Snowflake Crisps 雪花酥 xǔe hūa sū or 雪Q餅 xǔe Q bǐng, were first created in Taiwan around 5 years ago (the letter “Q” in Chinese has come to mean an al dente texture). It has gained tremendous popularity in Taiwan and Mainland China and for good reason! It’s a bit like a nougat candy but less sweet and with a light crispy texture. It combines sweet and savory while having a hint of tartness from the cranberries and held together in a milky marshmallow mixture. A wonderful snack for the kids but adults love them too!
You can pretty much use any kind of cookie, biscuit or cracker that is dry and crispy. You can also use any of your preferred nuts and dried fruits making it completely customizable to your liking. Nut allergies? No problem! The recipe calls for 90g in total nuts which is approximately 1 cup in volume. Just replace it with one cup of combined seeds, granola, and/or coconut chips.
I like to cut them into small rectangular prisms and then wrap them in cellophane candy wrappers to give away to family and friends. Wrapping them individually will keep them fresh for around 2 weeks. You can also keep them in an air-tight container which would keep them fresh for about one week. In my recipe, you’ll also be able to make mocha flavoured and matcha flavoured snowflake crisps too.
There was a time when I went to my near-by grocery store and they were sold out of arrowroot biscuits, so I bought an orange flavoured biscuit just to experiment with. The orange and the cranberry went so well together, it was a total fluke! It just shows you how versatile this Snowflake Crisps 雪花酥 recipe is… you really can’t fail! They are super yummy and easy to make. It’s a must try!!
Snowflake Crisp 雪花酥
Ingredients
- 160 g Marshmallows
mini ones are best because they melt faster - 170 g Arrowroot biscuits
- 60 g Butter , salted or unsalted
- 40 g Milk powder
Whole milk powder works better because it doesn’t clump together as much as skim milk powder does but both will work - 10 g Milk powder for dusting the top and the bottom of the crisps
- 60 g Dried cranberries
- 30 g* Pistachios , salted or unsalted
- 60 g* Cashews , salted or unsalted
- *Total nuts is 90g which is approximately 1 cup in volume. To make this recipe nut free, just use 1 cup of seeds, granola or coconut chips to replace the nuts
Instructions
- Break each arrowroot biscuit into 3 parts and set aside
- Melt the butter in a non-stick pan at medium heat
- Add marshmallows to the butter, stirring and pressing down on the marshmallows until they are completely melted and have combined with the butter
- Turn heat to low. Add the milk powder and mix well. Try to press down on the clumps of milk to smooth it out but don’t worry too much about little bumps
Once everything is combined, you can’t really see or taste them - Mix the nuts and cranberries in a container. Add them to the marshmallow mixture and mix well with a spatula. Turn off heat
- Add biscuits and fold into the mixture until fairly mixed and then place mixture onto a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet
- Take another piece of parchment paper and put it on top of the mixture and start pressing the mixture into the pan forming the straight edges of the mixture
- You may need to use a rolling pin and a dough scraper to help flatten, tighten and form straight edges
You want to eliminate all the spaces in the mixture so that when you cut it, it doesn’t break apart and you’ll get a nice, clean finished edge. 
- Sprinkle the top and bottom with 10g of milk powder Once you’ve sprinkled the top and bottom with milk powder, it will be less sticky and you can pick up the mixture with both hands while it’s covered with parchment paper, and apply pressure from 2 sides to squeeze everything together and then do the same for the other 2 sides to get rid of all the spaces
- Cover with the parchment paper and wait one hour before cutting it to your desired shape
Notes
Mocha Flavour additional / adjusted ingredients:
2 tsp Instant coffee, sifted 30g Semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 tsp Cocoa powder 200g Chocolate wafers instead of 170g of Arrowroot biscuits 30g Milk powder instead of 40g to be added to the butter marshmallow mixture- Substitute 170g Arrowroot biscuits with 200g chocolate wafers to adjust for difference in volume
- Melt the chocolate with the butter
- Press 2 tsp of instant coffee through a sieve, mix with 30g of milk powder (instead of 40g of milk powder) and add to butter and marshmallow mixture
- Mix 1 tsp of cocoa powder with 10g of milk powder and use for the dusting of the top and bottom of the snowflake crisp
- Everything else stays the same
Matcha Flavour additional/ adjusted ingredients:
2 tsp Matcha powder 30g Milk powder instead of 40g to be added to the butter marshmallow mixture- Mix 1 tsp of matcha powder to 30g of milk powder (instead of 40g of milk powder) and add to butter marshmallow mixture
- Mix 1 tsp of matcha powder to 10g of milk powder for dusting the top and bottom of the snowflake crisp
- Everything else stays the same
May I say..... the best? Again, Emily made us this to try. Aside from the taste, the packaging and the wrappings are very appealing! I brought a pack home and within 5 mins, they were all gone! My boys love it and my hubby thought I bought it from supermarket and asked me to buy more next time lol. Love love love it! I will definitely try to make it.
Highly recommend this very scrumptious snack! Is it a cookie or a nougat? It’s actually the best of both worlds! It has a crunch of the cookie but a subtle softness that reminds me a nougat. My household loved this when Emily let us try this snack! Another recipe I will have on my list!!
These are so addictive and so tasty! These are also not hard to make at all. I made a batch with no nuts for my daughter who is allergic. I used apricots, dried mango, toasted coconut chips and pumpkin seeds and she LOVED them. I even subbed out the Arrowroot cookies for Ritz crackers when I ran out cookies because they got eaten so fast!
Hey Tammy! I know, they’re sooo addictive. I pretty much ate a whole batch by myself! I wanted to make a nut free one, but I do love nuts, so I keep pushing it off. I love your combination! I’m going to try it. Thanks for trying out my recipe!
Hello thanks for the complete recipe . Will definitely try. Do you knownhow to make them less hard ?
Hi Evi, I don't think mine have ever been too hard. Some recipes use less butter or too much milk powder which could be why they're hard. Also, when you're pressing it together, don't press too much. Some air pockets will help create a softer crunch. Unfortunately, you may have to trial and error a couple of times before you get the denseness you're looking for. I used to try to press it together tightly so that it's less crumbly and looks nicer. But I find that I actually like it more crumbly. Happy cooking!
Tried twice, with and without matcha powder. Once with arrowroot biscuits and the other with Ritz. Ritz break easier but both are as hard, almost impossible to bite. Marshmallows mixture is also not enough to cover all the biscuits. Might just give up.
Hi Jocelyn, don't give up yet! I use this recipe on average once a month and everyone loves them! I can assure you that it's not supposed to be hard and impossible to bite. On the contrary, they should be airy and crispy.
From your picture, if you mixed the matcha into the marshmallow mixture, I can tell that after adding the matcha, the marshmallow mixture was not well incorporated with the dry ingredients. You have parts where there is no green at all. The green parts or the marshmallow should be incorporated throughout. So when you have too much of the marshmallow in one spot, when it cools, it will harden. This may be why it comes out so hard for you. Perhaps next time, do it without the matcha. Some powders may absorb more than others so the matcha could be thickening your marshmallow too much. If you really want to add the matcha, maybe add more marshmallows and butter. Alternatively, mix the matcha and the milk powder to dust the outside only.
I also don't see any milk powder on the outside. Did you add it to the marshmallows? The milk powder also creates elasticity for the marshmallow mixture, so it is an important part to this recipe. Make sure you are using fresh marshmallows too. Once, I used ones that tasted a bit chewier than usual, but I thought if I melt it down, I could give it new life! Yeah, that didn't work...it made my Snowflake Crisp into Snowflake Chews, lol!
I once had someone who reduced the amount of butter to make it healthier. But the butter is also really important in keeping its consistency.
This recipe requires a kitchen scale to make sure the measurements are correct. As with many dessert recipes, a precise amount of ingredients is key to success.
If all else fails, you can send me a video of you making it and I can tell you where the issue is.
Thanks for letting me know about the trouble you're having, it allows me to include more tips on the recipe! Please update me about on your next attempt!
Perfect! Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!
I have to hide these! They are a definite hit in our house. Thank you for giving us some to try, they are delicious and your packaging is so great. I think you should sell boxes of these.
Hi Lorraine, I have to hide them from myself, but sadly that hasn’t worked! I’ve been getting orders for them too, but I’d rather give out the recipe so I get more to my myself! Happy cooking!
Can't wait to make these! One question - is it better to use salted or unsalted nuts?
Hi Lily,
It’s really a matter of your taste. I actually like using salted nuts to cut the sweetness of the marshmallows. But those who aren’t fans of savoury and sweet together, definitely use unsalted nuts.
Let me know how it goes, happy cooking!
Emily
Hi there
I was wondering if we can freeze them for later.
Hi Shirley, I have never tried to freeze them because it seems they're all gone within a few days. I don't think they would freeze well unless you eat them from frozen state. I think when it thaws, your crackers are going to be mushy. But I can't tell you for sure because I've never tried. If you decide to try, please let me know how it goes! Happy cooking!
This is a really fantastic healthy treat. Like a glorified rice crispy square but filled with nuts and anything you really want to add. I have now changed up the nuts to which ever ones I have in the pantry and each time the taste is a bit different. You will keep making these regularly. They also store really well in an airtight container.
Hi Kathy, snowflake crisps is one of the most popular recipes on my website! I always make this for family and friends as gifts when I travel. It's always a big hit! Thanks for the 5 stars and leaving a wonderful comment!
I am wondering if I could use Cremona as a substitute for the dry milk ?
Hi Jude, the dry milk is for giving it a subtle milky flavor and to make it not sticky. I am unfamiliar with creamers in general. But I suppose if you like the flavor and it can keep its powdery consistency, I don't see why you can't use it. Happy cooking!