Salted Duck Yolks Cookies

Salted Duck Yolks Cookies

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Have I raised any concerns yet?  More so, concerns for my husband’s ever-expanding belly (those poor poor pants…).  ANOTHER salted duck egg recipe?  And this time in COOKIES?  AND I thought this is a good time to bring it up just after I drenched this blog in cholesterol and now THEN-SOME?  To be clear, if you were the very honest people who gushed how lucky my husband was for all these foods and whose smiles now start to crinkle… (firmly pointing my finger towards an ambiguous direction) I gave them all to Jason’s colleages who gave them a nice home.  But I can’t expect this level of superior self-restrain from you because quite frankly, this cookie is fantastic.

Ever since men discovered that the conflicted senses from savory and sweet in our brain translates quite closely to… nirvana, no-stopping is the list of treats created in its name.  Bacon in chocolate chips cookies?  Sea salt caramel?  McDonald’s fries dipped in their soft vanilla ice-cream?  Wait, oops… did I say that out loud?  Well, the Cantonese has their own classics rooted in such pursuit, a dim-sum called “nai-huang-bao/liu-sha-bao” created by blending the salted yolks with butter and stuffing it inside a puffy and pillowy white dough then steamed.  When you pop one open, the melted golden lava oozes ever-so-slowly out of the bun, singing the same tune as your senses collide in ecstasy.  So, I thought it’d tastes pretty awesome in solid form as well.

Oh and they do.  The salted yolks not only provide the savory-note, but they give the cookies an unmistakable richness and aroma that’s unique to this ingredient and will linger in your mouth in a good way.  I have made peace with posting this kind of recipes that curious people would probably spare a visit in their good graces.  Perhaps even patiently browse through the ingredients… but all to pause and draw a big “HUH?”, then politely fade out…  I understand.  But those who are willing to make a little detour on their way down to Chinatown for some occasional wontons and mushu, or a couple more clicks on their way for some books – your investment would yield a delicious return.

Servings: Eh… who can count when there’s hot cookies present?  But it’s safe to say approx 30+ small cookies

* Salted duck eggs come in raw or cooked.  Make sure to buy the cooked.

 Ingredients: basic cookie dough recipe based on allrecipes.com

  • 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp of baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) of unsalted butter, room temperature or very soft
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 5 cooked salted duck egg yolks, crumbled *

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.

Cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar together with a mixer on medium-high speed, until the butter becomes pale in color and fluffy, approx 5~7 min.  Scrape the bottom of the bowl once or twice to make sure the butter is creamed throughout.  During this time, cut the duck eggs open and scoop out the egg yolks.  Make sure you get every last bit of it and it’s ok if some bits of egg whites get into the mix.  Crumble with a fork and set aside.

Once butter is properly creamed, add the eggs and vanilla extract.  Mix again until light and fluffy.  Add the flour mixture now and mix until JUST combined.  Scrape the bottom of the bowl once.  Then add the salted egg yolks and give it a few turns to evenly incorporate it into the dough.  Don’t over-mix it because there should be bits and pieces of it throughout.

I like to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 min before scooping.  You could form the cookie dough-ball and freeze it at this point.

Preheat the oven on 360ºF/180ºC.

Scoop out approx 1 tbsp of cookie dough and set on a baking sheet (line with parchment paper).  Make sure there is at least 3″/8~10cm of space in between each because you know… kids can get curious…

Bake in the oven for 12~13 min until the edges are slightly browned (if you like your cookies soft in the center, DO NOT over-bake them).  Frozen cookie doughs may take a couple min more.  Transfer to a cooling rack immediately after they come out of the oven or they will continue to bake on the hot tray.  I’d tell you to let them cool but they may disappear before that happens…

16 Comments
  • Tora

    December 19, 2012 at 8:15 PM Reply

    Your writing is witty and intelligent. I love snooping around your blog – also for your fabulous photos! So I drool a little and creep around some more! Just wanted to say thank you, and I will continue to be amazed by your blog all the time, also in the coming future! If the world doesn’t end thursday, you know.

    Have a wonderful christmas!

    • Mandy L.

      December 20, 2012 at 7:42 AM Reply

      Hi Tora, thanks for your support. It means a lot to me! If the world is still here on dec 23th, I will keep up the work!

  • JAYNE

    January 5, 2013 at 9:22 AM Reply

    hi,,may i know how is the taste for this cookies,,
    is it good for chinese new year,,
    hope to hear from u,,
    thanks—singapore

    • Mandy L.

      January 5, 2013 at 2:26 PM Reply

      Hi Jayne, this taste very much like a buttery and crispy 奶黃包 if you’ve had it before. OH and it’d be great for CNY of course.

  • joanne

    January 24, 2013 at 1:25 AM Reply

    Looks like a great recipe. Did you come up with this recipe yourself? How long would I be able to keep these cookies if stored in an airtight container?

    • Mandy L.

      January 24, 2013 at 1:51 AM Reply

      Joanne, yes I guess you could say that. I took a chocolate chip cookie recipe and tested it with the salted yolk and it worked out great. I freeze the dough-balls until I was gonna bake them so I had no leftovers, but I would say the same as regular cookies, approx 5 days to be safe.

  • yen

    November 5, 2014 at 6:59 AM Reply

    I WANT TO TRY THIS NOW but i am not sure what i’d do with the leftover whites…and being the cheapskate that i am, this is giving me pause. any ideas, mandy?

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      November 5, 2014 at 1:50 PM Reply

      Yen: I’m afraid… I just throw the away. They are super salty and kind of flavorless… Even to go with congee, you’ll only need a little bit. Maybe add them to ground pork as salt to make ground pork patties?

  • Yen

    January 28, 2015 at 7:46 AM Reply

    I am FINALLY making this today after my sis suggested using the leftover whites in a three-egg fried rice (salted egg, century egg and regular egg). probably won’t use all of it – like you said, a little goes a long way – but any excuse to have three-egg ANYTHING is a good excuse to me! thanks, Mandy!

  • Kay

    August 9, 2015 at 9:12 AM Reply

    I stumbled on to your blog while searching for Pineapple Bun recipes and what luck! I love your curt, no apologies, irritable writing. I tried making these cookies today and they were soooo good. Totally forgotten about the cholesterol! And no “horny teenagers” during baking. Too bad I ended up throwing out all the salted duck egg whites. Mandy, is there a way to incorporate the whites into the cookies?

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      August 9, 2015 at 1:46 PM Reply

      Kay, I’m glad you liked them! It would be way too salty to incorporate the whites. But you can ground them up and use them as salt in other baking recipes?

      • Kay

        August 10, 2015 at 6:27 AM Reply

        Thanks Mandy! Maybe I can sprinkle the ground whites on top of chocolate chip cookies… Instead of chocolate chip cookies with sea salt, it will be Chocolate Chip Cookies with Salted Duck Whites! They’re just too damn salty!!!!! Maybe next time I will only buy the salted duck yolks. Apparently there are packages of cooked salted duck YOLKS.

  • Ruby Sim

    January 17, 2016 at 12:08 PM Reply

    Hi, Thank you for the recipe. May I know what can I do with the white beside eating with porridge. It is really a waste to throw away.
    Regards

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      January 17, 2016 at 1:14 PM Reply

      Ruby, most recipes that involves salted duck eggs only use the yolks, because the whites are really salty and not very flavorful. The only application I could think of, is using them as salt in ground mixtures, like sausages and such. Hope it helps!

  • q

    December 12, 2016 at 8:54 PM Reply

    hi, may i know if i were to freeze the cookie dough, do i need to allow it to thaw before scooping the cookies out ?

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      December 12, 2016 at 8:58 PM Reply

      Q, you have to at least let it become soft enough to scoop, but not completely thawed :)

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