Swirled “Pig’s Ears” Cookies | Bánh Lỗ Tai Heo

Swirled “Pig’s Ears” Cookies | Bánh Lỗ Tai Heo

This is an easy recipe. I think you could play with the colors and flavor too. I surely will. Share your experience and experiments in comments!

How to make the swirl? As Ben wrote in the recipe headnote: "The swirled pattern is made by incorporating cocoa powder into half of the dough, rolling each in a sheet, then stacking and rolling the two doughs up together, similar to American pinwheel cookies." This recipe has been slightly formatted and adapted from Crumbs by Ben Mims. Makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients

2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons white US granulated (UK caster) sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 egg yolks
⅓ cup (2 ½ fl oz/80 ml) canned unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
⅔ cup (95g) plus ½ cup (70g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
Vegetable oil for shallow-frying

Instructions

Make the two doughs: In a medium bowl, combine the butter, sugar, lemon juice, and salt and stir with a small wooden spoon or silicone spatula until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in the coconut milk until smooth. Scrape all the batter to the bottom of the bowl, then eyeball half of it and spoon this amount into another medium bowl.
Add the ⅔ cup (95 g) flour to one bowl and stir until it forms a dough and there are no dry patches of flour remaining. Add the remaining ½ cup (70 g) flour and the cocoa powder to the second bowl and stir until it forms a dough. Shape each dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap (cling film), and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Form the dough roll: Working on a lightly floured work surface, roll out the plain dough with a rolling pin into a rough rectangle ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Roll the chocolate dough in the same manner. Brush the plain dough with water and place the chocolate dough on top of it. Gently roll the rolling pin over the stacked doughs to press them together. Starting from one long side of the stacked dough, roll them up together as you would a jelly roll (Swiss roll). Wrap the log of dough in plastic wrap (cling film) and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Fry time: Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with paper towels. Place a wire rack nearby. Pour enough oil into a large skillet to come ½ inch (13 mm) up the side of the pan.
When ready to cook, unwrap the dough and trim one end so it’s even. Submerge a trimmed piece of dough in the oil in the skillet. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and heat until the dough piece floats to the surface and begins frying. If using a deep-fry thermometer, the temperature should read 350°F (177°C).
Using a sharp, thin-bladed knife, cut off about 6 slices of dough ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Wrap the rest of the log and keep it cold in the refrigerator while you fry the first cookies. Remove the test piece of dough, then immediately slide the 6 slices of dough into the oil and fry, flipping once, until golden brown and slightly curled, 1–2 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon or tongs, lift the cookies from the oil and transfer them to the paper towels to drain. As the cookies dry, move them to a wire rack. Repeat frying the remaining cookies, working 6 at a time and maintaining the temperature of the oil as evenly as possible. Let the cookies cool completely—they will firm up when cooled.