cookies are created 🙂
I also like to use it as a filling for steamed buns like dou sha bao, a pastry such as Shanghai mooncake, a dessert such as
mochi rolls with red bean paste, a dumpling such as sago crystal dumpling, breakfast waffles like sweet red bean mochi waffles. The possibilities are pretty endless actually!
Ingredients
1. All-purpose
flour
I use unbleached all-purpose flour. You can use regular bleached all-purpose flour too. Try not to substitute with cake flour or pastry flour as the texture will be too crumbly
2. Sweet red bean paste
I use my homemade sweet red bean paste
3. Butter
Use softened unsalted butter
4. Egg yolk (for egg version)
Egg yolk adds
richness, moisture, and a more chewy texture to a cookie. The eggless version will use plain yogurt instead
5. Sugar
I use regular granulated sugar. You can also use monk fruit sweetener or allulose or other Keto-friendly sweeteners
6. Brown sugar
The brown sugar will add a nice “molassey” flavor to the cookies and gives a nice chewy texture too
7. Baking powder
I decided to use baking powder instead of baking soda. After
few rounds of retesting, baking powder gives a nice puff so the cookies won’t be as flat, but not too puffy that it makes the cookies too “cakey”
How to make sweet red bean paste crinkle cookies
1. Place the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to mix. Set aside.
2. Use a rubber spatula to mash the softened butter.
3. Then add both sugar and mix until combined
4. Add room temperature yolk (for egg version) or yogurt (for eggless version) and mix until combined
5. Add red bean paste and mix to combine
6. Add the dry ingredients and food coloring (if using). Use a spatula to fold to combine. Don’t overwork the dough, just mix until you don’t see any more loose flour. The dough will be very sticky at this point. Do not be tempted to add more flour
7. Cover the cookie dough and let it chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight is best if you have the time
8. Preheat oven at 325 F. Scoop about 1 Tbsp of the cookie dough out. Roll it into a ball and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Spray your palms with some cooking spray if the dough gets a bit sticky
9. Roll each one in granulated sugar first and then generously roll them in icing sugar. This step prevents the icing sugar from being absorbed by the dough and you won’t get the crinkle effect. Roll them several times to make sure each ball is well-coated or the confectioners’ sugar will not show much after baking
9. Pop them into the oven, 3rd rack from the top. Let them bake for 13 minutes for really soft cookies or 14-15 minutes if you want them crispier on the outside. They will still appear to be very soft when you pull them out from the oven.
10. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely. They will firm up a bit as they cool down. The inside is still soft
These cookies are not overly sweetened and you can taste that hint of red bean paste in there.
Tips
1. Make sure you coat
the cookies in granulated sugar first and then heavily coat with icing sugar/powdered sugar
2. Cookies appear to be very very soft when they are first out from the oven. Let them cool down on the baking sheet first before gently moving to a cooling rack. They will firm up further as they cool down, so keep that in mind
3. For a vegan version, simply replace butter with margarine, coconut oil, or vegan butter
How to store baked crinkle cookies
1. Let the crinkle cookies cool down completely and then transfer to an air-tight container
2. You can also freeze them by putting them in a freezer bag. Simply
thaw in the fridge before serving
How to store unbaked crinkle cookies dough
1. Shape the dough into a disc. Wrap tightly in a cling wrap and then put inside a freezer bag.
2. Simply thaw in the fridge and then proceed to shape the cookies and coat in granulated sugar and then icing sugar and bake according to the instruction
Did you make this anko/sweet red bean paste crinkle cookies recipe?
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The recipe has been retested and updated on 12/31/2021. The previous recipe yield more light, airy, and “cakey” crinkle cookies. This latest version has that slight crisp on the edge, soft and chewy center.
Sweet Red Bean Paste/ Anko Crinkle Cookies (with Egg or Eggless)
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Chill cookie dough 4 hrs
Total Time 4 hrs 32 mins
Servings 18 cookies
Ingredients
Optional (to add red color) - use either one:
- 1 tsp red yeast rice powder for coloring
- Tiny drop of red food gel
Wet ingredients:
- 113 gr red bean paste you can use store-bought too
- 113 gr butter softened
- 150 gr sugar
- 50 gr egg 1 large egg without the shell
For eggless crinkle cookies:
- 50 gr plain yogurt
Instructions
Prepare cookie dough:
Place the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to mix. Set aside. I suggest not using an electric mixer. Use a rubber spatula to mash the softened butter. Then add both sugar and mix until combined. Add room temperature egg (for egg version) or yogurt (for eggless version) and mix until combined. Add red bean paste and mix to combine
Add the dry ingredients and food coloring (if using). Use a spatula to fold to combine. Don't overwork the dough, just mix until you don't see any more loose flour. The dough will be very sticky at this point. Do not be tempted to add more flour
Cover the cookie dough and let it chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight is best if you have the time
Shape the cookies:
Preheat oven at 350 F (180 C). When the oven is done preheating, scoop about 1 1/2 Tbsp (30 grams) of the cookie dough out. The dough is still sticky but easier to handle because it's cold. Spray your palms with some non-stick cooking spray or coat lightly with a bit of oil. Roll it into a round ball and place them on a lined cookie sheet
Roll each one in granulated sugar first and then generously roll them in icing sugar. This step prevents the icing sugar from being absorbed by the dough and you won't get the crinkle effect. Roll them 2 more times in icing sugar to make sure each ball is well-coated or the confectioners' sugar will not show much after baking
Baking:
Put the baking sheet into the oven, 3rd rack from the top. Let them bake for 12-13 minutes for crisp on the edge and soft center. This yield soft chewy cookies. They will still appear to be very soft at the center when you pull them out from the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. They will firm up a bit as they cool down.
Video (appear as pop-up)
Notes
If you use margarine, the cookies will spread out more and thinner and hence, crispier in texture.
Recommended products:
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Sweet Red Bean Paste/ Anko Crinkle Cookies (with Egg or Eggless)
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Marvellina
Marvellina is a food blogger, recipe developer, photographer, and publisher at What To Cook Today. A food blog that brings you tried and true Asian recipes.