Hari Raya cookies get fancy makeover
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NO Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration is complete without traditional cookies such as batang buruk, putu kacang or kuih buah rotan. However, changing taste buds and lifestyles is also seeping the introduction of fancy cookies into the festivities.
Visit any Ramadan bazaar or malls and you will not miss the “hipster” cookies that are sold for Aidilfitri. They can also be customised to meet the requirements, themes and tastes of individuals.
One such hipster cookie maker is Wiera Abdullah, 35, who says he gets almost 50 special requests every year.
“The requests depend on the taste of the customers, from the shapes to the colours. The price is based on what is requested.
“Our cookies have various themes related to Aidilfitri. They can be given out to loved ones as Hari Raya gifts as well,” he told The Malaysian Insight.
These exclusive cookies come in two flavours – vanilla and chocolate.
“Last year someone ordered these hipster cookies as a corporate gift for Hari Raya.
“People now like their cookies to be different and have individualistic touch. And we are getting repeat customers too,” said the former banker who has been running his own cookie business for the past two years.
Another entrepreneur, Normadihah Ibrahim, 35, is creating a market for herself by selling kuih bangkit keju, a cheesy spin on a traditional cookie.
She said Hari Raya cookies have been modernised in order to cater for a larger pool of customers.
Normadihah said the demand for cheese-based cookies is high as customers enjoy the taste of these cookies.
“Previously we have had customers who weren’t keen to try cookies with cheese but now they have started to accept such cookies,” she said.
“My cheese-based cookies attract people of every age, and enjoyed by non-Muslims too,” she said.
Her cookies are marketed in Johor, Pahang, Terengganu and Selangor, and will soon find its way to Singapore.
“God willing, we have sold more than 2,000 containers this year. We are also trying to market our cookies in Singapore,” she added. – June 5, 2019.