Mother, Baby & Kids

Checkerboard Cookies aka Biskut Dam Ketupat

Merryn Tan

To make green checkered cookies, replace the cocoa powder with green tea powder.

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As Hari Raya is fast approaching, I would like to share the recipe to a popular festive cookie.

Checkerboard cookies, also known as Biskut Dam or Biskut Ketupat, is a classic favourite among the older generation.

I baked them recently and am happy to report that these cookies are also favoured by the younger generation as proven by my boys. It requires minimal ingredients to make, but it does require a little precision to shape them to get best results.

Don’t skimp on the butter for these cookies. You’ll not regret investing in good butter once you take a bite of this fragrant and buttery cookies.

Ingredients: Sugar, plain flour, corn flour, cocoa powder, salted butter, egg, baking powder and instant coffee (optional)
Use a dough cutter or thread to slice the cookie dough.
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Checkerboard Cookies (Biskut Dam Ketupat) Recipe

Course Snack
Cuisine Malay
Keyword Family
Prep Time 10 minutes
Chilling / Freezing 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Author Merryn Tan

Equipment

  • Oven

Ingredients

  • 400 g plain flour
  • 30 g corn flour
  • 250 g salted butter room temperature
  • 150 g sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 25 g cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp coffee powder optional

Instructions

  • Mix 1 teaspoon hot water with 1 teaspoon instant coffee. Set aside. You can omit this if you do not want to use coffee in your bake. The purpose of adding coffee is to enhance the cocoa flavour.
  • Combine plain flour, corn flour and baking powder.
  • Whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add egg and continue whisking.
  • Add flour mixture and fold until it forms into a soft dough.
  • Weigh the dough. Divide it into 2 portions.
  • Add cocoa powder to one portion and mix thoroughly.
  • Roll cocoa dough into a square of about 2 cm thickness. Wrap with cling sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until dough is firm.
  • Do the same with the white dough.
  • Once the dough is firm, remove it from the refrigerator.
  • Cut into strips of 1cm.
  • Arrange the cocoa dough alternately with the white dough to form a checkered cube.
  • Wrap with cling sheet and refrigerate again.
  • Freeze for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from freezer, unwrap it and slice the cookie dough.
  • Arrange the sliced cookie dough on a lined tray.
  • Baked in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25 minutes. The baking time may differ with different oven so do check your cookie from time to time.
  • Cool the cookies on cookie tray. Store in an airtight container.