Hodu-gwaja

Hodu-gwaja, commonly translated as walnut cookies, walnut cakes, and walnut pastries, is a type of cookie originated from Cheonan, South Korea. It is also known by the name hodo-gwaja in and outside Korea.
It is a walnut-shaped baked confection with red [bean paste] filling, whose outer dough is made of skinned and pounded walnuts and wheat flour. Ones that are made in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, are called "Cheonan hodu-gwaja" and are a local specialty.

History

Hodu-gwaja was first made in 1934 by Jo Gwigeum and Sim Boksun, who were a married couple living in Cheonan. The method was developed based on those of traditional Korean confectioneries.
Outside Cheonan, it was popularized in the 1970s, often sold in train stations and inside the train via catering trolleys. Nowadays it is sold in most regions in South Korea including Seoul, and in the cities of other countries, such as Los Angeles and San Diego in the United States.
More than 60 years ago, SUHIL Machinery Corp manufactured and delivered the first hodu-gwaja machine to Cheonan's Hakhwa Hodu Gwaja the original producer of hodu-gwaja.