Try this Hawaiian butter mochi recipe for a chewy, buttery, fudgey dessert with crisp, crunchy edges. A Hawaiian favorite, this butter mochi is highly addictive!
The first time I had Hawaiian butter mochi was on a trip to Maui and I happened across these in an outdoor market. Initially I thought they were blondies and was curious why there were so popular but then I saw the words "butter mochi" written on top and I knew I would love them as I'm a huge fan of mochi.
What is Hawaiian Butter Mochi?
Hawaiian butter mochi is a popular sweet treat made with mochiko flour, sugar, eggs, and coconut milk. If you've never had it before, it's chewy, fudgy, sweet, coconut-y, and surrounded by the crunchiest crust you can imagine. The best way I can describe it is like an extra fudgy brownie with crunchy edges and a chewy center. 
What is mochiko?
Mochiko is sweet rice flour ground into a fine powder. The texture is very similar to flour but when it's baked or cooked, the texture becomes chewy and stretchy. It's widely used in Hawaiian, Korean, Japanese, and south east Asian recipes.
Hawaiian Butter Mochi Recipe Tips:
The trick to getting these butter mochi chewy is to let them cool completely. I waited a good 3 hours until they were cool enough to achieve the right texture. It'll be worth the wait. If you eat them before they're cool, the texture won't be firm enough and you'll miss out on all that chewy, fudgy texture. Just let them cool on a wire rack and you'll notice them firming up.
How to Make Hawaiian Butter Mochi
I used a mini loaf pan and muffin pan because I wanted more of those crunchy edges. I'm definitely a lover of those crispy, crunchy corner/edge pieces when it comes to any baked good so what better way to capitalize on that than a using these rectangular mini loaf pans. You get 4 edges in one piece - winning!
These butter mochi don't rise that much so feel free to fill them up. You'll see a bit of rise from the baking powder and egg but not enough to overflow the pan.
Look at those edges! I wish you could hear how crunchy and crispy the top edges are. It's literally like biting into a crunchy cookie. The edges are nice and hard, but the center will still be too soft to fully enjoy these, so remove them from the pan and let them cool.
This Hawaiian butter mochi recipe is perfect for get togethers or parties. They're perfect at room temperature and everyone loves it when I bring them to get togethers. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Microwave them for about 10 seconds to soften up or reheat them in a toaster oven. Let them cool before enjoying.
I hope you enjoy this Hawaiian butter mochi recipe! Please share, rate, and comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
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Recipe
Chewy Hawaiian Butter Mochi
Equipment
☑ Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 3 cups Mochiko sweet rice flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 13.5 oz lite coconut milk
- 1 ½ cup water
- 7 Tablespoons butter - melted
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk out any lumps. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a well greased nonstick muffin pan or mini loaf pan and bake for 40 - 45 minutes until the edges and surface turn a golden brown. If baking in a 9 x 9 baking dish, bake for 1 hour.
- Remove them from the pan and set them on a wire rack to cool before serving. Be sure to let them cool completely to firm up and get a chewy mochi texture.
✎ Recipe Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Iris
I’ve made these a couple of times now and they always turn out so delicious and mouth watering. It’s impossible to only eat one at a time! Question on how to store these so that they stay crispy? Mine always soften up when stored...
Jamie
Thank you Iris! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! To keep them crispy, you can wait for them to completely cool off and keep them in an airtight container so they don't absorb any moisture. Even keeping them out can make them soft as they absorb moisture from the humidity in the air. Otherwise, you can pop them in the toaster oven for a few minutes right before serving to crisp them back up. That's how I get them to re-crisp. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Erica Jones
How long would you put it in an oven to get them to crisp up again?
Would you put the oven on the same temperature that you used to make them?
Jamie
Hi Erica! I usually use the 'toast' setting in my toaster oven until the mochi is crispy again (and sometimes 'toast' it twice). I always keep an eye on it since my toaster oven can get quite hot. If you don't have a toaster oven, you can certainly do what you suggested, reheat at the same temperature. I would check on it after 3 - 4 minutes, depending on the size of the mochi pieces. Hope that helps!
Kate
I was wondering if I could substitute all-purpose flour instead of Mochi flour? I have never used Mochi flour and therefore do not have any on hand.
Jamie
Hi Kate! Unfortunately this recipes requires sweet glutinous flour so I wouldn't substitute with regular all purpose flour. The consistency and flavor will be very different. A popular brand is Mochiko if you happen to see it at the store. It's found in the Asian food aisle or Asian grocery stores. 🙂
LP
Looks great and will try the recipe. For the butter, did you use salted or unsalted? Assuming unsalted but just want to be sure. Thanks!
Jamie
Hi LP! I used unsalted butter in this recipe. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Eileen
Hi. Can we make these into chocolate mochi cake? How much cocoa powder to add? Or do you have a separate recipe for it? Thanks
Jamie
Hi Eileen! Unfortunately I don't have a chocolate version for this but that's a great idea! I'll add this to my list of recipes to try out.
Stacey
Hi Jamie!
Can I use a glass baking dish for this and make it into a loaf instead?
Jamie
Hi Stacey, I haven't tried baking this in a glass dish so can't say for sure but I don't see why you couldn't. You'll definitely have to adjust the baking time and temperature depending on the size of the loaf. Also glass and metal transfer and hold onto heat differently. Glass is slower to heat up but retains heat for far longer than metal pans. Hope this helps!
Jen
This was so delicious! Didn't expect the coconut flavour to come through so much! However, my batter turned out very wet, almost like crepe batter. I still ended up baking it but it didn't develop that cake-like crust on the outside at all. It was squishy like traditional mochi all the way through. Any idea why this might have happened/ do you have the measurements by weight?
Thanks and looking forward to trying this again!
Jamie
Hi Jen! Glad you liked the flavor of these! 🙂 The batter should be thicker than crepe batter so I'd reduce the liquid next time. It should be more like pancake batter. The crust can be affected by a few things - oven temperature, the type of coconut milk used, variations in measurement, relative humidity, or even altitude so it's hard to pinpoint the exact reason why. I'll be sure to write down the measurements by weight next time I make this and update the recipe. Maybe I'll update with a video since it'll be easier to judge the consistency of the batter. Hope this helps!
Alexandra
I just made this recipe by following all the directions and they are AMAZING!! My whole family loves it!
Jamie
Wow thanks Alexandra!! So happy to hear your whole family loved it! It's a favorite of mine too! 😀
Tanya
Second time making these! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, my husband's first words on tasting the first batch were "See, that's even better than I had imagined, it's all over now."
In deference to us being the only two in our household, though, I cut the recipe in ⅓ this time as it still makes 7 muffin-size mochi!
Jamie
Thank you Tanya! I'm so glad you and your husband like the recipe! 🙂
Bryanna
Hello! Is it possible to sub regular milk instead of using coconut milk?
Jamie
Hi Bryanna! Yes absolutely you can substitute regular milk instead of coconut milk. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
ashbey
Could I substitute the Mochiko flour for glutinous rice flour instead?
Jamie
Hi Ashbey! I believe glutinous rice flour is the same thing as Mochiko flour (Mochiko is the name of the brand), so you can certainly substitute it. Just be sure not to use rice flour. You want either glutinous rice flour, Mochiko flour, or sweet rice flour (these are all the same thing). 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Sue
Hi, just wondering if you can freeze these?
Jamie
Hi Sue! Absolutely you can freeze these. To reheat, I like to stick them in my toaster oven until they're warmed through and then wait until they cool. You can also microwave them but I find they turn out a little too soft for my liking, but they still taste good!
Barrie Trinkle
My son found the recipe and was all, can we bake these? So we're making plans to have a bakefest during spring break! Looking forward to this SO much!
Katherine
Can you use regular coconut milk?
Jamie
Hi Katherine! By regular coconut milk, do you mean the canned full fat coconut milk? If so, you can absolutely use that but the mochi will come out richer from the added fat.
If you mean the coconut milk that comes in the carton (i.e. So Delicious or Silk brand), I haven't tried that but I don't see why you couldn't use it. The batter will be lighter and more watery since the coconut milk from a carton is usually a thinner consistency from my experience. 🙂
Farah
These look incredible ! I'm all about that gooey center so I'm sold! I'll definitely try these in a mini muffin pan!
Angela Allison
WOW! These look so delicious! And that texture is gooey perfection. I can't wait!! Thanks so much for sharing.
Megan Ellam
Yay! I am so happy to find such an awesome recipe to make for my niece. She is a huge Mochi fan and with Christmas just around the corner you have me inspired. Thank you so much!
Vickie
Absolutely delicious!! This turned out great both times I made it and with both the regular cupcake pan and mini cupcake pan. It's a keeper and a win for my family (hubby and my two toddlers love it). I made it for a party and it was a hit! Everyone is asking for the recipe. We prefer the cupcake pans instead of the casserole dish so we get more of a crunchy texture in every bite. Thanks for that awesome suggestion!
Thanks for sharing a great recipe, Jamie! Can't wait to try the rest of your recipes.
Jamie
Thank you so much for the kind words Vickie!! Yay I'm so thrilled that everyone loved it! This recipe definitely gave me the crunchiest butter mochi I've ever had. So glad you tried this! 😀
Erin
Hi! Did you need to adjust the baking time at all for the mini cupcake pan?
Danielle Wolter
I want this so bad!! What a fun idea and sounds so delicious !
Paul
How many mini loaves does the recipe make?
Jamie
Hi Paul!
These make about one and a half pans worth of butter mochi using the mini loaf pan from Wilton. You can see which one I linked to in the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
I've seen mochi coated ice cream before, but this is my first time seeing it on its own. It looks so tender and moist. Save one for me.
Stephanie
So curious about this. I'm going to make it this weekend. I love crispy, chewy things and the texture of mochi is one of my favourites.
Jamie
Awesome! I'm the same way, I love crispy & chewy textures in my food too! I have a vegan coconut mochi recipe coming up soon if you want to try that one too. I hope you enjoy it this weekend. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂