Kuih kapit cookie from Malaysia

Kuih kapit cookie from Malaysia

Kuih kapit literally means clamp cookie in Malay. In Malaysia this cookie is baked in a special waffle iron that is held over a charcoal fire. Timing is crucial. A kuih kapit that is baked too short stays soft, but a few moments too long on the fire and the cookie burns to a crisp. The origin of this cookie probably lies in the Netherlands. There is a similar traditional Dutch recipe for wafeltjes made with plain flour, sugar, butter. Dutch merchants brought the waffle iron and the recipe with them to Malaysia on their ships. Because butter was hard to get hold of in the tropics, it was replaced by coconut milk. This cookie is also eaten in the countries around Malysia and a rolled up version is a popular New Year cookie in China. Kuih kapit is also known as the love letter cookie. And it does resemble a carefully folded piece of paper. But don’t try to open this delicate wafer to try and find secret love messages: the crispy cookie will break into pieces immediately. I love the creamy coconut taste of this crispy thin cookie and can eat a lot of them, even without the promise of hidden romantic messages.

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Kuih kapit cookie from Malaysia

all the ingredients

for about 20 cookies

2 eggs
50 grams caster sugar
50 grams rice flour
15 grams plain flour
pinch of salt
225 milliliter thick coconut milk

rice flour, plain flour, sugar and salt

Put the rice flour, the plain flour, the sugar and the salt in a bowl.

add 2 eggs

Add the eggs.

a thick batter

Mix with a whisk into a thick batter without lumps.

with the coconut milk

Whisk in the coconut milk.

in the waffle iron

neatly folded

Preheat a (non-stick) electric waffle iron to medium high. Pour about 30 milliliters of the batter in the middle of the iron. Close and bake for 2-4 minutes until golden brown.

Take the cookie out of the iron and fold in two. Fold again to make a triangular kuih kapit.

This post is also available in: Dutch