Hodugwaja - Korean Walnut Balls
호두과자
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These little balls are bite sized morsels of pure joy. Some may call them pastries others cookies, to me they are just deliciousness. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed them when my daughter had me try one for the first time. There was a woman selling them on the street out of a cart right at the subway exit near her apartment. She made them there and they were warm and soft and the perfect size to just pop in your mouth
If you ever have the opportunity to try them in Korea, do it! You will not be disappointed.
When I got back to the states, there were several dishes I was obsessed with and did a few searches online to see if I could find them in the area. I live in Southern California, where there is a large Asian community so I thought there might be a chance.
I had no luck but what I did find was THE PAN I needed to make them. Needless to say I bought one right away and could not wait for it to arrive. I searched the internet for recipes looking for a version relatively easy to make, so anyone could do it with what they had at home, besides the pan, of course.
When the it arrived - Oh happy day.. oh happy day… I started trying out the different recipes to see how similar I could get mine to those I had with my daughter. I picked a few recipes apart… and there was a bit of trial and error but I got it. Many of the recipes online called for a sweet bean paste to be added while the balls are cooking. Full disclosure, the Hodugwaja I had in Korea did not have that, nor do I think that most of us would have the sweet bean paste in our pantry. That being said, I did order some online. Specifically, the KC Sweetened Red Bean Paste, and have added it as optional to my recipe.
I am, also, going to try Nutella and maybe make a banana version. I ordered a second pan to try some without the nuts for my tree-nut allergy kid. I will let you know how they turn out. Watch for the updates.
PS. These little babies should be eaten while they are still warm, or shortly there after. They seem to lose a bit when they sit too long. I say this as I watch one of my children devour the ones I made yesterday.
Hodugwaja - Korean Walnut Balls
- 1 cup + 1 Tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 2 egg , beaten
- 15 walnuts, chopped
- (Optional) Red Bean Paste
- 1 Tbsp melted butter or neutral tasting oil for cooking (I used a plain cooking spray)
- Walnut Pan
- 1. Mix all the dry batter ingredients in a large bowl.
- 2. In a different bowl, mix all the batter wet ingredients.
- 3. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, making sure there are no lumps.
- 4. Transfer to an easy pour container.
- 5. Brush both sides of the walnut pan with melted oil or butter
- 6. On the stove, preheat the walnut pan on both sides over a medium heat.
- 7. When the pan is hot, turn off heat. Pour batter into each walnut mold. Fill a little over half way.
- 8. Quickly, add the walnuts and any additional filling. If you are going to add the red bean, roll ½ teaspoon of red bean with some chopped walnuts, in advance. One small ball per walnut ball.
- 9. Turn burner back on medium low.
- 10. Close the pan and turn it over.
- 11. Flip the pan every 30 seconds or so until each side has been on the stove for 4 minutes. (8 minutes total)
- 12. When cooked, remove the walnut balls and let cool. Repeat steps 5 through 11 until you are out of batter.
- 13. Sometimes they come out with a little belt, think Saturn. That can easily be scrapped off if you want too.
Takes , serves 30 cookies.
