16 April 2014 | 46 comments
Posted in cookie/ cracker, egg, Featured Articles, Japanese, Vegetarian
Tamago Boro (also known as egg biscuits, (蛋果子 or 小馒头)) is a very popular snack among kids. You can find them in supermarkets, Japanese specialty stores or local snack shops. My son had never tasted them before. So, he was very excited when he knew that I was going to make them for him. I have made these Tamago Boro successfully based on a recipe I have adapted and modified from 『君之』的手工烘焙坊. It uses simple ingredients with easy-to-follow steps. But if you want to make super tiny, nicely browned and flawless tamago boro biscuits like those sold in the store, then it would be a challenge. To get a perfect looking Tamago Boro, it really requires lots of patience and dexterity with the hands. Having said that, the most tedious part comes from dividing the dough into bits of even weight (one gram each, slightly bigger than the size of a soya bean) and rolling them into 280 miniature egg boro. For easy rolling, I had to constantly wet my hands as the dough turns dry quickly. This task took me around an hour and half to complete with the help of my hubby. Well, if you think it is too time consuming, you can opt for the short-cut given in the original recipe (please refer to note 2 in my recipe). However, the down side of this option is that the cooked egg biscuits will be coated with a layer of flour and their shape may not be as round as the first method and may have more crack lines. During baking, it is important to use the right temperature setting and monitor the baking process closely. This is to prevent these mini balls from cracking and browning too much. Spraying some water on them before and during baking can help to minimize crack lines from developing. At times, you can also place a baking sheet on top to cut down the heat. I bake these egg biscuits for 25 minutes, longer than the recommended time stated in the original recipe. This reason is because my son prefers the texture to be crisp and crunchy, and its taste is more flavourful. I don’t know how they fair when compared to those commercial tamago boro as I can’t even recall when I last ate them. However, the miniature size of these biscuits (about 1cm or less in diameter) makes them look incredibly adorable and irresistible!! My son loves popping them into his mouth while doing his homework. When he shared them with his classmates, the responses he received were overwhelming. After all, who will say no to these cuties? These egg biscuits are low on oil and sugar. It is a perfect snack for kids but I would not recommend it for babies (especially below one year old) as it contains egg and sugar, and may cause choking. Get the recipe and step by step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW.
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46 Comments
Angie (@angiesrecipess) says:17 April 2014 at 1:11 am
I remember those 小馒头…used to buy them, but like you, can’t remember when I last time had one. Yours have turned out great!
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- food-4tots says:
17 April 2014 at 7:53 pm
Angie: Yeah, it used to be our childhood’s favourite snack. 🙂
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- Anvie says:
26 August 2017 at 1:30 am
Hi hi.. I have those kitchen mixer , can I use that instead of using hand whisk ?
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- food-4tots says:
26 August 2017 at 11:07 pm
Anvie: Yes, you can. I would recommend you to make the dough with spatula and whisk instead as the task is pretty quick and straight forward. 🙂
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- tigerfish says:
17 April 2014 at 7:57 am
These are definitely popular with kids…and adults alike! And they will be gone within minutes.
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- food-4tots says:
17 April 2014 at 7:53 pm
Tigerfish: Yes, you’re absolutely right. 🙂
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- Jong Belegen Kaas says:
17 April 2014 at 11:13 am
Love your blog, your recipes for all the children. Although i am not a mum, i adore all your beautiful creations.
regards hellosweetdessert.wordpress.comReply
- food-4tots says:
17 April 2014 at 7:54 pm
Jong Belegen Kaas: Thank you for your wonderful compliment! 🙂
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- Melanie says:
17 April 2014 at 11:27 am
Can I ask, how long do we need to cover the dough with damp cloth before shaping them? Thanks
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- food-4tots says:
17 April 2014 at 7:55 pm
Melanie: You need to cover the dough with damp cloth all the time so as to prevent it from turning dry. 🙂
- dina says:
18 April 2014 at 9:20 pm
i’ve never seen these before. they look so cute. i’d love to try them!
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- food-4tots says:
20 April 2014 at 9:15 pm
Dina: Yes, they are very tiny and adorable! Love to hear your feedback after trying it out! 🙂
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- cindy says:
19 April 2014 at 12:54 am
My son is allergic to dairy. Is there any substitute I could use for the milk?
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- food-4tots says:
20 April 2014 at 9:17 pm
Cindy: You may substitute the amount of milk powder with potato starch. This is just a suggestion as I haven’t tried this substitution before. 🙂
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- Anne says:
27 April 2014 at 5:08 am
My parents always tell the story of when they used to entice me with these to get me to crawl/walk to them. Thanks for bringing back those memories! I will be making these in the future.
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- food-4tots says:
30 April 2014 at 9:34 am
Anne: Do share your feedback after trying it out. Happy trying! 🙂
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- Christy says:
2 May 2014 at 1:51 pm
Awesome! These are just so cute, and a nostalgic reminder of my childhood too 🙂 Yours look so adorable; and round…really tempting! 😀
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- food-4tots says:
5 May 2014 at 12:14 pm
Christy: Thank you! Do give it a try! 🙂
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- jessica says:
12 May 2014 at 4:43 pm
Hi, the egg liquid mentioned in the recipe is it whole egg?
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- food-4tots says:
14 May 2014 at 9:17 pm
Jessica: Yes, you’re right! But you only need the amount stated in the recipe. 🙂
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- jessica says:
14 May 2014 at 11:05 pm
I just bake this recipe. But the dough very sticky and it flatten after roll into round shape. Do u know why? I suspect maybe flour not enough. Thks
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- food-4tots says:
15 May 2014 at 8:07 am
Jessica: Yes, the dough is very sticky at the beginning but after a while it will be less sticky. Extra flour will make the dough dry and create crack lines to the biscuits. It is normal if the base of the biscuit is flattened. Can you send me a photo of your tamago boro? My email is foodfortots@yahoo.com.
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- oyasissprings says:
16 May 2014 at 5:44 pm
I loved this snack in my childhood..really it’s delicious. Thank you
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- food-4tots says:
20 May 2014 at 8:03 am
Oyasissprings: It’s my pleasure to share. So glad that you like it. 🙂
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- Ling says:
25 May 2014 at 10:50 pm
Wow!! It’s true that the smaller the things, the more effort it requires to make 😀 When I saw the 1.5 hr of rolling, etc, I raise my white flag liao. Salute you and your hubby for such dedication 😀
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- food-4tots says:
29 May 2014 at 9:52 am
Ling: Haha! I’m sure that kids would enjoy rolling the biscuits more than the adults. Do give it a try during these school holidays. 🙂
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- Von says:
6 August 2014 at 10:18 pm
Thanks for sharing this!! My one year old son loves the Want Want 小馒头 and I would love to make this preservative free version for him myself!!
Would you know if we can keep the dough in the freezer? I don’t think I can make so many balls in one shot! Haha!
How about the biscuits? How long can we keep them in the cookie jar?
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- food-4tots says:
6 August 2014 at 11:01 pm
Von: I haven’t tried freezing the dough before. But I have tried to put it in the chiller for a while and it turned out dry. Maybe you can try to cut down the amount of this recipe. For the biscuits, they keep well for 2-3 weeks. 🙂
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- Carmen says:
2 September 2014 at 10:50 am
Hi Thanks for sharing this recipe! This is so lovely and I love it so much! I would like to give it a try over the weekend and I also would like to know is it possible to substitute the potato starch with the corn starch?
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- food-4tots says:
2 September 2014 at 11:06 am
Carmen: I’m not sure of the outcome but you can give it a try if you like. The substitution sounds feasible to me. 🙂
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- Elaine says:
11 September 2014 at 1:42 pm
Can I use the baby formula milk powder?
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- food-4tots says:
11 September 2014 at 10:43 pm
Elaine: Do not use normal baby milk powder as substitute. If you don’t have, you can replace with bread flour. FYI, baker’s dry milk (milk powder) is high heat treated and make your bread better in term of texture, flavour and colour. It can be purchased in local baking supplier shops.(Click on the link to read more: https://www.preparedpantry.com/dry-milk.aspx)
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- Cirrus29 says:
2 October 2014 at 10:00 pm
Thank you for this recipe – I’ve made these today with great success (they compare favourably with shop-bought ones from Malaysia anyway). My milk powder had gone off, so I substituted formula (this was ”toddler milk” rather than infant formula). Also, I’d accidentally dumped the icing sugar in with the other dry ingredients (which my toddler helped mix, spilling a few spoonfuls along the way) so we added the egg into that all at once, stirred with a spatula and then kneaded by hand. Our oven is fan assisted, so we baked the biscuits at 150 degrees. So there is a lot more latitude with the recipe than you think!
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- food-4tots says:
8 October 2014 at 10:51 pm
Cirrus29: Thank you so much for the kind feedback! Great to hear your success story! 🙂
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- xpetitpoix says:
17 April 2015 at 2:47 pm
I made these and as you suggested, left them to bake a little longer. The texture was great! Hard yet crunchy. They are a little more dense than the commercial ones which melt in your mouth.
However, they aren’t as flavourful as the ones we buy off the shelves. Be mindful those in the shops are laden with additives!
They were also not sweet enough for me but good for the kids since too much sugar is not healthy.I would definitely make these again and try to add more natural flavoring in it.
Thanks for the great recipe!
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- food-4tots says:
24 April 2015 at 5:09 pm
xpetitpoix: Thank you for sharing your feedback!! If you have more discoveries in improving the flavour, do share with me. Thank you! 🙂
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- Lilypony says:
6 August 2015 at 11:53 pm
Can i use castor sugar instead of icing sugar?
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- food-4tots says:
12 August 2015 at 8:44 pm
Lilypony: Yes, you can. FYI, icing sugar will yield more crunchy texture. 🙂
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- Peggy Seow says:
13 June 2017 at 11:18 pm
Dear 4 tots, just read your site and realise there high amount of sugar added in the recipe, is there any substitution for sugar such as adding in honey to substitute the icing sugar. Thanks and looking forward to receive your reply.
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- food-4tots says:
21 June 2017 at 2:13 pm
Peggy Seow: Sorry, I haven’t tried substitute icing sugar with honey for this recipe. 🙂
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- Anvie says:
26 August 2017 at 1:38 am
How long do you need to let the dough rest before shaping it ?
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- food-4tots says:
26 August 2017 at 11:08 pm
Anvie: I did it straight away after forming the dough. 🙂
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- Anvie says:
3 September 2017 at 12:59 pm
Hi I had tried it a few days Ago.. Everything is well except I didn’t get the melt in the mouth kind of texture.. Can advise why ?
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- food-4tots says:
5 September 2017 at 10:01 pm
Anvie: The texture for tamago boro should be crisp and crunchy. You may try either reducing the baking time or making larger balls to achieve the melt-in-the-mouth texture. 🙂
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Anvie 
Melanie 
cindy 
jessica 
Ling 
Von 
Carmen 
Elaine 
Cirrus29 
xpetitpoix 
Lilypony 
Yin 
Peggy Seow 