Lidah Kucing (Langues de Chat)
These Lidah Kucing cookies are sweet, thin, and crisp delicate buttery cookies with a small shape somewhat like a cat’s tongue. They are so addictive that you cannot stop eating just one!
A lot of Indonesian cookie recipes call for egg yolks: Kaastengels, Nastar, and Palm Cheese Cookies to name a few. Which means you are going to end up with leftover egg whites. If you are not sure what to do with them, try making this Lidah Kucing recipe.
These cookies are easy and quick to whip up. You just need a few ingredients you should already have at home: egg whites, sugar, butter, and flour. The only thing that can be a bit tricky is getting them all the same size. You can use the special cookie molds for pretty even shapes or just bake these cookies on flat baking sheets if you don’t have one. You will be rewarded with the lightest thin buttery cookies that simply melt in your mouth.
Other Names
- Cat tongue cookies (English)
- Kattentong or katte tong (Dutch)
- Langues de chat (French)
- Katzenzungen (German)
- Lingua di gatto (Italian)
What is Lidah Kucing?
Lidah Kucing which translates to “cat tongue” in English, are sweet crisp cookies with a small shape like a cat’s tongue (long and flat). They are pale in the center with a golden brown, the caramelized edge that runs evenly around the outside of the cookie.
These cookies actually come from the Netherlands. They are known as katte tong in Dutch. They are introduced by the Dutch and have been adopted by Indonesians as one of their specialty cookies. Lidah Kucing is one of the most popular cookies during holidays in Indonesia along with nastar (pineapple tart), kaastengels (cheese stick cookies), and kue putri salju (snowball cookies). People usually buy or gift these cookies especially during Chinese New Year, Eid al-Fitr, and Christmas.
Do You Need A Special Mold?
I made this recipe using the special mold for these cookies. It is basically a baking tray with shallow concaves for you to pipe the batter so that the cookies come out neat and the same size.
But, you can totally make these cookies with regular baking sheets lined with parchment paper. The only thing that can be a bit tricky is getting them all the same size. Just pipe the batter in a straight line with 1-inch/1 cm thickness with 2-inch/5 cm long. The batter will spread a lot during baking, so make sure not to put them too close to each other.
Variations
- Experiment with the batter’s flavor – While the recipe is minimal, the batter lends itself to big flavors. You can simply experiment with different flavors by adding bright lemon zest, warm spices, herbs, or flavoring extracts.
- Add toppings – Sprinkle some chopped nuts, grated cheese, or dip into melted chocolate for extra flavoring and texture.
- Make a cookie sandwich – Seal two cookies with a layer of jam or chocolate spread to make a cookie sandwich.
How to Make Lidah Kucing
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale white and fluffy for a few minutes. Add egg whites and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
- Add all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and milk powder. Beat on low speed until just well combined.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag. Make a straight line with 0.5-inch/1 cm thickness on the greased molds. If you are using baking sheets. pipe into 2-inch/5 cm long and make sure to space 2.5-inch/6 cm apart as they will spread as it bakes.
- Bake in preheated oven at 300F/150°C for 13-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Remove the cookies from the molds when still warm. Let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
Baking Tips
- Grease the molds – Make sure to do so to prevent the cookies from sticking to the molds. If using regular baking sheets, line them with parchment paper or baking mats.
- Watch the temperature – These thin cookies are super quick to bake so you will need to keep an eye on the first batch to make sure they do not burn. Oven temperatures vary, and when timings are this quick they can only be seen as a guide.
- Remove the cookies when still warm from the pan – Don’t wait until they are cool or these cookies will be harder to remove from the molds or pan.
Lidah Kucing (Langues de Chat)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup (86 gr) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 (60 gr) egg whites
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 13 tbsp (100 gr) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp (7 gr) cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (7 gr) milk powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F/150°C and lightly grease the molds. If using regular baking sheets, line with parchment papers or silicone mats.
- Mix the wet ingredients – With a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar until pale white and fluffy for 3-5 minutes. Add egg whites and vanilla extract, beat on low speed until well combined.
- Add dry ingredients – Sift in all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and milk powder. Beat on low speed until well combined. Don't overmix.
- Pipe – Transfer the batter to a piping bag. Cut the tip off about 0.5-inch/1 cm in diameter. Pipe the batter into straight lines on the molds. If using regular baking sheets, pipe into 2-inch/5 cm straight lines, leaving about 2.5-inch/6 cm between each strip.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool – Remove the cookies from the pan when still warm. Cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Store – Immediately store the cookies in an airtight container once they cool down or they will lose their crispness quickly.
