Putri Salju - Vanilla Crescent Cookies

Putri salju (snow princess) is a dainty cute crescent-shaped vanilla almond cookie, with a tender, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth texture, and is always covered in confectioners sugar. These cookies are a must in our family to celebrate Chinese New Year. They are also super popular for all sorts of celebrations too, such as Idul Fitri, Christmas, or New Year.

What goes into putri salju cookies?

For 2 dozens of cookies, you will need:

• 1 cup (120 gram) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (50 gram) almond flour, you can use ground almond from whole almond too
• 1/4 cup (30 gram) confectioners sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup, or 113 gram) unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners sugar, for coating

Can I use other nuts instead of almonds?

The most classic version always use almond. But you can use other nuts too, such as walnut, pecan, and cashew.

I love fancy cookies. What can I add?

If simple vanilla is too basic for you. You can try adding one of these (not all, just pick one!):

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water, then add 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom to the flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the confectioners’ sugar coating

How do you shape putri salju?

Putri salju, or vanilla crescent cookies, are always shaped into a crescent moon. The process is like this:

1. In a mixing bowl, beat butter, confectioners sugar, salt, and vanilla until fluffy. Then beat in almond flour, and finally all-purpose flour.
2. Gather cookie dough, then divide into 24 portions.
3. With hands, shape each cookie dough portion into a crescent moon shape.

Must I shape them into a crescent moon?

I know it may seem like a whole lot of trouble to shape each of the cookie into a crescent moon shape, but that is the signature look of putri salju cookies. If you wish, you can also simply shape into round balls, but you will need to call the cookies with other names.

The round shape cookies are known as: Mexican wedding cookies, vanilla snowballs, and Russian teacakes.

How do you bake these cookies?

Unlike other cookies, we don’t want to bake putri salju until they are completely golden brown! Instead, what we want to achieve is a pale top, but with a golden brown foot/bottom.

I bake these cookies at 165 Celsius (325 Fahrenheit) oven, for about 20-25 minutes. For this particular batch shown in the photos, it took me exactly 22.5 minutes to get the desired doneness.

Once they are done, remove them from the oven and cool for 10-15 minutes, or until only slightly warm to touch before coating them with confectioners sugar to get their signature look.

How do you coat the cookies?

1. Pour about 1 cup of confectioners sugar into a bowl, and once the cookies are only warm to touch, you can start coating them.
2. Dip each cookie in confectioners sugar, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
3. Once they are completely cool, dip each of the cookies one more time with confectioners sugar. Make sure the cookies are thoroughly coated and snowy white.

Storing and freezing the cookies

It is best if you store the cookies in an air-tight container. They should stay fresh at room temperature for up to 1 week. For longer storage, it is best to freeze the cookies. And when you want to enjoy, simply remove from the freezer and let the cookies return to room temperature.

You may notice that the ones that have been frozen may look less snowy. To remedy, simply coat/sprinkle with more confectioners’ sugar before serving. :)