Snowflake Crisp 雪花穌/雪Q餅

Remember that "Not Nougat" post a number of years ago? LOL I haven't forgotten. I love nougat, but I did not like the burns it gave me in an attempt to make them. In comes this new trend, or nougat alternative, from Taiwan - xue hua su or xue Q bing (雪花穌/雪Q餅) - roughly translated to Snowflake Crisp/Snowy Fudge/Snowy Biscuit/Snowy Cookie/Snowflake Fudge...you get the drift.

How is it an alternative? Well, it still has the dried fruits and nuts that are classic of a nougat, but instead of doing some witchcraft with the expensive cocoa butter, it uses melted down marshmallows. Oh, and throw in some biscuits in the mix for a bit of a crunch too. All of this done on low heat. Seems safe 👌

There can be many varieties of flavours of Snowflake Crisp, such as:

- Original (just almonds)

- Oreo w/almonds

- Cranberries & pistachios

- Salted egg yolk w/almonds

- Matcha & cashews

"Hey, what if I don't like/can't have nuts?" 

I don't care, do without. I don't like them either 😂 Just don't leave out the biscuits.

Basic Snowflake Crisp Recipe

150g marshmallows

40g unsalted butter

45g powdered milk

180g Marie biscuits

Mix-ins

60g dried fruits

60g nuts

*I used cranberries, currants, chocolate chips, cocoa nibs

Makes 24 (3 x 4 x 2.5 cm) squares

Steps

1. Measure out ingredients, chop or break them as necessary. 

2. Mise en place and get ready! 

3. Melt butter on medium-low heat

4. Once butter has been melted, add marshmallows to melt, stir often. Adjust heat as necessary. Do not burn. 

5. Add powdered milk to the melted marshmallows, turn off heat, and fold until fully incorporated.

6. Add mix-ins and fold. 

7. Dust a pan with powdered milk and transfer the Snowflake Crisp to the pan, dust with more powdered milk. 

8. Press to flatten evenly and shape.

9. Let cool a little bit and cut into squares while still warm

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I thought it would be rather sweet from the marshmallows and dried fruits and even the chocolate, but I think the biscuits balanced out the sweetness quite a bit. 

Feel free to experiment with flavours or even make your own flavoured marshmallows for more exciting flavour combos! 

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Variations 

Matcha & Strawberries

30g Freeze dried strawberries 

5g matcha (more for dusting) 

Biscuits, milk powder, nuts, etc. stays the same

Pina Colada

30g dried mangoes, chopped

15g freeze dried pineapples

30g dried shredded coconut 

5g coconut milk powder

Biscuits, milk powder, nuts, etc. stays the same