A soft and light cookie version of the beloved Japanese rice snack onigiri! With five flavor variations and dark chocolate as the ‘seaweed’ they’re a fun and delicious snack!

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What Is Onigiri?

Onigiri is a snack that is found in just about every convenience store in Japan! It’s essentially a rice ball made from white rice, usually with other ingredients like tuna or eggplant stuffed in the middle and then the whole thing is wrapped with crispy nori seaweed. They’re usually shaped as triangles but sometimes they’re shaped as ball or cylinder. They’re perfect for picnics, train rides or just a quick snack since they’re healthy, portable and delicious!

These cookies are just a play on the shape, no rice or tuna is involved! I made them in five flavors – matcha, white sesame, black sesame, cherry blossom and umeboshi ( Japanese pickled plum). Each on has their own unique flavor. You can find more information about the ingredients below.

The Ingredients

Almond flour. It gives the cookies a light texture.
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour. I always use this brand but you want to try a different brand of all purpose 1:1 gluten free flour make sure that it contains xantham gum.
Tapioca starch. This gives the cookies a soft and smooth texture similar to a sugar cookie.
Coconut oil. Use melted coconut oil.
Maple syrup. Naturally sweetens the cookies while also helping to bind the ingredients.
Vanilla extract. Compliments all of the flavors.
Matcha. Use a good quality culinary matcha for the cookies.
Sesame seeds. Use white or black untoasted sesame seeds since they will toast when baking.
Cherry blossoms. They have a beautiful, unique floral flavor. I use salt preserved cherry blossoms. They must be soaked to remove excess salt and lightly dried before using. I get them from here. Cherry blossom extract cannot be substituted because the flavor is not the same as the real blossoms.
Umeboshi. This is a pickled Japanese plum. It has a sour and salty unique flavor that pairs wonderfully with something sweet. They can be found at any Japanese grocery store and some Asian markets.
Dark chocolate. This is used for the ‘seaweed’. I use dark chocolate but use whatever kind you prefer.

How To Make The Cookies

These cookies are super simple to make! They have a texture similar to a sugar cookie – slightly crisp outside with a smooth, soft texture inside. Below are the steps to make the basic cookie while the detailed steps with the 5 flavor variations are in the recipe card.

Mix the dry ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients and pour into the dry.
Form the dough into a ball.
Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper.
Cut out with a triangle cookie cutter.
Bake for 10 minutes.

onigiri cookies finished on cooling rack

Why You Will Love These Onigiri Cookies

✓ Soft and light texture

✓ Natural ingredients

✓ Playful

✓ Five flavors

✓ Vegan & gluten free

Looking For More Cookie Recipes?

Or More Japanese Recipes?

I really enjoyed making these onigiri cookies! I think that they turned out really fun and playful. You can make just one flavor or all five to create a beautiful cookie assortment. While the fIavors are nostalgic for me, they may be new to others. I hope that you enjoy making (and eating!) these cookies.

Ingredients

Basic Cookie Recipe

1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
7 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
6 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate, for the 'seaweed'

Sesame

3-4 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds

Matcha

1 tablespoon matcha powder, sifted

Cherry Blossom

25-30 salt preserved cherry blossoms, soaked for 20 minutes

Umesboshi

8-10 umeboshi (pickled Japanese plum)

Instructions

Basic Cookie Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients – almond flour, Bob's Red Mill 1:1 flour, tapioca starch and sea salt. Stir until there are no clumps.
Mix the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry ingredients. Stir and use your hands to form the dough into a ball. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. The flour will absorb some moisture as it sits. If it is very hot, put the dough in the fridge for no longer then 10 minutes. It should be more firm to roll out.
Roll the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until the dough is 1/4" thick. Cut out the cookies with your cutter. Use an offset spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to the lined baking sheet. Form the leftover dough into a ball and roll out again until all the dough is used.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Watch carefully. They should be a light golden brown around the edges. If they're baked for too long they'll start to puff up a bit. Let them cool on the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Once the cookies are cooled melt the chocolate. To do this place the chopped chocolate into a large bowl and place it on top of a small pot filled with a few inches of water. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Bring the water to a simmer. (Double boiler method). The chocolate should melt in about 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally as it melts.
Once the chocolate is melted put it into a pipping bag or a squeeze bottle and make the 'seaweed' on the cookies. Once the chocolate is set, they can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for 4-5 days. Enjoy!

Flavor variations

Sesame

Follow the basic cookie recipe except after the dough is rolled out, sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Very lightly roll over the dough again, just so that the sesame seeds stick to the dough. Cut out the cookies. Gather the leftover dough and repeat. It's ok if sesame seeds get mixed into the dough as well.

Matcha

Follow the basic cookie recipe and add the matcha to the dry ingredients. Sift the matcha if it's clumpy.

Cherry Blossom

Before starting on the cookies, soak the cherry blossoms in warm water for about 20 minutes. This is to dissolve and rinse off the salt. Drain and dry on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Finely chop the cherry blossoms. The stems can be used as well but they will look darker in the cookies.
Follow the basic cookie recipe except once the dough is formed into a ball gently fold in the cherry blossoms. Use your hands to blend the blossoms with the dough.

Umeboshi

Before starting on the cookies, pit 8-10 umeboshi plums. Lay them flat. I used a small circle cookie cutter to cut out a perfect circle. I find that I can get two circles with one umeboshi. If you don't have a cutter the right size you can just shape the umeboshi into a circle on the cookie. Follow the basic cookie recipe except once the cookies are ready to be baked, gently press one umeboshi on top of the cookies.

Notes

*The size of the cookie cutter I used is 3″x 3″. The yield will vary on the size of the cutter.

*If you want to make all of the flavors, the recipe can halved for each flavor.

Nutrition

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Your feedback is always appreciated! Please leave a comment and star rating below. If you have a question please ask me in the comment section and I will get back to you ASAP. Thank you so much for stopping by and happy eating always!