Indonesian Cookies for the Holiday that You Should Try while Traveling in Indonesia
What do you know about Indonesian cookies for the holiday?
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Soon Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas and a week after that the whole world is welcoming the New Year. Currently, the ladies in the Christian family in Indonesia are busy preparing cookies for family and friends, cookies that are staple in every household for the holiday.
For those who don’t have time to bake, they will place an order with friends, or relatives, or buy it from the store.
If you happen to be in Indonesia at the end of the year, try these staple Indonesian cookies for the holiday that you can easily find in any supermarket or bakery.
When you plan to be in Indonesia during Ramadhan, you will find more of them because these cookies are also a staple in every household during the Moslem holiday.
Prices are varied, depending on the ingredients used for the cookies. Normally ones with higher prices are using Wijsman, an imported butter from the Netherlands. The cookies smell and taste better than ones that use regular butter or margarine.
Even the Indonesians who live overseas will try to find Wijsman from the Asian Markets or check Amazon before the holiday. Other European-made butters don’t taste the same.
So, here are the Indonesian cookies for the holiday.
Indonesian Cookies for the Holiday
1. Nastar (Pineapple Tart)
This melt-in-your-mouth-shaped cookie is filled with homemade pineapple jam.
In the beginning, everyone shaped it to look like a leaf, but lately, only a few still doing it. More people just shape it into a ball. It’s faster and more practical.
And now, people can always buy the homemade pineapple jam at the cooking store, too.
After I moved to the U.S., I tried making it several times, but I never found fresh pineapple with quality like the ones from Indonesia. I ended up putting lots of sugar which I didn’t like. So, I stopped making it.
2. Kaastengels (Cheese Cookies)
Another shaped cookie that probably originated from the Netherlands. It uses old hard cheese like Edam or Gouda.
This cookie is easily gone in seconds once you take it from the oven. Well, who doesn’t like warm cookies, right?
I would say kaastengels taste like cheese crackers, but it’s thicker because it contains more flour.
3. Kue Putri Salju (Snow Ball Cookies/Mexican Wedding Cake)
I remember we made it in the late 70s for the first time, but I don’t know when people started baking it for the holidays.
Originally, it was only plain balls or crescent moon shape. Now people like to mix it with nuts which tastes better.
Growing up, one of my brothers could finish a container of this cookie that my mother had to bake again before Christmas and New Year’s arrived.
4. Kue Semprit (Spritz Cookies)
People fall in love with its beautiful flowery shapes, with a raisin, dried fruits, or a piece of chocolate chips put on top. It’s crisp and with its buttery taste, children love this cookie. It comes in vanilla or chocolate flavor.
(In case you do not know, Indonesia is the #3 cacao producer in the world. You can find different brands of Indonesian-made chocolate there. Don’t forget to check them out.)
5. Kembang Goyang (Rosettes Cookies)
Another flower-shaped cookie, but the flour dough is deep-fried instead of baked. It’s like rosette cookies from Sweden, but the Indonesian recipe uses coconut milk and we don’t dip the cookies in sugar or sprinkle them with powdered sugar once it’s done.
6. Kue Bawang (Onion Cookies)
A favorite of many because it’s crispy and light with a hint of onion in every piece. It’s a mix of flour, egg, margarine, ground garlic, and red pearl onion deep-fried in a lot of oil. Yes, it’s not that healthy and it’s hard to stop once you start eating it.
7. Kacang Bawang (Onion Peanuts)
Even though it’s not a cookie, every house will have this on the holiday. Peeled peanuts with garlic deep fried in a lot of oil, are my favorite for the holiday. I tried to make the healthier version by baking it in the oven, but I still didn’t get the right texture and taste.
I just wanted to add one more thing. If you stay home for the holidays and happen to have Indonesian friends or co-workers, ask them about these cookies. They might have it at home or know someone who bakes these Indonesian cookies for the holiday. Ask them to bring it for you. I’m sure they will be more than happy to bring it for you.
So, what do you think? Which one that you want to try? Do you have a special cookie for a holiday in your country? Tell me about it.
I didn’t know cookies over the holiday was a thing in Indonesia, but what a great tradition. I’d love to try the Nastar, they look particularly delicious. Also, anything with cheese in it is a good thing and I never though about putting cheese in a cookie so I’d definitely want to try that one as well.
I think every country in the world has their cookies tradition for the holidays. And yes, nastar is one of my favorites.
My sweet tooth here is drooling. Kembang Goyang is very interesting, we have something very very similar in southern India called Achu Murukku. I wonder the recipe traveled from India to Indonesia or from Indonesia to India. Need to find its history. Kacang Bawang sounds interesting. Come on, its holiday season. Don’t bother about making it healthy. Its the time to put on weight.
I would think Kembang Goyang or Achu Murukku came from Europe during colonial times. I love you Bhusvali for saying it’s ok to eat unhealthy during the holiday. Haha…
All these sweets look very appetizing and tasty. I did not know that Indonesia is famous for such delicious sweets. I would like to try Nastar because I love Pineapple. Cheese Cookies, Spritz Cookies, and Rosettes Cookies look perfect!
You will like nastar. My son called it Indonesian cookies. Haha..
Wow, I see a lot of similarities between Indonesian cookies and Indian snacks. The rosette cookies are also popular here. So the roasted peanuts. Though we have a different variety of onion cookies, that we call “namkeen” here. I am amazed at so many vegan options in their cookies tbh.
I would think Indonesia and India got influenced by European during the colonial time. That’s why we have similarities here.
OMG!!! This reminds me of festivities back home. My mom always made Rosettes Cookies during Diwali. I was surprised when I discovered Kembang Goyang was actually a Sumatran dish. I absolutely love Kue Semprit too they are so buttery! haven’t tried the other cookies you have mentioned in this post, guess I am gonna try and find recipes for some of these and try them at home!
Yes! Do find them and try baking them. I think you will like them.
I’m familiar with almost all of the cookies (because we Malaysians like to ‘copy’ Indonesian food 😉), but some of them have different shapes and names. The pineapple tarts, for example, are flat and have the jam on top, instead of inside. They can also be shaped like a roll. But these cookies are mostly only popular during Eid, and not so much during any other celebrations.
In Indonesia I think most people are also bake nastar for the holidays. I think because it takes time to make it. Other cookies are fairly easy.
My mouth is watering as I look at these holiday cookies. And my guilt is stirring. There was a time when I baked for days around the holidays. Maybe I need to start again! I love the variety of ingredients in these cookies. But I might like the variability in the shapes even more. They would make an awesome gift basket!
Yeah. I always like it when someone dropped it to our house. Just like you, I’m thinking about baking again this holiday. There are a few days left to fill out the cookie jar.
These cookies look so fun to try! The pineapple tart sounds most delicious to me, but the Kembang Goyang looks like a work of art in food form. I think I’ve made my own version of the snowball cookies before and they were so yummy!
Yes, Kembang Goyang is pretty. I tried making it, but ended up overcooked or stuck to the iron when I shook it. lol.
I must admit that no matter where in the world you are, cookies have so many similarities. Kaastengels (Cheese Cookies) are definitely my things – I can eat anything that has cheese, at any time of the day, anywhere. I simply love cheese. But the Snow Ball Cookies are so similar to what my grandmother cooked in Romania for Christmas – we used to hang them in the Christmas tree. It was so beautiful!
I agree with you that cookies have so many similarities. Those Kaastengels are really good. It’s one of the snacks we had when our father was in the hospital. I would like to see a Christmas tree with snow balls as the ornaments. I’m sure it’s hard for the kids not to eat it when adults weren’t in the room.