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Ginger cookies

Maejakgwa 매작과

Maejakgwa is a Korean traditional cookie that’s really popular. The ingredients are very simple! The combination of  3 kinds of flavors make this cookie very special: ginger, cinnamon, and the pine nuts.

The best part of this cookie is that it’s very crunchy! If all family members sit around together after dinner and taste these cookies, the sound of crunching from each member will give so much fun! You can make this large amount of cookies in 1 hour if you use your food processor, longer if you have to knead by hand.

Ingredients

Flour, kosher salt, sugar, ginger, pine nuts, water, cinnamon powder, and vegetable oil.

ginger1

Directions

  1. In a large stainless bowl, place 2 cups of all purpose flour, ½ ts kosher salt, 1 TBS sugar, 1 TBS ginger juice, and ½ cup water. Knead by hand for about 20 minutes.
    *tip: If you use a food processor, kneading takes about 2 minutes. Be sure to change the blades on your food processor to dough-making blades!.kneading
  2. Put the cookie dough in a plastic bag and set it aside at least for 30 minutes.
  3. Chop 2 TBS of pine nuts to garnish the cookies. Set aside.
  4. Take the dough out from the plastic bag and roll it out with a rolling pin, into a roughly rectangular shape (about 50 cm x 40 cm, and 2 mm – or 1/16 inch – thick).

    knead
  5. Cut the sheet of cookie dough into little 2 cm x 6 cm rectangles.

    cuttingrectangle
  6. Put the leftover dough edges into a plastic bag to protect them from drying out.
  7. Make 3 slits in the middle of each piece of dough.3-slits
  8. Push one  end of the dough through the center slit to a make ribbon shape.

    ribbon
  9. Take the leftover dough out and spread it on the cutting board with the rolling pin. Cut it into any of your favorite shapes: triangles, squares, whatever – or use a cookie cutter.cutter
  10. Heat up vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan.
  11. *tip: Put a sample of the cookie dough into the heated oil to check if it’s the right temperature. The dough should float slowly on the surface of the heated oil.



    Let’s Make syrup!

    Place ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water into a pot and bring to a boil over low heat for about 20 minutes. About half of the water should evaporate, so the syrup is nice and thick.syrup

  12. Turn the heat off and add 1 ts cinnamon powder and stir it well.
  13. Gently toss the cookies with the syrup to lightly coat them.
  14. Sprinkle the chopped pine nuts on top of the cookies.
  15. Serve it with tea.

Posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009. Last updated on August 10, 2021.
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108 Comments:

  1. Voodoomems Hobart, Australia joined 5/18 & has 3 comments
    Posted August 28th, 2018 at 6:38 am | or create a profile.

    Thanks for sharing your recipes. I made these tonight with my mother and cousin, we had a lot of fun. They’re so cute and yummy.


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  2. japvergonia The Philippines joined 3/18 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 17th, 2018 at 9:06 pm | or create a profile.

    Thank you so much for sharing all your recipes and inspiring us to cook more great Korean food in our kitchen. I wanna try this ginger cookies soon but how long will it last in normal room temperature when put in a glass jar? I think it’s a good idea to share these lovelies and give them as gift in a jar. Many thanks to you Maangchi!

  3. EllieVahid Iran joined 8/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 29th, 2017 at 6:02 am | or create a profile.

    Hi.had a lot of fun making them,just love Korean cooking!
    thanks for the recipe.


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  4. Vey Indonesia joined 6/17 & has 12 comments
    Posted July 2nd, 2017 at 9:43 am | or create a profile.

    I love ginger n that’s why i love this recipe. thanx a lot Maangchi..


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  5. RosyIvory Egypt joined 12/13 & has 1 comment
    Posted December 18th, 2013 at 2:33 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi,
    I decided to make a Korean day here at home for my family and going to include these cookies to the menu :)
    I was wondering, can I make the dough, cut and shape it a day or two ahead and fry it on time?

  6. jaylivg Houston joined 7/10 & has 107 comments
    Posted June 23rd, 2013 at 6:46 pm | or create a profile.

    I tried making this cookies today , they turned out yummy . Very crunchy too .. i had fun making them . They’re a little time consuming , but i really don’t mind making it . It’s a fun project anyway .
    Jay and Nick love the cookies , esp. my husband .. he said these cookies are too dangerous .. since he can’t stop snacking on them !!

    Thanks Maangchi !

  7. helenzella joined 8/10 & has 12 comments
    Posted March 27th, 2013 at 6:51 am | or create a profile.

    I just made this with my 7 yr old son…as a cooking activity. My son had a blast! And he loved the taste of these cookies. Thanks for the recipe, Maangchi!

  8. AnnLee Indonesia joined 9/12 & has 1 comment
    Posted September 10th, 2012 at 2:45 am | or create a profile.

    Maangchi, I’ve just read an article about “Ddong ppang”. The article said that it’s a Korean Fortune cookies and it’s very popular there. If you have the recipe, could you please share me?? I think that the cookies is very cute. Thank you so much…

  9. pini2k Chile joined 11/11 & has 2 comments
    Posted July 7th, 2012 at 12:55 pm | or create a profile.

    This is so cool. Just the other day my mom made some Chilean treats called “calzones rotos” (torn underwear in Spanish). Why do I mention this? Well, the shape is almost identical to maejakgwa!
    Calzones rotos have baking powder in them so they are puffier than maejakgwa. And instead of a syrup, they are sprinkled with powdered sugar. But, I will definitely try making maejakgwa! :)
    You can see a pic of calzones rotos here: http://www.midiariodecocina.com/2010/09/calzones-rotos.html

  10. o0kagome0o Ireland joined 4/12 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 13th, 2012 at 2:50 pm | or create a profile.

    it was very nice of you to share this recipe :) i tired it and i was very nice XD, thank you very much for sharing this :)

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