When I came across this Thai cookie I fell in love with it instantly. It has such a beautiful and delicate shape! This traditional cookie is named after an ivory coloured three-petaled flower called lamduan. The Thai perfume the cookie with the smoke of a special dessert candle or with rose-water, vanilla. As I did not have a special dessert candle, I flavoured mine with a few drops of rose-water. I did try to smoke some with a non toxic perfumed candle. The result was just a hint of a scent.
Why don’t you try my take on this cookie made with lemongrass and lime: lemongrass and lime kleeb lamduan.
KLEEB LAMDUAN
makes about 20 cookies
75 grams icing sugar
150 gram cake flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon rose water (or 1 Thai dessert candle)
± 120 milliliter neutral vegetable oil (don’t use olive oil!)
Sift the icing sugar and place it in a bowl with the flour, the salt and the rose-water
Pour in 100 milliliters of the oil and mix together. Add a tablespoon more oil and try to bring the mixture together. The dough should not longer be crumbly and should not stick to the bowl anymore. Break of a small piece and see if it can be rolled into a ball without falling apart. Add a tablespoon more of the oil, knead the dough and try again. The end result should be a nice glossy ball of dough.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Divide the dough into little balls of about 3 cm ∅. Keep some dough separate to make the stamen. Cover a cookie sheet with baking paper.
Cut the balls into quarters to form the petals. Arrange 3 petals on the cookie sheet with the tips slightly overlapping and press together in the middle. Roll a little ball of 0,5 cm ∅ to form the stamen and place in the middle of the petals. Make 3 shallow lines in the stamen that point in the direction of the petals. Repeat until all the dough is finished.Place the cookie sheet in the middle of the oven and bake 10-12 minutes. The cookies should be set, but still nice and pale in color. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on the cookie sheet.
Handy hint
I chilled the little dough balls in the fridge for about 20 min. The dough will firm up and it is easier to cut nice crisp edges.
If you have managed to get hold of a Thai dessert candle , arrange the cookies on a plate that can be covered completely with a glass or ceramic bowl. Place the candle on the plate. Light the candle and cover the plate with the bowl. The candle will stop burning because of the lack of oxygen and will produce a cloud of fragrant smoke. Leave them under the bowl for about 30 min. so that they have the chance to absorb the fragrance.
This post is also available in: Dutch