Today I’m showing you how to make a traditional Korean pressed cookie called dasik. Dasik is made with all-natural ingredients like grains, beans, sesame seeds, chestnuts, pine pollen, and many other things. The ingredients are finely ground, mixed with honey, and pressed in a wooden mold into small cookies. The inside of the mold is engraved with images of flowers, birds, fish, or geometric patterns or even words, which emboss the cookie. They all symbolize wishes for good luck, long life, beauty, happiness, or health.

The cookies are very light and fresh, naturally flavored and colored and meant to be served with tea. And you don’t need an oven to make them!

The wood mold is called a dasikpan, it usually has 2 parts: a top plate that holds the cookie in place and a bottom part that presses and embossed them. Unfortunately they are not easy to find outside of Korea. The one I use for this recipe was purchased when I visited Korea years ago. You don’t necessarily need a dasikpan, you could form and press the cookies in any mold, or in any other way you can think of, using any tool at all. But the dasik should be small, less than 1 inch in diameter.

I’ve been making these cookies and freezing them for months while developing this recipe. They are not only delicious but they are healthy and I feel good when eating them, just a little light, natural sweetness added to my day!

I chose 4 different colors of dasik: omija (pink), green pea (green), pine pollen (yellow), and black sesame seeds (black). While you mix and knead the powdered ingredient with honey, just add the honey a little by little and check the stickiness of the dough as you go. If the dough is not sticky enough, it won’t be shaped nicely, and if it’s too sticky it won’t get a good impression from the mold. It’s a delicate balance.

Ingredients

Makes about 28 to 30 cookies

For omija dasik:

For green pea dasik:

For pine pollen dasik:

  • ¼ cup pine pollen powder
  • 2 tablespoons honey

For black sesame seed dasik:

  • ¼ cup toasted (roasted) dried black sesame seeds (roasting instructions below)
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Omija dasik:

  1. Combine the dried omija and the water in a container and let it sit for 24 hours until the water turns red.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the glutinous rice flour. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns to light creamy and smells a little toasty and nutty. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl.
  3. Add the omija water and the honey. Mix it well with a small wooden spoon and then knead it by hand until it sticks into one lump of dough.
  4. Divide the dough into 7 equal size portions and insert them into the top frame of the mold (you may need to do in batches if your mold holds less than 7). Gently and firmly press and smooth each cookie into the mold by hand.
  5. Gently lift the bottom frame of the mold so that the cookies pop out the top.omija dasik
  6. Remove each cookie and set on a plate, patterned part up. Serve with tea.

Green pea dasik:

  1. Wash the peas and drain the water. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the peas.
  2. Cook the peas, stirring with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until light brown. Remove from the heat.
  3. Transfer the peas into a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder) and grind into a fine powder.
  4. Combine the ground peas and the honey in a small bowl and mix well with a small wooden spoon. Then knead it by hand until it all sticks into one lump of dough.
  5. Divide the dough into 7 equal size portions and insert them into the top frame of the mold (you may need to do in batches if your mold holds less than 7). Gently and firmly press and smooth each cookie into the mold by hand.
  6. Gently lift the bottom frame of the mold so that the cookies pop out the top.
  7. Remove each cookie and set on a plate, patterned part up. Serve with tea.

Pine pollen dasik:

  1. Combine the powder and the honey in a small bowl and mix well with a small wooden spoon. Then knead it by hand until it all sticks into one lump of dough.
  2. Divide the dough into 7 equal size portions and insert them into the top frame of the mold (you may need to do in batches if your mold holds less than 7). Gently and firmly press and smooth each cookie into the mold by hand.
  3. Gently lift the bottom frame of the mold so that the cookies pop out the top.
  4. Remove each cookie and set on a plate, patterned part up. Serve with tea.

Black sesame seed dasik:

  1. Wash the black sesame seeds in a strainer under running water. Drain well.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the sesame seeds. Cook the seeds, stirring with a wooden spoon for about 7 to 8 minutes until they turn crunchy and smell nutty.
  3. Remove from the heat. Transfer the seeds into a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder) and grind into a fine powder and a little sticky.
  4. Sift through a fine stainless-steel strainer to get a powder. Use a spoon to press as much of the powder through as you can. Discard the leftover stuff caught by the strainer.
  5. Combine the sesame seeds powder and the honey in a small bowl. Mix it well with a small wooden spoon until it all sticks into one lump of dough. You don’t have to knead it.
  6. Divide the dough into 7 equal size portions and insert them into the top frame of the mold (you may need to do in batches if your mold holds less than 7). Gently and firmly press and smooth each cookie into the mold by hand.
  7. Gently lift the bottom frame of the mold so that the cookies pop out the top.black sesame seeds dasik
  8. Remove each cookie and set on a plate, patterned part up. Serve with tea.Korean traditional pressed cookies

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3 Comments:

  1. rainbowserpent W Australia joined 8/21 & has 6 comments

    Hi Maangchi ssi! Greetings from Western Australia, I hope you are keeping well! I have all your cookbooks and love your recipes, they all work brilliantly! What other traditional flavours (because I like to respect the dishs’ origins) are there for these cookies? As a medical researcher I love a good experiment/challenge and would like to play with other flavourings if you can give me some ideas. oxox

  2. seidlb Austrua joined 9/21 & has 1 comment

    Can I make this with yellow split peas instead of green ones?

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