Perfectly sweet, buttery, and crisp, Lengua de Gato are the ultimate baked goodies! They’re great for gift-giving or to keep on hand for any time you need a sweet treat. Try this super easy recipe and enjoy homemade, warm, and fresh cat’s tongue cookies from the oven.
Have you checked our otap recipe yet? I hope you give the recipe a try because those flaky puff pastries are seriously the bomb!
And while you’re at it, whip up some of these lengua de gato, too. Perfectly sweet, buttery, and crisp, they’re a treat you’d want on hand ALL.THE.TIME.
What are Lengua de Gato
Lengua de Gato are thin and crispy Filipino cookies with long and flat oval shapes resembling a cat’s (gato) tongue (lengua). They’re delicious as a midday snack paired with coffee or tea and make great holidays gifts or pasalubong.
These cat’s tongue cookies are a popular treat in many cuisines, such as the French Langue de Chat or the Indonesian Kue Lidah Kucing. Their buttery crunch is addictive as is, but it’s also common to serve them dipped in melted chocolate or baked with colorful candy sprinkles.
Lengua de gato are easy to make using pantry staples. No driving around town looking for fancy items!
Six ingredients and forty minutes are all you need to whip up these goodies. And if you’re wondering what to do with egg whites left from making yema or Leche flan, this recipe is it!
Making the dough
- Use softened butter. If the butter is too cold, the dough might split apart when the egg is added. Softened butter makes mixing easier and prevents overworking the batter, which can cause a tough, gummy, or chewy texture.
- Use room-temperature eggs. If the eggs are straight from the fridge, they might not blend well with the softened butter, resulting in a lumpy batter.
Piping
- Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to keep the cookies from sticking.
- To shape the cookies, use a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch round piping tip or a Ziplock bag with the tip cut.
- Remove any air pockets in the piping bag to ensure the dough can be piped uniformly.
- Pipe the dough about 3 inches long and about ½ the thickness of your index finger. If they’re too wide and thick, they might not be crisp enough in the 15 minutes of baking time.
- Space them at least 2 inches apart as the cookies spread a lot.
Baking
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure accurate baking temperature.
- Bake the cookies until the edges start to brown but the tops are still light in color. Watch them closely as they can darken and burn quickly.
- They’ll be soft to the touch when taken out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to cool slightly and remove them from the parchment paper while still warm to keep them from sticking.
Storage
- Allow the lengua de gato to cool completely before transferring to a container. Do not store them while still warm, as the residual heat will create moisture inside the container, which can affect the texture.
- Do not leave the cookies out too long; they’ll lose their crispness. Keep in an airtight container to lock in freshness.
