Pandan Sesame Pizzelle Cookies

This is a new Chinese New Year cookie recipe I invented for 2010. I didn't know how to name it so I just name it as it because this cookie is baked in a pizzelle maker. It stays crispy after it's cold and it stays that way which I like because I didn't want to bake or toast it again. This was a recipe I accidentally created last year but it was a plain version. For this year, I added pandan paste and additional white sesame seeds. Since the majority of the flour used was rice flour, to me it tasted like rice cookie with the fragrant of coconut milk, sesame seeds and Screwpine leaf (pandan). Edda loved this and has been asking for it everyday.

Green Peas Cookies

This was one of those unplanned baking day. I was snacking the green peas with Edda which we bought two weeks ago and then "ding dong". Finished one packet of this green peas had been slow and I really wanted to get rid of it fast instead of seeing it in front of my computer all the times. And then while snacking some today, the idea of making it into cookies came into mind. I always loved green peas cookies and I know it will get eaten faster than just the green peas alone. I only left with 1 cup of green peas and thus my experiment began and luckily the cookies turned out well. While making this cookie, another idea came to mind, you will have to stay tune to see what new cookies I will invent in the future. ;)

This green peas cookie is melt-in-the-mouth soft but with the crunchy bites from the crushed green peas. This recipe yields 49 cookies for me. It is a sweet cookie, you can slightly cut down on the icing sugar if you prefer it less sweet.

Crispy Pizzelle

I developed this crispy pizzelle by accident. I wanted to make kuih rose but the new batter that I tried didn't work for me. So, I had to improvise and use my pizzelle press in an attempt to save the batter. Hey, it works! It turned out very crispy, way better than the kuih kapit recipe I tried earlier. The kuih kapit recipe I tried earlier turned soft and I had to bake it in the oven again to make it crisp. But this batter is a keeper for me, it's crispy and stay that way. So, this is not the original pizzelle recipe (different flavor too), but a recipe I discovered by accident. A new recipe to try for people who own a pizzelle maker! Feedback would be appreciated. :-)

 

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2009

I want to wish all my readers a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Lunar New Year!! May this Ox year brings us great happiness, better economy, full tummy and wealth.

Too lazy to make pineapple tart this year, so I only pick easy cookies to make. For easy access of my recipes, click the links below:

Cornflakes cookies
Crispy Pizzelle
Peanut cookies
Kuih bangkit
Almond flavored sugee cookies

London Almond Cookies

Cooling on rack.


Covered with white chocolate and sprinkles.


Covered with semi-sweet chocolate and almond bits.

I saw this cookies at Rainbows and it really got me interested. I have not seen this kind of CNY cookies before because I have been living in the States for a very long time. Thus, I only familiar with the traditional CNY cookies. Luckily, I know how to bake and can always make whatever cookies that strike my fancy. So, here is it, my first ever London Almond Cookies. As I was lazy, I melted the chocolate using the microwave and perhaps that's why my melted chocolate was fairly thick and it won't spread nicely like the one in Rainbow's blog. She said the skill of making this cookie is in melting the chocolate. Guess I can't really do a short-cut if I wanted my cookies to look like her. Tastewise, no different but for the presentation itself, huge difference. LOL! :P

Verdict:
This cookies is on the sweet end, as the white chocolate is sweet. However, this easily can be any children favorite, but very messy when given to toddlers.

My Golden Rats

Since I am making another batch of pineapple tarts. I decided to play with the dough and made these six little rats to welcome the Rat Year. I got this inspiration from aunty Yochana's blog. Let me tell you, these are not easy to shape at all and really have to kudo to those that have the patience to shape so many rats, or the rose shape pineapple tarts. This was not my best job as I had to do it fast as little one was crying (wanna sleep), thus some turned out looking more like pigs. LOL!

Baked Pork Floss Mini Puffs

I saw the mini peanut puffs at Lily's blog and it gave me an inspiration to make mini pork floss puffs. Reason being I have a bottle sitting in my pantry ready to be used. Since I have no plan on making any deep-fried CNY cookies this year, I decided to experiment with the basic pie crust recipe for my baked puffs. The resulted pastry is buttery, crispy and flaky!

Kuih Bangkit II, 2008

I baked my 2nd batch of kuih bangkit this morning. Ahhhh, practice makes perfect (I also didn't use frozen coconut cream). I achieved the light, crispy and melt in the mouth texture that I like. I'm going to make my 3rd batch next week using the Pandan extract like I did earlier and let my brother brings it back to M'sia for my mom.


Playing with the different cookie cutters.


Are those pineapple and pine tree designs? What do you think?

For my kuih bangkit recipe, click here.
For my step-by-step-pictures guide, click here.

Green Bean Cookies

My modified version of Green Bean Cookies adapted from Rose's Kitchen. This is a crunchy and melt in the mouth kind of cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. cornflour

3/4 cup green bean flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 egg yolk, for glazing

Method:

1. Cream butter, powdered sugar and salt until creamy.

2. Mix in sifted flours and hand knead until a dough is formed.

3. Pinch a piece of the dough and roll into ball. Finish the rest of the dough. Brush the top of each cookie with the yolk glaze.

4. Bake in preheated 300'F oven for 20 minutes.

~Yield about 90 cookie balls.

More CNY Bakes 2008 (2)

Peanut Cookies ~ Another of my favorite! I have great childhood memory with this melt-in-the-mouth peanut cookies. I remember I always sort this out at my late grandma's house to eat (oh yeah, my late grandma used to make kuih and sell, she was a great cookies and kuih maker).



Cornflakes Cookies ~ Didn't use a cookie scoop this time, as I wanted a smaller cookies.



Sugi Cookies ~ After few batches of CNY bakes, the last cookies I made looked like this. LOL! I only wanted an easy way out and too lazy to shape the cookies into balls, let alone the presentation of it. Just roll into cylinder and cut, Evy helps with the pattern on top. Uniquely me right? :P

For peanut cookies, click here.
For cornflake cookies, click here.
For sugi cookies, click here.

More CNY Bakes 2008 (1)

Pandan Kuih Bangkit ~ Decided to add some pandan paste for a change. Don't think it's green enough...haha... Anyway, not very happy with this batch and I think I know why. I used the frozen coconut milk (curdled coconut cream!) instead of opening a new can of coconut milk, didn't think it would make a different but it did (ended out needed more coconut milk). It's not as crispy & light, more towards crunchy and melt in the mouth. Oh well, lesson learned!



Melt-in-the-Mouth Pineapple Tarts ~ Everyone favorite! I stick with the same old pattern because it yield more tarts for me. I didn't use a lot of pineapple filling too, so the sweetness is just "gam gam hor" (just nice).

For my pineapple tart recipe, click here.
For my kuih bangkit recipe, click here.
For my step-by-step-pictures guide, click here.

Green Bean Almond Cookies

My first CNY bakes after much procrastination. I bought a packet of green bean flour thinking of using it to make some cookies for CNY. Did a search on the Internet and found this recipe here. Easy enough for my liking and thus got the recipe printed out to try later. After seeing few of my frequent blogs came out with their CNY bakes, I finally got motivated to start baking. LeeLee (Hugbear) said once my engine starts, I will keep going...hahaha...



This cookie is crunchy and melt in the mouth. It has the green bean fragrant as the almond is used for decoration only. Next time I would probably omit the almond, shape the cookie differently and make it a green bean cookie instead. Evy and Edda both adore this cookies as they couldn't resist themselves to ask for it everyday. Evy prefers it without the almond on top as she would pick it aside.

I sure think I made pretty and yummy CNY cookies, anyone wants to buy from me (provided you are willing to pay $12-$16 per bottle plus shipping)? LOL!

This is the Green Bean Flour that I used. Since many have asked, I posted a picture here for reference.

Cornflakes Cookies

I finally test out this cookie by baking a batch since this is one of the cookies I wanted to make for CNY. Glad to say I like it and it's so easy to make too. I used the small cookie scoop to scoop the cookies and hence the even shape. This way I don't even have to dirty my hands.

Fried Seaweed Crackers

No idea what this cracker is called, so I just named it like it is. This cracker normally can be found during Chinese New Year, sold along side all the other CNY cookies.

I saw a deep fried pastry roll recipe at a Chinese forum and it just provided me with the idea of making this. The method is the same, just that I have added a sheet of seaweed on top and roll it together. I cut it diagonally instead of straight down. It sure produces a nicer effect and looks like those sold in Malaysia.

This is a delicious snack that is hard to stop at just a few. Now you can make it yourself and don't have to wait til CNY to eat it. What's more, it's so easy to make! :)

Deep-Fried Imitation Crab Sticks

Deep-fried Imitation Crab Sticks


Stored in a container


Is it a bit too brown (or chao ta, lol)? To ensure it is crispy, I have to fry mine until this color, if not it is kinda soft. This is very easy to do, just shred the imitation crab meats into pieces and drop it into a medium heat hot oil and deep-fry until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel and when cool, keep in a container. Very yummy to snack on!

Note: My homemade one lasted only four days. It turned soft on the fifth day.



Check out my other deep-fried imitation crab legs with dessicated coconuts. This is a great appetizer or party finger food for your guests.

Pork Floss Mini Puffs

Just out of the blue I decided to make pork floss mini puffs on that day. The reason was because I wanted to test out this agaration puff pastry that failed on me when I made my curry puffs few months ago. I used to make a good one 10+ years back and I refused to believe I couldn't get it right again. I used to make lots of pork floss mini puffs and pleated it by hands (no child at that time) and baked it in the oven. It was really a tasty treat and a healthier version . Being stubborn, I just had to try it again. Alas! I failed again! I am not happy with the texture of the puff (better than the first though), but "bolek makan lah" (edible). I only made about 20 pieces and it were all gone the same night. BUT, I wanted it to look like those sold at the pasar malam (night market) you know. *sigh*

Guess I just couldn't recall anymore and have to resort into following a recipe instead of agar-agar myself. The ingredient I remember was simple, it has butter, flour, salt and water. But I just couldn't remember how much to agar-agar anymore (the butter and water part). :0(

Almond Flavored Sugee Cookies

I was just playing or experimenting with my cookies. Instead of the vanilla extract, I used almond extract instead. The cookies turned out great, just as yummy. Guess this is a short-cut way for those of us who don't have ground almond on hands. I saw one sugi cookie recipe that uses ground almond, so I experiment with almond extract. I wonder why they called it sugi cookie instead of almond cookie when ground almond is used? Any idea?

Sugee Cookies/ Sugi Cookies

I decided to try another recipe for my CNY cookies collection, Sugi Cookies because of its' simplicity. This cookie is delicious, it's crunchy when you bite into it and then simply melt-in-the-mouth.

Chinese Peanut Cookies

Finally I made Jo's peanut cookies that I have been eyeing since last year! The original recipe can be found at IK (under cookies/biscuit section). I only did 1/4 of the recipe because I only have 80g of ground peanuts at home. So, I testing out this recipe earlier preparing for the CNY ahead.

Pineapple Tarts

It is still too early for pineapple tarts isn't it? But I made some for my mom to try since I was still able to do some baking while my mom was here. You can find my recipe here. I was trying with some new cookie cutters that I bought in Malaysia and man...were it hard to use. Finally managed to find one that was easy enough to use (shown above), guess will have to shop for more design the next time I go back. This is one cookie that takes a lot of time to make and can finish in a day!

I also made some kuih bangkit for her to bring home for my sister who loves this cookie. I tried it with the pincher and it turned out prettier than the plain cut out one I did before.

Note: I updated the pictures for better viewing.