Pandan Butter Cookies with Cheese and Toasted Coconut

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This recipe for Indonesian Butter Cookies with Pandan comes from my podcast guest, M. Aimee. Listen to her episode Christmas in Indonesia while you make these Pandan Cookies — Kue Semprit Keju (Cheese Spritzen Cookies).

These Pandan Cookies from Indonesia are an inspired twist on Dutch spritz cookies. They combine tapioca starch, mild gouda, sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk, butter, and pandan for a cookie that’s buttery, slightly salty, and delicately fragrant. The result is crisp and crumbly with pockets of baked cheese for an enjoyable bite.

I trusted M. Aimee’s recipe because she previously shared one of the Top 5 recipes on The Storied Recipe: Mie Goreng, a beautiful Indonesian stir-fry of sweet noodles with shrimp, chicken, and greens. These cookies, she says, are not cloyingly sweet—you’ll likely reach for another one before you know it.

Look, Flavor, and Texture

Look:

• These cookies are festive and shaped with a piping bag or cookie press, like classic spritz cookies.
• Top them with dried fruit, chocolate chips, desiccated coconut, or grated cheese for a decorative finish.
• If you use fresh pandan leaves or only a small amount of pandan powder, the cookies will have a subtle pandan aroma without a bright green color.

Flavor:

• Dominant buttery richness.
• A balanced hint of salt—salted-sweet pairings are common in Southeast Asian baking.
• Delicate pandan notes that complement the dairy and coconut.

Texture:

• Firm and crumbly but not dry; the egg yolks give a tender crumble while the butter keeps the cookies rich.
• Baked cheese pieces add a small crunchy contrast in each bite.

M’s Memories of Making Indonesian Cookies for Christmas

My maternal grandfather was an avid cookie maker during Christmas time. I remember watching him making different types of cookies for Christmas since all of his grandchildren came to visit.

It was normally very humid in the kitchen during the rainy season in December. The kitchen at my paternal grandparents’ house was always crowded. Sometimes the helper helped us; one of the senior helpers had been with the family for years so she knew how to do it.

We relied on an old gas oven. My job was to sit on a tiny stool in front of the oven and watch. Our oven required manually holding the ignition for the top flame to turn on, and that meant carefully watching so the cookies didn’t burn as the temperature rose quickly.

Later, when we moved to our own home, the kitchen was more spacious and comfortable with a window above the stove, but my task remained the same: guarding the cookies from the flames while they browned.

— M. Aimee

Listen to M’s Episode

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Ingredients & Substitutions

• Tapioca starch — toasted briefly for better texture and shelf life.
• Mild Gouda — finely grated then baked into crunchy cheese crisps; avoid pre-shredded cheese, which often contains anti-caking starch.
• Butter — choose a high-quality butter, since its flavor carries through.
• Sweetened condensed milk — this recipe uses condensed milk; other versions use milk powder with sugar or alternative sweeteners.
• Salt
• Egg yolks
• Coconut milk — full fat for the best richness.
• Pandan — fresh pandan leaves, pandan powder, pandan extract, or pandan paste. If unavailable, you can substitute 1 tablespoon vanilla for a different but pleasant aroma.
• Decorations — chopped dried fruits, coconut flakes, chocolate chips, or extra grated cheese.

What is Pandan — Variations and Substitutions?

• Pandan is a tropical plant prized in Southeast Asian desserts for its fragrant, grassy, vanilla-like aroma.
• Available as fresh leaves, pandan powder, pandan extract, or pandan paste. If you can’t source pandan, use 1 tablespoon vanilla as a substitute.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
• Make crunchy gouda crisps: spread finely grated Gouda in a thin layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden and crisp, about 10–12 minutes. Cool and chop into small pieces.
• Toast the tapioca starch in a dry pan over low heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until it looks sand-like and more malleable; this removes moisture and improves texture. If using fresh pandan leaves, tie them in a knot and toast them with the tapioca to transfer aroma. Cool and sift with salt and pandan powder (if using powder).
• Cream butter with sweetened condensed milk until pale, then add egg yolks one at a time, incorporating fully between additions.
• Fold in the chopped crispy cheese, then gently mix in the toasted tapioca starch in batches until a pipeable dough forms.
• Pipe or press dough onto a parchment-lined sheet using a large open star tip or cookie press. Decorate centers with dried fruit or other toppings if desired.
• Chill the piped cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm the butter.
• Bake on the middle rack at 300°F (150°C) until the centers are completely dry, about 15–20 minutes depending on size. These are meant to be crisp rather than gooey so bake fully to enjoy the cheese texture.
• Cool and store in an airtight container; the cookies keep well for several weeks.

Other Pandan Cookies from Southeast Asia

• Regional variations include crinkle-style pandan cookies from the Philippines and other pandan-flavored biscuits across the region, each with unique textures and toppings.

Equipment

• Parchment paper and baking sheets.
• Electric mixer for creaming butter and condensed milk.
• Cookie press or piping bag with a large open star tip for shaping.

Storage

• Unbaked dough can be refrigerated, well-wrapped, for up to 7 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
• Baked cookies store in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.

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