Wonderfully light and delicate Korean tea cookies (Dasik) are traditional no-bake cookies that are made to serve honored guests and wish them good health and fortune in the New Year.
What is Dasik?
Korean tea cookies or Dasik (다식 茶食) are wonderfully light, mildly sweet and melt-in-your-mouth sweets that date all the way back to the 17th century. My ancestors prepared these very traditional, gluten-free and vegan Korean treats for Lunar New Year in Korea. During the Shilla and Goryeo Dynasty, these Korean cookies were served with traditional tea – something usually enjoyed only by nobility and royalty.
These delicate and elegant tea cookies were made from sesame seeds, grains and pollen (especially pine pollen). Joseon Dynasty records show that when a royal banquet was held, Korean desserts such as this Dasik, Yakwa and Gangjeong were all “piled high” (고인다 Goinda) on tables to create an imposing table. Records show that these towers were piled high – as high as 55 centimeters (21+ inches)!!
If you have ever attended a traditional Korean wedding or a 1st birthday (첫돌 Cheotdol) party, then you may have seen the table with towers of Korean sweets stacked ridiculously HIGH!!
How to make Dasik
Fine powders from sesame seeds, grains and pollen are each mixed with honey syrup to make doughs of different colors and flavors. Traditionally, Dasik is made in 5 different colors – white, yellow, black, green and red. Learn more about Korean 5 colors or Obangsaek 오방색 here.
What is Dasik pan (다식판) / Dasik mold?
Dasik Pan 다식판 is basically a cookie mold that’s made to shape and press various designs of Korean tea cookies called Dasik.
If you remember, back in 2015, I wrote a post about my visit with a Tteoksal artisan. And from this visit, I was so fortunate to bring back a Dasik-Pan or Dasik mold with 11 beautiful designs (see pic at the end of post to see all of them). I think my husband asked why I need to buy one and I said, “I may need it someday and besides, isn’t it just oh so beautiful?” And now I am able to bring this fabulous post to you because I brought it home with me!!
So please tell my husband that I did a good thing.. 😜 The mold designs have lotus, plum, chrysanthemum, marigold flowers then bamboo, peach, phoenix designs along with some geometric patterns. And the letters 복 福 good fortune and 차 茶 tea are also included – a PERFECT design to wish people a very happy Lunar New Year. In addition to the letters, designs symbolize wealth, fertility and all the good stuff. And different designs were used for ancestral rites (제사 Jesa), weddings, birthdays and other special occasions.
OK..now, just between you and me (shhh.. don’t tell my husband), I had completely forgotten about these molds until my blogger friend Christine contacted me recently about a virtual #SweetLunarNewYearParty that she was hosting and asked if I wanted to join. A Sweet Lunar New Year Party?? OF COURSE! But hmm… what do I make for this party?
It had to be a new recipe… so I racked my brain trying to come up with something. And then EUREKA!! DASIK!! I am sorry Dasik-pan… for ignoring you for so long…
Korean Sesame Tea Cookies – (Kkae or Heukimja Dasik)
** Although the recipe is very simple, it is a bit tricky to make the right consistency dough because it all depends on the water and oil content of your powder ingredient. So please plan on buying extra ingredients in case you have to tweak the recipe.
Yields: 20 cookies (2 cm) Cooking Time: 30 minutes Difficulty: Medium
- If your sesame seeds are not roasted or if you want to bring out more flavor, roast your sesame seeds in pan for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Stirring often so they don’t burn. Once you start to smell the roasting sesame seeds and/or if you see smoke starting to come up from the pan, turn the heat off.
- Make honey syrup by first melting sugar and water in a pot on medium heat. Once sugar is melted, add honey and rice syrup. Raise heat to medium high while stirring often. Bring to boil.
- Once it boils, turn off heat and let it cool. Do not boil too long, it will become too thick. Syrup should be similar to pancake syrup consistency (not the 100% maple one but the other kind).
You can ground a little more and you will get something like this – and this is good.
Press the ball into each mold and make sure it is filled to the top, flush with the frame.
Once the molds are filled, take out the spacer and push the top frame down. You will now have cookies sticking out like so –
OK, this is the tricky part of making Dasik. If the dough is too crumbly, it will break off as you try to take it out of the mold. If it’s too wet (too much syrup or too much oil), then it will not hold its shape.
Green Tea Cookies (Nokcha Dasik 녹차다식)
For green tea cookies, you have to use a slightly different recipe, please check this Matcha Green Tea cookie post. Besides green tea, the most traditional ingredient to use is Pine Pollen (송화가루 Songhwa Garu). It is quite expensive and not easy to get in Korea and impossible to get in the US but perhaps I can collect it myself here someday.. haha..
I also have a Omija (Five Flavor Berry) Dasik recipe in the same post as the Green Tea cookie recipe so please check there.
I know not everyone can get these Dasik molds so if you don’t have one, you can easily:
- roll them into little balls by hand and coat them with sesame seeds – I really like the extra crunch the whole sesame seeds bring
- spread them out with your hands or roll them out and use any small cookie cutter or pie crust cutters (see the leaf and star design below)
Note that these cute and delicious Korean sweets need no baking, no unhealthy fats and are not too sweet. I really hope you will get to make some for your Korean Lunar New Year!
How to store Dasik
- Keep covered in container at room temperature for 1-2 days for white, omija and matcha dasik. For sesame dasik, they can keep for days to even weeks!!
How to make Dasik (Korean Tea Cookies) video!
Dasik – Korean Tea Cookies for Lunar New Year
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted sesame seeds (110 g / 4 oz) or 1/2 cup sesame seed powder (white or black sesame seeds)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt or more to taste
honey syrup (makes extra – use 4 tsp to 2 Tbs of syrup per 1/2 cup ground powder)
- 1/2 cup rice syrup (조청 jocheong)
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup sugar (7 oz / 100 g)
- 2 Tbsp water
Instructions
- If your sesame seeds are not roasted, roast your sesame seeds in pan for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Stirring often so they don’t burn.
- Melt sugar and water in a pot on medium heat. Once sugar is all melted, add honey and rice syrup. Raise heat to medium high and stir often and bring to boil. Turn off heat and let it cool. Do not over cook
- Finely grind sesame seeds in a blender. The longer you blend, the finer it will be.
- In a bowl, add the sesame seed powder and sprinkle sea salt on top.
- Add 1 Tbs + 1 tsp of the honey syrup to 1/2 cup sesame seed powder and mix well. It should become pretty lumpy and hold shape when you form it in your hand. Similar to play-doh consistency.
- Take a little bit of the dough and roll into a ball. Raise the mold by inserting the bar so the dough can be pressed into the mold.
- Press the ball into each mold and make sure it is filled to the top to be flush with the frame.
- Once the molds are filled, take out the spacer and push the upper frame down.
- The cookies will now stick out (protrude) from the mold and you can gently remove each cookie.
Nutrition Information:
Enjoy!!
XOXO, ❤️
JinJoo
wow! I’m so glad I ran across this post as I was searching for a nice korean touch to my wedding that is coming up. I think this along with maybe some other items will be perfect for a small korean dessert table. I was just wondering would this freeze well if I were to make them ahead of time and stay in the shape as they thaw? Or how long they will keep without freezing? Thank you 🙂
Yay!! Congratulations!!! Yes, this will freeze well. You can also keep them in the fridge for at least a few weeks. I kept it at room temp (cool CA weather) for a few weeks too. When freezing, you need to make sure it is stored air tight so that it does not absorb any odor from the freezer. They should stay in the shape but you should think about them sticking to each other as they defrost so keep them separate with a wax paper in between or some other way of keeping them separated. Basically do not stack them. You may think about storing them like chocolates in individual paper cups. But please know, these are just my suggestions and actual results will depend on your local weather conditions and how they are stored. I hope you make a few, test freezing them and defrosting them to see how they work for you. I would LOVE to hear and see how it went. If you can join my Korean Food with Kimchimari FB group, you can share your photos! Thank you so much for asking.
I ended up with too much sesame powder leftover and was so thrilled to find this easy recipe on your site to use it! I had a different kind of mold that i used but they were just a different shape and are so delicious and easy to make :))
Wonderful! Wow – you seem to be cooking up a storm! I LOVE IT -haha. yes, it’s pretty easy right?
I would really like to get a dasik mold similar to the one featured in your article. I have made good progress learning how to cook many of the Korean recipes. Do you have a source that you know of that sells the mold like the one you have. My sister and a cousin just returned from a special tour of Korea, but I forgot to ask them to look for the mold.
Such a lovely Korean tea confectionery to try in my kitchen this weekend. But how long does the cookies last in normal room temperature when placed in a glass jar or put in the fridge? Hope to try this soon as it’s best paired with my mom’s fave green tea. Again thank you so much JinJoo씨 for sharing your recipe!
Oh hmm at room temp it should last 3-4 days. In the fridge I think it should last couple weeks even. It never lasts any longer in my house so not totally sure but sesame oil don’t really go rancid easily so should last pretty long. Thank you for asking and hope you have a wonderful tea time! 💕
Dear JinJoo, These are beautiful pastries! I love baking cookies, especially those that are very different which these certainly are. In April I will be in Seoul for 4 or 5 days. Do you know if it’s possible to buy the molds there? This would be such a lovely souvenir of my trip. Thank you!
Hi Nancy, Thank you so much. Rice cake molds are not sold in regular markets or stores anymore. Sadly, Koreans no longer make this at home as much. Although you may not be able to buy the exact same mold that I have, you should be able to buy it at Bangsan Market. The one I have was made by a famous artisan (more about him in this post – https://kimchimari.com/a-visit-with-korean-rice-cake-mold-artisan/) who lives in Damyang, JeonllaNamDo province and you can only buy it when you visit him. Bangsan used to be a wholesale market for bakers and chef but now it’s visited by everyone. More info about that http://www.theseoulguide.com/sights/markets-and-shopping/bangsan-baking-market/. Hopefully that helps and enjoy Seoul in April! Weather should be beautiful~
Thank you so much, JinJoo, for your quick response. Bangsan was already on my “must-do” list while I’m in Seoul so I’m very please to know that they can be found there. I did read your post and admired the beautiful workmanship of the mold you found in Damyang. The maker is a true craftsman and there is no wonder why you cherish your mold so much. I can’t wait to try the cakes myself when I return.
Where did you get the molds to make the dashik? What do you call the mold to make the dashik in Korean?
They are called Dasikpan 다식판. Mine was custom made for me by a Korean artisan (it was crazy expensive) but you can buy smaller molds either online or from Korean bakery stores in Kwangjang shijang. Thanks!