Honeyed Pistachio Mooncakes

Recipe from Kristina Cho

Adapted by Clarissa Wei

Honeyed Pistachio Mooncakes
Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist; Simon Andrews.
Total Time
2 hours, plus 1 day’s optional resting
Rating
4(340)
Notes
Read community notes

Mooncakes are pastries timed to the Mid-Autumn Festival, a holiday that celebrates the commencement of the harvest season. Traditionally, they showcased the best ingredients of a region, like sweet lotus seed paste in Guangdong, China, melon seeds in Hainan or pork in Yunnan, but you can stuff mooncakes with whatever you’d like, as long as the fillings are encased in dough and the exterior is aesthetically pleasing. In her forthcoming cookbook, “Mooncakes and Milkbread,” the Chinese-American baker Kristina Cho has channeled that spirit by stuffing her mooncakes with blitzed pistachios and honey, a combination commonly found in baklava. The blend is enveloped in a classic Cantonese crust that uses lye water to bump up the pH of the dough, giving it a gentle amber hue, and golden syrup, which lends the cake a chewy, soft bite. —Clarissa Wei

Featured in: The Many Faces of Mooncakes

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Ingredients

Yield:12 small mooncakes

    For the Dough

    • 2½cups/300 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
    • ½cup/110 grams canola oil
    • ½cup/160 grams golden syrup (such as Lyle’s Golden Syrup)
    • 1teaspoon lye water, sometimes known as kansui (see Tip)
    • 1large egg

    For the Filling

    • 1½cups/200 grams roasted unsalted shelled pistachios
    • ¼cup/80 grams honey
    • 2tablespoons coconut oil
    • 1tablespoon cornstarch
    • 1teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

357 calories; 20 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 173 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oil, syrup and lye water. Using a flexible spatula, mix to form a shaggy dough, then knead with your hands to form a smooth, cohesive dough. Form the dough into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

  3. Step 3

    Make the filling: In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until coarsely ground. Add the honey, coconut oil, cornstarch and salt, and pulse a few more times until the filling is a little crumbly but sticks together when pressed. Avoid overprocessing: You don’t want to end up with pistachio butter. Divide the filling into 12 equal portions (each about 1 rounded tablespoon) and roll each piece into a ball.

  4. Step 4

    Divide the disk of dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Working with one ball at a time and keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap, flatten a dough ball with your palm. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll into a 4-inch round (about 3/16-inch/ ½-centimeter thick), lightly dusting with flour if sticking. Gently lift the dough with a bench scraper or spatula, and center a ball of filling on the round. Bring the edges of the dough up around the filling. If the dough doesn’t initially cover all filling, just pinch it together until it completely encases the filling. If there is excess, pinch it off. Pinch together any cracks that form and roll each round into a smooth ball.

  5. Step 5

    As you form the balls, arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2 inches apart. Lightly dust a 1.7-ounce/50-gram mooncake mold with flour. Place a ball in the mold and press the plunger down to apply pressure, but take care not to press too hard. Gently release from the mold and return to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling to form all 12 mooncakes. If you don’t have a mooncake mold, skip this step and bake the mooncakes as balls.

  6. Step 6

    Bake until the edges are light golden brown, 9 to 11 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and allow the cakes to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the egg and 2 tablespoons water. With a pastry brush, lightly coat the mooncakes with egg wash. Return to the oven and bake until darker golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and allow the mooncakes to cool completely on the sheet. Before serving, store mooncakes in an airtight container or a resealable bag at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. This step is optional, but the extra time allows the crust to soften and become a little chewier. Mooncakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Tips
  • Food grade lye water, such as the one sold by the Koon Chun brand, can be bought online or in Chinese markets. To make it at home, bake a teaspoon of baking soda in a 250-degree oven for 1 hour. After it cools to room temperature, mix with 1 tablespoon water. Stir until the baking soda is completely dissolved.
  • If you would like to use a mooncake mold, buy one online or in Chinese markets with 1.7-ounce/50-gram cavities. You can use a 3.5-ounce/100-gram mooncake mold instead, portioning the dough and filling to make 6 mooncakes.

Ratings

4 out of 5
340 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Prakash Nadkarni

Neat recipe. The tip suggests making sodium carbonate (Na2CO3, aka Washing Soda, which is widely available) by heating baking soda (NaHCO3). Na2CO3 is used to make yellow ("alkaline"/ramen) noodles without egg yolks: alkalinity turns wheat flour yellow via an effect on flour's flavones, and makes the dough somewhat elastic. See Wikipedia for "Alkaline pasta". For this recipe, unless you regard amber color as critical, I'd treat Na2CO3 as optional and use (pale yellow) unbleached flour.

Lindsay H

Put down the rolling pin! Try a tortilla press (or the bottom of a heavy pot). I tried rolling the first two and had to use SO much flour to stop the dough from sticking to the countertop, and the exteriors of the dough balls were super gummy and unattractive. I had the inspiration to use my tortilla press, with the dough sandwiched between two pieces of parchment, and it worked like a dream. Fast and no flour needed. I was really pleased with how they turned out!

Meg

This is chemically correct, but it's not for food. Wood ash and water make potassium hydroxide, KOH, which you do NOT want to eat. It's fine for making soap, but not mooncakes!

Anna

I made these today. Dividing the dough and filling by 12 made balls far too large for my 50 gram mooncake mold. 40 grams of dough and 15 grams of filling was the right size (go figure!). I ended up with 15 mooncakes rather than 12, and 1/3 of the filling left over. I also ditched the rolling pin and just used the palms of my hands to flatten as I'd seen in YouTube tutorials. The filling was too coconutty for me, so I'll have to find a coconut oil substitution if I make this again.

sam

I have been making mooncakes at home for years now and this recipe is unfortunately misguided. I hope this helps, because I just made these and they were delicious: 1) Use cake flour instead of all-purpose 2) use butter (1-2 Tbsp) instead of coconut oil (pistachio butter IS kind of what you’re going for here…) 3) and most importantly, wait AT LEAST 2 days (I wait 3) before serving. This is absolutely critical for getting the texture right… fat seeps into the outer shell over time… :)

Jessica

For people who don't want the coconut flavor, check for refined coconut oil. It's flavorless coconut oil. I've found it at trader Joe's and my regular grocery store.

David

That is definitely not appropriate for food use.

Cruz

I ended up using a little less than 2 cups of flour and did Walnuts and maple syrup instead of pistachio and honey

Em

The Cantonese moncakes we grew up eating were filled with red bean (adzuki) paste or lotus seed paste. Literally just boiled, mashed, and sweetened with icing sugar. You could also try chestnut paste, which you can buy in tins pre-sweetened or unsweetened - I buy online or from the nearby Italian market.

Dan

We used butter 1:1 - they came out great!

Anna

Next time, I think I'll do 30 grams of wrapper dough and 20 grams of filling. I think the 40/15 ratio was too much dough and not enough filling. The coconut taste diminished after letting them sit for 36 hours. I will definitely make these again.

Terry McClymonds

I have tried this recipe twice--in each case, I followed directions precisely (using a scale) and the dough seemed smooth enough, but when rolled out, it became somewhat brittle and difficult to wrap smoothly around the filling. Has anyone else had this problem? Is the solution adding more oil? more flour? working longer? I read that tortilla press suggestion, but I do not have one. The end product was perfectly delightful, but I am curious about suggestions for the dough.

Laura S

I have made these a few times now, experimenting with different fillings and find the dough recipe perfect except for the rolling pin instructions and sizing. I make 15 balls of about 33g. I cup the ball in my hand, make a bowl, poke the filling in and wrap the dough around the filling—it doesn't have to cover the entire bottom. Make all your balls and fill them, then with clean hands, you can use the mooncake press, changing the designs as you like. Love the plastic mooncake molds for $15

Jenna K

I am SO HAPPY with how these turned out. I have been experimenting with moon cakes for several years both snowskin and baked, but I have never truly nailed the baked ones. Made these in mini 50-60g moon cake molds with 20g filling and about 25g wrapper. I would up the filling slightly next time. The dough is delicate but don't be afraid to roll it very thin bc it repairs easily. I also subbed some coconut oil w/ pistachio butter and adjusted honey and salt to taste (3/4tsp). My best attempt yet!

MrsBeee

I made these for my school's multicultural festival's bake sale (I'm not Chinese or Asian). I had students running me down for weeks asking if I'd really made them and that they were so delicious. As a teacher, I was proud to support my Asian students. (Next year, I'm making Eric Kim's kimchi.)

Jaslynn Smith

I love how u added ur life story to this and how u added all of the steps. So I'm really excited to make these moon pies for me and my family. I hope they enjoy how I make it. Thank U!

Cruz

I ended up using a little less than 2 cups of flour and did Walnuts and maple syrup instead of pistachio and honey

Terry McClymonds

I have tried this recipe twice--in each case, I followed directions precisely (using a scale) and the dough seemed smooth enough, but when rolled out, it became somewhat brittle and difficult to wrap smoothly around the filling. Has anyone else had this problem? Is the solution adding more oil? more flour? working longer? I read that tortilla press suggestion, but I do not have one. The end product was perfectly delightful, but I am curious about suggestions for the dough.

robin

Help- the recipe calls for an egg in the dough, but it’s not mentioned in the directions! Did you add it with the other ingredients or later? Thanks.

Carol F.

Hi, Robin. See Step Six. You make an egg wash using the egg and two tablespoons of water for the half-baked mooncakes, and then you complete the baking.

sam

I have been making mooncakes at home for years now and this recipe is unfortunately misguided. I hope this helps, because I just made these and they were delicious: 1) Use cake flour instead of all-purpose 2) use butter (1-2 Tbsp) instead of coconut oil (pistachio butter IS kind of what you’re going for here…) 3) and most importantly, wait AT LEAST 2 days (I wait 3) before serving. This is absolutely critical for getting the texture right… fat seeps into the outer shell over time… :)

Smaller molds are probably better

Agree with another commenter that the larger molds don’t hold shape as well. I have 60-ish gram mold and the definition is not ideal and they slumped a bit.

SharonATX

These were great. We ordered the press and lye water on Amazon, NBD. Contrary to the recipe's suggestion, we liked these best on the first day, especially just a bit warm from the cooling rack. Day 2>Day 1 in the sealed bag approach. I made the pistachio filling while the dough rested (found it just right re. coconut and salt) and then put those balls in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up, which made spreading the dough around them a bit easier. The press is easy. Definitely a unique treat!

Jessica

For people who don't want the coconut flavor, check for refined coconut oil. It's flavorless coconut oil. I've found it at trader Joe's and my regular grocery store.

Ela

Question about moon cake molds. After checking out many stores in Chinatown I found I tiny hardware store that carries the molds. They have two kinds. One is a lovely wood carved type with two wells elaborately decorated. Second type is a plastic plunger type with exchangeable disks for different designs. From the recipe it sounds like I should get plunger type but aesthetically I am drawn to the wood carved one. Any advice?

S

The plunger type is incredibly easy and it seems a lot of people use them. The wooden ones are so lovely though! I was hoping to get those, but couldn't find any nearby. As a total beginner myself, I started with the plastic and was happily surprised by the pro-looking results!

Elizabeth Johnson

This was an amazing recipe!!! I’m not sure why someone said it’s how you make soap..? Tasted very authentic to the moon cakes I grew up eating. The filling is very unique for moon cakes and loved it. Before popping it in the oven you can brush some water on to prevent from cracking.

Anna

I made these today. Dividing the dough and filling by 12 made balls far too large for my 50 gram mooncake mold. 40 grams of dough and 15 grams of filling was the right size (go figure!). I ended up with 15 mooncakes rather than 12, and 1/3 of the filling left over. I also ditched the rolling pin and just used the palms of my hands to flatten as I'd seen in YouTube tutorials. The filling was too coconutty for me, so I'll have to find a coconut oil substitution if I make this again.

Anna

Next time, I think I'll do 30 grams of wrapper dough and 20 grams of filling. I think the 40/15 ratio was too much dough and not enough filling. The coconut taste diminished after letting them sit for 36 hours. I will definitely make these again.

Mike E B

Used regular table salt instead of Kosher salt by accident. Definitely a mistake as it made the filling a bit too salty. Just a reminder for people to check the recipe more carefully (then I did)

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Credits

Adapted from “Mooncakes and Milk Bread” by Kristina Cho (Harper Horizon, 2021)

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