Kleeb lamduan are flower shortbread biscuits from Thailand. They are made to look like the lamduan flower. They not only look amazing, but they are quite easy to make and also vegan. Traditionally the biscuits are smoked with a Thai dessert candle. I didn’t have any, but it didn’t matter, as the biscuits turned out delicious. If I’ll find a dessert candle in shops, I’m going to try using it, to see the difference. The smoking is easy to do, the biscuits should be arranged on a plate that you can cover with a glass bowl. Or you can put the biscuits in a big bowl. After that the candle is light and the bowl/plate is covered. It will stop burning for lack of oxygen and the smoke will give the flavour. The biscuits should be ready in 30 minutes.

More distinct flowers would have six petals, but it would have been more complicated to make. Also, all the new recipes I found had the flowers with only three petals. Some of them were coloured. I’m going to make only the centre coloured to see how it turns out, but I haven’t had the chance just yet.

Ingredients for 12 Kleeb lamduan biscuits:

– 75g white flour
– 37g icing sugar
– 1 tsp rose water
– 60ml vegetable oil (you might use a bit less)

Sift the icing sugar and place it in a bowl with the flour and the rose water. Pour around 50ml of oil on top and mix together. Add more oil a teaspoon at a time, to form the dough if necessary. The dough should not be crumbly, but it should not stick to the bowl either. To test if the dough has the right consistency, try to shape a ball to see how easy it is to do it. If is not easy and the ball falls apart, add a bit more oil and incorporate. The aim is to have a glossy ball of dough.

Make balls of dough. For 12 biscuits you will need to make 10 balls. Put the balls on a plate and in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to cool. The balls will get a bit firm, so it will be easier to cut and they will have nice sharp edges.

When you are ready to make the Kleeb lamduan, preheat the oven at 180C or 160C fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Take the dough balls out of the fridge and cut each one in four. Arrange three petals on the baking tray with the tips touching in the middle. Cut the remaining edge in three and make a small ball with a third. Put it on top of the flower, where the petals meet. You can make three cuts in the small ball to make it look more realistic. If not, leave it as I did and it will turn out pretty amazing anyway.

Do the same with the rest of the dough balls. You need less balls because from a quarter you can make more middles, so, in the end you will have 40 quarters that are enough to make 12 biscuits, as in 36 petals and 12 middles (for the middle each quarter is cut in 3).

Now place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The biscuits should be firm, but still pale in color. Take the tray out of the oven. Leave the biscuits to cool completely on the baking tray. After they are cold, the biscuits will keep their shape and they can be transferred on a plate or put in a biscuits jar.

Have you ever heard of Kleeb lamduan?