Saturday 14 February 2015

Pineapple Tarts 黄梨酥

Hi


It has been quite awhile since my last post for Christmas as I have been so busy after that.  

Every year, around this period, I’m so ready for all things to welcome Chinese New Year.  I have started to get organised since January by listing down things that I need for spring cleaning. 

 I would survey the house by looking around the rooms, closet, desk, storage cabinet, etc and take inventory on what need to be cleaned, de-cluttered and also what are those stuff that need to get rid.    This is also a time that I would check and replace the beddings, upholstery, furniture, etc.  I would also schedule some dates and assign everyone in family a task to a job as I think I should not be doing all these alone. 
Look! Look! Look at my balcony.  Finally, I had made a point to do something to it.  I had beautified the corner by adding some plants and displays to it.  Now it has become a little home garden of mine and I could really feel that Spring is coming! J

Ok ok ok…  Pardon me.  I know I’m supposed to share what I have been baking lately and not about my spring cleaning.  But I really couldn’t bear not to share what I had done to my balcony for this year’s spring cleaning :P

Ok!  How about this? J
Can you tell they are pineapples and not porcupines?  When my good friend commented these porcupines are cute and my response was “huh! What? Porcupines?” :D
I must say that Chinese New Year is incomplete without pineapples cookie.  It is a festive cookie that all families wouldn’t want to miss it.  Pineapple cookie has become a must for all families and also one of the gift items for Chinese New Year.  For this reason, I’m making it and guess it will become one of a "must bake" cookie for CNY.
This year, instead of doing the usual Taiwan style of pineapple cookie, I decided to try this new recipe from Butter, Flour & Me.  Apparently, my family and relatives prefer this to the one I made for last year.

INGREDIENTS
(translated)
125g       Unsalted Butter
50g         Icing Sugar
25g         Egg Yolk
½ tbsp     Condensed Milk
220g       Plain flour
35g         Egg Yolk Powder (I used Pillsbury Custard Powder)
2 tbsp      Milk Powder (I used Anlene)

Pineapple fillings
I’m using the same recipe, which I learnt from a home based baking teacher last year.  My friends and I made the fillings about 1 month ahead and store in an air-tight container in room temperature.  For enclosed tarts, the pineapple jam has to be completely dry and sticky.  This is the reason we are making it ahead and left in room temperature for few weeks before used.



METHOD
1.Preheat the oven at 170°C and line the tray with baking paper.

2.Beat butter and icing sugar together until the colour turn pale.

3.Add egg yolks and follow by condense milk.  Mix well.

4.Sift flour together with milk powder and custard powered into the butter mixture.

6.Roll dough into a ball of 12g and roll pineapple into a ball of 10g.  Flatten the dough and wrap it with pineapple fillings. 


7.Roll the dough with pineapple filling to slightly oval shape.  Use this type of scissor to cut the surface of the dough in layer of sharp edges.









Wishing all of you happy baking for Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015 hosted by 3 of my favourites bloggers - Yen of Eat Your Heart Out, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe.


I’m also submitting this post to Best Recipes for Everyone Jan & Feb 2015Event.  Theme: My Homemade Cookies organised by Fion of XuanHom’s Mom and co-hosted by Victoria Bakes




Friday 13 February 2015

Earl Grey (Oolong) Milk Tea Cookies

Hi
It is known by everybody that Earl Grey Tea gives out a very rich flavour to cookie and I was thinking it would be wonderful if the cookie could give out the flavour of Oolong Tea.  So I decided to give it a try.  But I was pretty disappointed as the cookies turn out to be flavourless.  There wasn’t any slightest flavour of Oolong Tea at all L
However, the consolation part is that the texture of the cookie is crunchy; not so buttery and it goes really well with cup of Lipton Tea J.  
But if you will to ask me whether I will bake this again for Chinese New Year?  My reply to you is… I doubt I will. 

The recipe yields 30 pcs.  But I think I only managed to pipe out less than 15 pcs and by evening, the cookies were all gone.

INGREDIENTS
A.
150g       Butter
100g       Icing Sugar

B.
20g         Egg Yolk

C.
60g         Ground Almond
200g       Cake Flour

D.
50g         Milk
5g            Earl Grey Tea Leave
(I replaced with Oolong because nobody drinks Earl Grey Tea at home)

METHOD
(1)Softened the butter and cut into dices.  Place ingredients C in a same bowl.

(2)Line a baking tray with non-stick baking mat.  Preheat oven to 180˚C.

(3)Place Ingredients A into mixing bowl.  Using a whisk, beat the mixture till light and fluffy.  Add Ingredients B in 2-3 batches and beat well after each addition.

(4)Heat milk to 90˚C and remove from heat.  Add in tea leaves and cover with lid for 5 minutes.

(5)Filter the milk tea, and place some of the leaves into the mixture (3) and beat well.

(6)Sift in Ingredient C.  Mix until the mixture is well combined.

(7)Place the dough into plastic bag and slightly flatten it, wrap tightly.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

(8)Remove the dough.  Sprinkle some flour over workspace and roll the dough out to a thickness of 0.5cm.  Use cookie mould cutter to cut out the dough and place them onto a baking tray.  Instead of using cookie mould cutter, I pipe out the batter onto the baking tray.


(9)Bake in oven for 20 mintues.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.



This recipe is taken from the cookbook – The Secret of Cookies 告诉你饼干的密秘  This cookbook is a Christmas gift from my elder boy.  He said the cookbook is value for money as it contains so many recipes at the price of less than S$20. Ha ha ha!


Wishing all of you happy baking for Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015 hosted by 3 of my favourites bloggers - Yen of Eat Your Heart Out, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe.








Seaweed and Meat Floss Cookies

Hi
I hardly make cookies because my family prefers cakes to cookies.  The only time that I baked a lot of cookies is during the Chinese New Year period and it is also the only time that I will eat a lot of them.
This is one of the cookies that I will bake again for Chinese New Year.  They are so well received by my children.  Seaweed and meat floss are great combination.  These sweet-savoury cookies are crunchy, taste and ADDICTIVE!   
This recipe is taken from the cookbook – The Secret of Cookies 告诉你饼干的密秘  
HAPPY BAKING!


INGREDIENTS

A.
75g         Butter
10g         Caster sugar
3g            Salt

B.
50g         Whole Egg

C.
150g       Cake Flour
3g            Baking powder

D.
5g           Seaweed sheets
20g         meat floss

METHOD
(1)Softened butter and cut into dices.  Beat with whole egg.

(2)Place ingredients C into a same container.  Cut Ingredients D into small pieces.

(3)Line a baking tray with non-stick baking mat.  Preheat the oven to 170˚C.

(4)Place Ingredient A into mixing bowl.  Using a whisk, beat the mixture till light and fluffy.  Add Ingredients B in 3-4 batches and beat well after each addition.

(5)Sift in Ingredients C.  Using a spatula, press down till the mixture is well-combine.  Add in ingredient D, keep pressing the mixture with your hand and a scraper till a dough is formed.

(6)Place the dough into plastic bag and slightly flatten it, wrap tightly.  Refrigerate for 30 mintues.

(7)Remove the dough, Sprinkle some flour over your workspace and place the dough onto it.  Roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.4mm

(8)Cut the flatten dough into triangle of 5.5cm on each side.  Arrange them onto baking tray.  Bake in oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool


Wishing all of you happy baking for Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015 hosted by 3 of my favourites bloggers - Yen of Eat Your Heart Out, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe.


I’m also submitting this post to Best Recipes for Everyone Jan & Feb 2015 Event.  Theme: My Homemade Cookies organised by Fion of XuanHom’s Mom and co-hosted by Victoria Bakes