Sunday, April 26, 2009

Okara Cookies

Okara Cookies

Following the okara quiche experiment posted above, I tried out a few "okara sweets" such as cookies and pound cakes. And there were good ones like "okara and azuki cake" and "okara and fruit pound cake" (both in Japanese). They have favorable reviews and I did like the taste of those cakes. At the first bite, I agreed with some of the reviews that said "I like the texture of okara cake better than that of regular cakes made with flour. It's moister and fluffier." However, after chewing several times, I went, "Wait a minute..." When it was about time for regular cake to melt and disappear, I felt plenty of fiber still filling up my mouth and I had to make conscious effort to swallow it. It wasn't terribly unpleasant, but I wasn't too crazy about that.

Then I found some cookie recipes that called for powdered okara instead of fresh okara. These days "okara powder" is available as a baking ingredients in Japan, and actually you can make something very close at home.
Fresh okara

Homemade Okara powder (Instruction here in Japanese)

To make this, you spread okara on lined baking sheet and bake it in the oven and then mill it in a food processor. The recipe says that this okara powder can be frozen and keeps for about a month.

I thought that with this powder, I would have less problem of the fiber remaining in the mouth, and I was right. This okara cookie recipe (Japanese) is my current favorite, with a texture somewhat similar to coarse shortbread. But I'm still working on it to make it lighter and crunchier. (I'm thinking about using maple syrup so that the dough would come together more easily and adding just a little baking powder to make it lighter.)

Okara Cookies with Black Sesame Seeds

The original recipe didn't use black sesame seeds, but I like it this way.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH I shouldn't be doing this. I've got to pack, and clean! :O


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18 comments:

tofugirl said...

Oh, well, everyone needs a break and what better than some homemade cookies? :) My mom used to make these sort of fritters or fried pancakes with okara (until she decided making soymilk herself was too much work!). I think I like the sound of the cookies better :)

K and S said...

looks great! and healthy :)

Anonymous said...

Looks fantastic! I can't read Japanese but guessed from the recipe 30g fresh okara per person - does the sugar, butter and cornstarch also increase? Given that 30g fresh okara will shrink to 1/6 when dry according to the recipe, that looks like an awful lot so I thought I'd be sure and ask what you used. I will be making soy milk from scratch so I'll get some okara real soon!

obachan said...

Hi! I'm in the middle of the last-minute packing and cleaning 'cuz I've got only 16 hours left before the moving service guys will come, and my room is still a mess!

Anyway, this will be my last time to use the Internet at this apartment. Hope I'll be able to use the Internet at my parents' house tomorrow night (If I can survive tonight...)

To anonymous commenter,
NO! It's not fresh okara. The recipe calls for 30 g of the homemade okara powder. And it's not 30 g per person. I'll explain more clearly in May. Please wait.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for much for replying when you're in the middle of moving! I do have a blogspot account somewhere but can't remember the name. I will make some soy milk next week and oven-dry the okara, but won't do the cookies till you explain more! LOL

Tindy said...

Okara cookies! I've never heard of such a thing! >_> I might have to try those...

Good luck on the big move, Obachan!

Diet Plan said...

Beautiful and delicious cookies and there are so many people like these cookies.

michelle said...

Very happy to come across your okara cookies recipe. You know , I used to throw away my okara 'cos there are too much of it. But very disappointed to find that you don't supply the recipe. Hope to get your recipe soon.

Max mickle said...

This okara cookies looks so beautiful with the colors, I'm sure it'll be a big hit with the kids! Nice colors! Although I'm to a big fan of okara cookies, this sure looks yummy! I'm normally the one that will say no to chocolate cake.

Anonymous said...

I took a gamble and made some today after drying okara from my soy milk. Took 6 hours at 60 deg C! I doubled the recipe so I could make enough for a big cookie sheet. I had to add some eggs and baking powder. Came together very nicely. Creamed 60g butter with 60g sugar, then folded in 60g okara, 20g cornstarch, 1 tsp vanilla essence (I make my own boiling milk and vanilla bean pods) 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 eggs till it just comes together. Refrigerated for an hour, rolled it out on a floured surface and used a cookie cutter when it was dry enough to be rolled out without sticking to the cutter. I made 35 cookies and had a little dough left over that I froze. It tastes just like regular cookies!

vegandietguy said...

Hello, I'd really like to try this recipe, but I don't see it anywhere here. Has it been removed?
William
http://vegandietguy.com

obachan said...

Hi William,
No, the link is not dead. It's still working. But it leads you to a Japanese recipe, so if it is not convenient for you, email me. I'll see what I can do.

vegandietguy said...

Hi. OK, I finally figured out where to click for the original recipe. Looking forward to trying them (I will have to omit butter as I'm a vegan).
Thanks,
William

Unknown said...

Hi, I was wondering if you have the Okara cookie recipe in English. I made soy milk every week, and I would like to use the leftover okara for something. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Oh how fun! Great post, beautiful photos

Unknown said...

hi! could i have the recipe in english too? thanks :)

Anonymous said...

I dont understand Japanese :(((((

Anonymous said...

you can use google translate