Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts

Simple Butter Cookies

I have been baking and blogging for almost a year plus now and I can't believe that I've never attempted butter cookies. It is the simplest dessert to be made with just butter, sugar, flour and egg. So what is stopping me? Well, I don't really like baking stuff that requires me to roll, cut etc.. I have no confidence in that. Example of rolling fondant, I can't seem to master them. My fondant end up cracked, too thin, color run etc.. *pull hair moment*

The test came when I need to prepare party packs for Zach's birthday celebration in school. Being a mummy, I dislike giving junk food as party goodies, so what is better than homemade goodness? A good friend bought me a cookie press that I have been keeping for months. Finally I can open them up and use it. Whoop whoop..

It was jiffy using the cookie press and the pattern turned out great!

As usual I Google-d on which recipe I want to use. The one that I referred to is simple and pretty. It is slightly different because she piped icing on top of the cookies which made them prettier.


Image from http://addapinch.com/cooking/2013/07/01/butter-cookies-recipe/#.UqljKeS1FFo
With lazy me, I opted out of piping icing - I do not know how to pack them without smudging the icing. Haha..excuses excuses.

Using her recipe (see blog URL above), I used Isigny butter that I bulk purchased from a lady. Cookies turned out fragrant with good buttery taste! Exactly how I love my butter cookies. It made me happier to know that the decision to bake butter cookies is the right one because both my boys loves them very much that Zach kept asking for more - that's rare.



These were before sent to the oven

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

What do you do when you have an opened pack of brown sugar, chocolate chips and sea salt? Knowing that my boys love cookies, I tried out the ever famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies. The recipe was first published in the New York Times in 2008 and since then it has took the internet by storm. Many food bloggers that I read have tried out this recipe.


I took this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. I frequent her blog very very frequently. She has really beautiful pictures and her recipes are always very simple.

Note that I tweaked the original recipe as the amount of sugar is too much! I reduced it drastically and the cookies still turned out fine and still sweet in my opinion. I shall wait for Zachary's comment tonight. I prepared the dough on Saturday afternoon and baked it on Sunday night - more than 24 hours of chilling in the fridge. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 72 hours and I've read that chilling it longer will yield crispier edge cookies.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)
yield more than 48 pieces

- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 oz) cake flour
- 1 2/3 cups (8.5 oz) bread flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used fleur del sel)
- 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) light brown sugar (I used Muscovado Brown Sugar)
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (8 oz) granulated sugar (I omitted this)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/3 cups (20 oz) dark chocolate chips, at least 60% cacao content (I used Hershey's semi-sweet, and that is part of the reason why I omitted the granulated sugar)
- sea salt, for sprinkling

How?
- Sift together cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar at medium speed until light. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add in vanilla extract.
- Reduce the mixer speed, gradually add in the sifted dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick baking mat.
- Scoop 3 1/2 oz of dough, roughly a size of a golf ball. * I used my small ice-cream scoop instead.
- Ensure that each dough has enough space as it will expand during baking time.
- Sprinkle some sea salt and bake until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes. I baked for 20 minutes and it was crunchy.
- Let it cool at a cooling rack and store in air tight containers.

CNY Bakes - Kue Nastar & Rose Pineapple tarts

What an overdue post! Chinese New Year will end tomorrow and boy this is the most eventful month by far and how I wish it was a different February all together. Kieran is having fever AGAIN! 3rd time in 3 weeks...argh

I made a total of 4 batches of pineapple tarts and this year I was feeling adventurous so I decided to do away with usual round pineapple tarts but tried Kue Nastar instead. Kue Nastar is the same term for pineapple tarts but more commonly known in Indonesia. The difference? Melt in your mouth rolled pastry. :)


I sourced for a new recipe online and decided to try this particular one that only use 4 ingredients and best of all, it's creaming method so no more hassle of rubbing butter with flour. Teehee
Thanks Sonia from Nasi Lemak Lover for the wonderful recipe. This is also the year when I went to Tanjong Katong Complex, Ailin Bakery to buy their Sarawak Pineapple paste..indeed it is very very nice. I would not discount the possibility of me baking a few more batches of this pineapple tarts!

I rolled them into 1/2 size of a ping pong ball


Kue Nastar (adapted from Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover)

350g butter (I used Lurpak or Golden Churn)
100g condensed milk
510g all-purpose flour/plain flour
2 egg yolks

How?
- Cream butter and condensed milk until it is fluffy and light in color (about 3 - 5 minutes)
- Add in egg yolks one at a time and beat until just combine.
- Lastly, add in flour and mix it thoroughly. The dough should not be sticky.
- Using cookie press, pipe out strips of dough on baking sheet.
- Place pineapple paste and roll it gently.
- Brush with egg yolk (I use 2 egg yolk with small amount of condensed milk and water)
- Bake at preheated oven of 180C for 18 minutes

Besides Kue Nastar, I used the above dough for enclosed version and using a crimper, made it into rose-shaped pinapple tarts. The most beautiful I've made so far and I am very very pleased with the result. Who know, I may decide to sell my bakes next year. Stay tune!




CNY Bakes - Cornflake Cookies with Cranberries

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. I dread the spring cleaning.. as a matter of fact, I have started cleaning since Dec 2012 but I can't seem to complete my cleaning spree! Weekends are always spent with my boys, or me slacking at home catching up on my sleep. I shall start cleaning tonight, starting with arranging the boys cupboard, kitchen cabinet then washing their CNY clothes. Speaking of which, I only gotten myself 2 top from Love, Bonito and a pair of Gap jeans (during Black Friday sale, woohoo!). Still need to get another dress for Grampa's birthday dinner and a bottom to go with another top.

I digress, this post is about CNY bakes. I made it a point to bake more variety and quantity this year, to give away to family and friends. ^_^
Cornflake cookies is one of my many fave cookies and was glad one forumer posted her recipe on Munch Ministry. Thank you Molly Tay for sharing your recipe and giving us tips along the way.
I added cranberries to the cookies for that extra crunch though. You can add other like almonds, macadamia nuts too.


Cornflake cookies (Molly Tay's recipe)

100g unsalted butter, room temperature
100g castor sugar
175g self-raising flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I added this for that extra oomph)
3/4 cup crushed cornflake
Chopped cranberries

How?
- Using a wooden spoon, cream butter and sugar together.
- Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Add flour and mix until just combined (do not overmix as it will cause the cookie to turn hard)
- Add chopped cranberries.
- Round 1 tsp of dough and cover it with crushed cornflake. Flatten it abit using a fork.
- Bake at 170C for 18 - 20 minutes.



Kjeldson Butter Cookies

I baked these last week as a pre-Christmas gifts for colleagues. It was my fave Danish butter cookies! Yeap.. Those that came in blue round tin. This biscuit has been going round the blogging scene recently so I Googled it as well.

Alan's website came out and I like the way pictures were taken and explanation seems easy. Why not??

I only need flour, icing sugar, good quality butter & vanilla paste which I substituted with vanilla extract. The steps are easy for novices like me. Do not over-mix the dough.

Piped the dough on baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.


Try it.. you will not regret it.

Chinese New Year

Final week to CNY 2012! Cleaning & washing are on-going coupled with we just move in hence loads to wash n clean. The room is in a mess!! I better get my act together n tidy it up.
I found some time over the past weekend to bake some cookies. Nothing fanciful, just bak kwa cube. It's pretty easy - cutting bak kwa into bite size and mixed into any pastry - I used pineapple tart pastry for it's melt-in the mouth experience.


This was so much easier to shape compared to my first attempt.


Haha.. The above turn out to be like Texas Chicken's biscuit. It's still nice because I used cream cheese and cream as part of the ingredients - FAT!
I'm looking forward to flying back on 1st day of CNY! Will be home till the 9th day of CNY.. Yahoo!!
Till next update..
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR