There’s something about the festive season that just screams cookies! From gingerbread and speculoos to shortbread and linzer cookies and everything in between. But one particular kind of festive cookie has always caught my eye, and yet I had never tried…

Crinkle cookies!

I wanted to do something different to chocolate or red velvet crinkle cookies that you often see this time of year and immediately thought of Pandan with it’s lovely green colour and soft floral taste.

Is Pandan really a Christmas flavour? I say why not?! The lovely green colour seems pretty festive to me. Here in Australia, tropical fruits like mango and passionfruit are just as much Christmas as cranberries and cherries. This beautiful South-East Asian ingredient is often described as “Asian vanilla”.

I like to keep some pandan leaves in the freezer to add when cooking rice or infusing into coconut cream, but in baking I prefer to use pandan extract. It’s the easiest way to get both colour and flavour into my dish. The extract is also easier to find than the fresh leaves. I have always been able to find it in my local Asian grocery.

In my research for the best way to make these cookies, there was several differing opinions. Some recipes needed an overnight rest in the fridge and others said to bake straight away. Some bloggers preferred to use vegetable oil instead of butter and many more still were just adapting a packet cake mix. We like to make things from scratch around here, so when I found Queen of Cookies Broma Bakery, I knew I could trust her! She definitely knows her stuff when it comes to all things cookie related.

It’s a really simple recipe that comes together super quickly for those #lastminutechristmas vibes. You could definitely get away with making a big batch of these on Christmas Eve! I really liked the double dip of caster sugar and THEN icing sugar which helped to get an extra snow-white crinkle appearance. You can’t really use too much icing sugar here! If you don’t use enough, it will dissolve into the cookie itself, so you want a thick, even layer to get those distinct beautiful crackles in the surface.

The original recipe says not to chill the dough but I found a short 10-15 minute rest in the fridge gave me the perfect size cookie that spread a little in the oven but not too much. However it is summer here, so room temperature is on the warm side right now. I would also reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and cook them for a few minutes longer to avoid the slight browning at the edges (which wouldn’t be noticeable on a chocolate cookie).

You may have figured out that I’m very into homemade Christmas gifts and cookies are just perfect for sharing. I also love the idea of sharing new flavours with your friends who may have never tried Pandan before! Served warm from the oven they were super gooey and soft, but got a nice chewy texture and slightly crisp exterior when cooled completely. The flavour was also more pronounced when the cookies had cooled.

For a special treat why not make my Pandan version AND Broma Bakery’s Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies? They would look so festive when stacked together or packaged in a tin, alternating green and red cookies!

Related Post: Candy Cane & Gingerbread Stuffed Cheesecake Cookies

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Pandan Crinkle Cookies

Classic Christmas Cookies with a twist! These Pandan Crinkle Cookies use a delicious South-East Asian ingredient that has a floral taste and beautiful, festive green colour.

Course Cookies

Keyword Christmas, Cookies

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 112 g butter softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pandan extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2 1/3 cups plain all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup icing sugar powdered sugar/confectioner’s sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl and beating well to fully combine.
3. Add the pandan extract and coconut extract and mix to combine.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and then mix again until combined.
5. Fill two smaller bowls with caster sugar in one and icing sugar in the other. Use an ice cream scoop or tablespoon to scoop cookie dough. Roll the balls in caster sugar first and then into the icing sugar to coat generously. You can’t really use too much icing sugar here. Place on the baking tray, leaving at least 3-4 cm gap between them for cookies to spread in the oven.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cookies have a crackled top but are still a little soft in the center. Allow to cool completely. Repeat with remaining mixture until all cookies are baked.