Celebrate fall and Mid-Autumn Festival with these creative snow skin mooncakes with a pumpkin spice twist!
Fall is here! What better way to celebrate than with these pumpkin Oreo snow skin mooncakes?? I wanted to try making homemade mooncakes but couldn’t settle with a simple custard or black sesame filling. Thus, PUMPKIN OREO SNOW SKIN MOONCAKES were born!!
The mochi wrapper is a perfect blanket for the satisfying pumpkin cheesecake filling studded with Oreo crumbs. I found that they were perfect for the Mid-Autumn Festival and incorporated classic fall flavors too! Get the most out of fall with this hands-on, easily impressive dessert.
What are Mooncakes?
Mooncakes are popular Chinese bakery items that are eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival, an important holiday celebrating the concepts of gathering and thanksgiving. It is also believed that the moon is the brightest on this day.
Traditional Mooncakes
Traditional mooncakes are baked and made of a thick pastry dough filled with a sweet and dense filling such as lotus paste. The crust can be chewy, flaky, or tender, depending on the region of influence. My family usually buys Cantonese-style filled with lotus paste and salted duck yolk.
These are definitely more complicated to make at home and require specialty ingredients. If you’re interested, check out this Cantonese Mooncake recipe from Red House Spice!
Snow Skin Mooncakes
Snow skin mooncakes, also known as ice-skin and snowy mooncakes, are a more contemporary version of this special treat. These mooncakes aren’t baked and are instead encased in a chewy mochi dough. They are simpler and lighter, perfect for sudden mooncake cravings.
The rise of snow skin mooncakes is related to the popularity of more creative flavors. As you can see, pumpkin and oreo are a far cry from jujube paste and sweet bean paste. However, it’s equally as festive and much lighter than their traditional counterparts!
How to Make Snow Skin Mooncakes
Before you start, I would recommend having a 50g mooncake press which can be found easily on Amazon. My press was slightly larger and so it made flatter and wider mooncakes. Let’s get started!
Snow Skin Mochi Wrapper
The tender snow skin wrapper is made of a simple mochi dough. It’s made of three flours: glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and cornstarch. When steamed, it becomes very sticky but comes together when kneaded. Additionally, the mochi dough will be dusted with cornstarch before serving. I adapted Omnivore’s Cookbook’s recipe here.
Mix the three flours together and sift in confectioners sugar. In a separate bowl, stir to mix the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Using a spoon, form a hole in the middle of the flour. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture at a time. Stir until the liquid is incorporated into the flour completely. Repeat until a runny batter forms.
Pour batter over a strainer fitted over a large heat-safe bowl. Steam over medium-high heat until batter is cooked completely, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool. Knead in the bowl using a spoon until it forms a ball. Then, remove and knead on a surface until smooth, around 5 minutes. I used gloves and a plastic wrap-covered surface to deal with the stickiness.
This is where you can add food coloring. Divide the dough into two halves for easier marbling. Add a few drops of food coloring into each half and knead gently to spread the food coloring. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. This is a good time to start on the filling!
Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake Filling
The filling base is made of cream cheese, pumpkin purée, and crushed oreos. It takes exactly like a nice, comforting pumpkin cheesecake. The creaminess is similar to that of a traditional snow skin mooncake filling. The oreos add another layer of flavor, although they didn’t stay as crunchy as I had hoped.
The first step is to reduce the pumpkin purée so that it is thicker and more concentrated. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and pour in canned pumpkin puree. Cook down until reduced by around half, about 20 minutes. Add in pumpkin spice and sugar and remove from heat.
After purée cools, combine with softened cream cheese and mix with a wooden spoon. Mix in crushed Oreos and let mixture chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Mooncake Assembly
Measure out 25 grams of filling and use your hands (with or without gloves) to roll into a ball. Transfer the filling balls into a container and cover it with the lid. Chill for another 30 minutes.
Measure out 25 grams of mochi and use your hands to roll into a ball. Do not dust with cornstarch. Transfer to a container and cover. Chill.
After filling and wrapper are done chilling, place a dough ball on a clean working surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it into an even, thin, round disc that is about 4”. I suggest sandwiching the dough between plastic wrap so that it doesn’t stick to anything. Carefully remove it from the surface onto your palm.
Place a filling ball in the center of the wrapper. Use your other hand to gather the wrapper onto the top of the filling. The dough sheet will start to form pleats and create a thicker layer. Once done, place the mooncake onto a plate, pleated-side-down. Loosely cover it with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. Repeat the process to wrap the rest of the mooncakes.
Dust the mooncake with a thin layer of cornstarch. Carefully place the wrapped mooncake balls into the mold, smooth surface against the pattern plate. Place the mold onto a clean, flat surface. Gently press the lever until the dough is against your table surface. Hold it for at least 30 seconds. It will help the pattern to form. Once done, push the lever to release the mooncake. Repeat the process to mold all the mooncakes.
Serve fresh or slightly chilled. I also enjoyed these after freezing them for about an hour. If you freeze them for longer, be sure to thaw slightly before eating!
If you’re looking for more seasonal desserts, check out my cozy Chai Spice Mug Cake or Pumpkin Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting recipes!
Snow Skin Mooncakes with Oreo and Pumpkin Filling
Equipment
- mooncake press
Ingredients
Mochi Wrapper
- ½ cup glutinous rice flour
- ½ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch and extra for coating
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- food coloring, optional
Pumpkin Oreo Filling
- 6 oz block cream cheese, at room temperature
- 8-10 oreo cookies, crushed
- 7½ oz pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Mochi Wrapper
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and cornstarch. Mix well. Sift confectioners sugar into the bowl.
- Add the milk, oil, and vanilla extract into a small bowl. Stir to mix well.
- Form a hole in the middle of the flour. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture at a time. Stir until the liquid is incorporated into the flour completely. Repeat until a runny batter forms.
- Pour into a strainer set over a large bowl that will fit in your strainer. Once strained, the mixture will thicken.
- Prepare a steamer by pouring 1 inch of water into the steamer pot. Cover and heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Place the bowl with the batter into the steamer rack. Place the rack over the boiling pot. Cover and steam until the batter is cooked completely, 15 to 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, examine the dough by inserting a spoon into the middle. The spoon should come out clean, and the dough should feel very stiff.
- Once done, remove the lid, and transfer the steaming rack with the bowl onto your kitchen counter to cool off for a few minutes.
- Scrape the dough from the bowl and knead it using a spoon, until it forms a dough ball, 5 minutes or so. Remove from bowl and knead with your hands or with gloves on until smooth, around 5 minutes. This is where you can add the optional food coloring. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Pumpkin Oreo Filling
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour in canned pumpkin puree and cook down until reduced by around half, about 20 minutes. Add in pumpkin spice and sugar and remove from heat. You can do this while mochi is steaming.
- After pumpkin puree cools, combine with cream cheese in a medium bowl. Mix until fully combined, then add in oreo crumbs. Let chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
Assemble Mooncakes
- Form the filling into balls – Measure 25 grams of filling and use your hands to press and roll until it forms a ball. You can wear rubber gloves to help with this process. Transfer the filling balls into a container and cover it with the lid. Chill for another 30 minutes.
- Form the dough into balls – Measure 25 grams of dough and use your hands to roll it into a ball. Place the dough balls into a container and cover. Chill in the fridge until the filling is ready to use.
- Place the dough ball on a clean working surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it into an even, thin, round disc that is about 4”. Carefully remove it from the surface onto your palm.
- Place a filling ball in the center of the wrapper. Use your other hand to gather the wrapper onto the top of the filling. The dough sheet will start to form pleats and create a thicker layer. Once done, place the mooncake onto a plate, pleated-side-down. Loosely cover it with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. Repeat the process to wrap the rest of the mooncakes.
Mold Mooncakes
- Dust the mooncake with a very thin layer of cornstarch.
- Carefully place the wrapped mooncake balls into the mold, smooth surface against the pattern plate. Place the mold onto a clean, flat surface. Gently press the lever until the dough is against your table surface. Hold it for at least 30 seconds. It will help the pattern to form. Once done, push the lever to release the mooncake. Repeat the process to mold all the mooncakes.
- Serve fresh!