Bak Kwa Cookies

It's been a while since I last shared a recipe coz I was really so busy with my trips and the sales of my chinese new year cookies ;)

Here's Chinese Pork Jerky Cookies aka Bak Kwa Cookies/肉干曲奇

Instead of baking the usual cookies that are sweet, why not try baking some savory ones? :)

Ingredients:

250g salted butter (softened)

130g bak kwa (diced into tiny pieces)

300g plain flour

50g corn flour

50g icing sugar

1 tsp all purpose seasoning powder (masterfood)

1/2-1 tsp dried coriander

1) Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.

2) Sieve in the flour.

3) Add the seasoning powder and mix.

4) Add in bak kwa and dried coriander and knead until a dough is formed.

5) Cling wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

6) Using 1 tsp dough, roll into a ball and place them on baking tray lined with parchment paper.

7) Bake at 180 for 13 to 15 minutes or until cookies turn slightly brown.

Enjoy!

NiaoGao (Steamed & Fried style)

Niaogao (年糕), a type of sweet sticky snack, an offering to the Kitchen God during the Lunar New Year in hope that his mouth will get stuck. It was believe that in this way, when he need to go back to the heavenly palace to report on the happening on earth, he will not be able to badmouth the mortal to the Jade Emperor. Folk tales aside, eating the niaogao （年糕） was an auspicious thing to do during a new year as it sounds like niaogao （年高） and the chinese has a good wishes that goes nianniangaosheng (年年高升) which literally means raising higher year after year. Hence, when you eat it, it symbolize that you will be able to go higher...for example, achieve a promotion ;)

You can eat niaogao on it's own. It's cooked anyway. Nevertheless, I still like to have it re-cook by the steaming, fried or the deep-fried method. It will taste better when it's re-cook as it gets warm up and softened in the high heat. So...here's two very simple ways :) 

2-ingredient Microwave Niao Gao with shredded coconut (oneh oneh style) 微波炉年糕。清淡， 健康些。甜中带点咸。很不错喔.

-1 big niaogao
- 200g fresh shredded coconut flesh (abt $1.20 from wet market)
- 1/4 tsp salt

1) Bring water in steamer to boil and lower plate of shredded coconut flesh mixed with salt. Steam for 10 minutes and leave to cool.
2) Cut niaogao and lay apart onto plate. Microwave at high for 1.5 to 2 minutes ( depending on size) until soft.
3) Coat niaogao with shredded coconut. Serve immediately while warm.
For info:
- steaming the shredded coconut keep it fresh longer. Else it will turned sour very quickly.
- serve immediately while warm and it will taste better. Niaogao turned hard again when cooled.


2-ingredient Deep-Fried Niaogao
- Niaogao (cut into small pieces)
- Popiah Skin (get those that contain eggs so that you can just brush some water on the skin and seal it, otherwise use beaten eggs to seal after wrapping)

1) Simply wrap niaogao in popiah skin and deep-fried in oil until popiah skin turned golden.

Enjoy!

Golden Pineapple Balls 黄梨酥饼

I love baking these close type pineapple tarts as compared to the open ones coz they requires no cutter or mould and hence less time consuming to do. The paste is kept moist in the crust and I like it that way. I'd made them for the last lunar new year and I am going to bake more for this coming one.

These pineapple balls exude a glaring golden hue brought about by the egg glaze, buttery yellow crust and bright orange cases. Hence, I gave these pineapple tarts an auspicious name - Golden Pineapple Balls aka 黄金满满 (huang jin man man ) which signifies having gold in abundance.

Using 1/2 tbs dough and 1tsp (7-8g) paste, this recipe yield roughly 54 pieces.

Ingredients:

- 200g unsalted butter (softened)
- 35g icing sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
- 300g plain flour
- 25g custard powder
- 1/2 tsp salt

 Glazing
- 1 egg yolks (beaten)

Fillings
- 400g pineapple paste (I used ready-made paste.)
  

1) Using 1 tsp (7-8g) of the paste, roll it into a ball. Repeat until paste is used up. Chill in fridge until ready to use.

2) Sift flour, custard powder and salt into a big bowl and set aside.

3) Using an electric mixer, whisk butter and sugar until pale. Add in egg yolk and essence and mix until well combined.

4) Fold in (2) into (3) and mix to form a dough. Let the dough rest and chill in fridge for 20 minutes.

5) Use 1/2 tbs dough and roll the paste between your palms into a round ball and flatten it. Place the paste on top of the flattened dough, seal it and roll the pineapple ball between palms to shape it up, making it neatly round.

6) Glaze pineapple balls with beaten egg yolk.

7) Optional - Add a piece of clove (丁香) with the star-like part protruding for a mandarin orange look-a-like presentation or with the stem part sticking out resembling an apple.

8) Baked in pre-heated oven at 180c for 15 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in air-tight container.

Enjoy!

 

材料：

- 200g 软化无盐牛油
- 35g 糖霜
- 1个 蛋黄
- 1/4 茶匙香草精
- 300g 面粉
- 25g 吉士粉
- 1/2 茶匙盐

- 1个蛋黄（打散）

馅料 

- 400克黄梨陷（我用现成的）

1）用1茶匙的馅，把它揉成团。重复，直到用完为止。置于冰箱中待用。

2）面粉，吉士粉和盐筛入一个大碗里备用。

3）使用搅拌机，把牛油和糖打直发白。加入蛋黄和香精， 然后拌匀。

4）把（2）加入（3）搅拌直到形成团。让面团在冰箱内休息20分钟。

5) 使用1/2汤匙份的面团，揉成圆形球然后压平。将馅放在压扁的面团上，然后把馅密封起来。
在掌上轻轻揉搓，使其外形圆整。

6）刷上蛋黄，然后在预热的烤箱内以180℃烤15分钟。

7）待凉后才收入密封盒。

Peanut Cookies 花生酥饼

Peanut cookies! So simple to make. No mixer, no moulds, no cutter! And just 4 main ingredients :)

Ingredients:

- 180g grounded peanut powder

- 180g plain/all-purpose flour

- 90g castor sugar

- 120ml peanut oil

- few drops of vanilla extract (optional)

1) Combine peanut powder, flour and sugar in a big bowl. Whisk with a fork/spoon until well mixed.

2) Add the vanilla extract and oil into (1) and knead until a dough is formed. Note: Do not over knead the dough. Knead until the ingredients just come together. Add the oil gradually, may not need to use all the oil.

3) Divide dough into small pieces (1 tsp of dough) and roll them into balls. Slightly flatten the dough and make a traditional circle design on top. (I used uncooked macaroni.)

4) Baked in pre-heated at 170c for 15 minutes. Cool on rack before storing in air-tight container.

Enjoy!

German Butter Cookies

 

I did the Pineapple Balls and Almond Cookies for the 2013 Lunar New Year. Gonna bake these German Butter Cookies and Peanut Cookies for 2014's. Okay, I know Christmas is not even over yet but it's just less than 2 months away! Let's take this as a trial :)

 

I adapted this recipe from Min's Blog but I modified the recipe slightly. I don't know if it will taste better if I follow the exact recipe but for sure, the modified version isn't too bad either. In fact, my gals feedback that the cookies were very nice and I couldn't stop popping them into my mouth so it's really worth working hard on it. Erm...not really hard actually. Pretty easy to make. Anyway, I had the recipe modified at my convenience. The original recipe calls for 250g of butter. I used my favorite unsalted SCS butter that comes in 227g. And instead of plain flour, I used 100g of top flour which is better for making butter cookies. I increased the amount of icing sugar used from 80g to 100g.

 

These German Cookies are rather similar to my Traditional Shortbread Cookies in proportion. In fact, the differences were just the replacement of plain flour to potato starch and the corn flour to plain flour/top flour. I was using 90g of icing sugar in the shortbread cookies in view that the cookies were decorated with coco crunch and chocolate chips which will make them sweeter. I find the sweetness just right for my liking so I think these German Cookies will taste better if I up the amount of sugar in it. It's just personal preference. How do I find the cookies? I think they taste like buttery Kueh Bangkit! LoL!

 

Using 1/2 tbs of dough (here's the measuring spoons I used when I bake), this recipe makes roughly 60 pieces.

 

Ingredients of German Cookies in Min's (In red, what I have used)

- 250g butter (227g SCS softened unsalted butter)

- 250g potato starch (250g potato starch)

- 100g plain flour (100 top flour)

- 80g icing sugar (100g icing sugar)

 

1) Sift potato starch and top flour/plain flour into a bowl. Set aside.

 

2) Using the mixer, cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.

3) Off the mixer and fold the sifted flour into the creamed mixture. Knead until combine. Wrap dough in cling wrap and rest/chill in fridge for at least 1/2 an hour.

 

4) Roll dough into balls and arrange them on a lined baking tray. Note: Do space them at least 2 to 3 fingers spacing apart as the cookie will spread as it bakes. Press lightly with a fork for the 'design'. In fact, pressing it with a fork is optional. If you feel lazy, forget even about pressing the cookies to flatten them. Just leave them as they are, in the sphere-liked shape. The cookies will spread and flatten as they bake, into perfect disk-liked cookies.

5) Bake in pre-heated at 150c for 20 minutes on the upper tray. They don't have to be browned. Cool on rack before storing in air-tight containers.
 

Enjoy!

 

材料：

- 牛油 250g （我用 SCS 227g 无盐牛油）

- 糖粉 80g （我用100g糖粉）

- 马铃薯粉 250g  

- 面粉 100g  （我用100g高级低筋面粉)

1) 面粉和马铃薯粉过筛后，搁置一边。

 

2) 把牛油和糖粉用搅拌机打至发白。

 

3) 加入马铃薯粉和面粉，拌匀成面团。用保鲜膜把面团包起，置于冰箱，让面团休息约30分鈡。

4) 把面团揉成小粒， 再用叉子稍微压扁。注意：排放时，面团之间需相隔远一些。因为饼在烘的过程中会慢慢膨胀。排得太密会粘在一起喔。

5) 放进预热的烤箱烤以150c烤约20分钟。注意：无需烤至金黄。待凉后，才收入密封盒。

Before baking...


The potato starch

Almond Cookies

 杏福花开/Flower-Shaped Almond cookies

 

 

杏福满满/Happiness Almond Balls

 

Early this year, I tried baking Chinese New Year cookies for the first time in my life. I am a novice in baking hence I began my 'trial and error' journey baking the pineapple tarts and almond cookies :P Glad to say, feedbacks from friends and family were positive :) I have already shared the pineapple tart recipe and here's the almond cookie recipes as requested. There are 2 almond cookie recipes that I'm going to share with you here, of which 1 of them is an easy and fuss-free 5-ingredient recipe.

 

For the 杏福花开/Flower-Shaped Almond cookies, the recipe was adapted from Food Manna and the below is the recipe for 杏福满满/Happiness Almond Balls.

 

This recipe yields roughly 55 pieces (using 1/2 tbs of dough)

 

Ingredients:

- 225g of self-raising flour

- 90g of fine castor sugar

- 120g of ground almond

- 120g of diced almond

- 150g of corn oil

1) Sift the flour and add in the sugar, ground almond and diced almond. Mix well.

2) Add in the oil and knead to form a dough.

3) Take half a tablespoon of the dough and roll into a ball. If it's too crumbly, simple knead the dough in your palm with a clench fist action prior to rolling them gently into shape. 

4) Place them in small paper cases and bake in pre-heated oven at 160-180c for 15mins.

5) Cool completely on rack before storing them away.

 

Enjoy!

Golden Pineapple Balls 黄梨挞

 

The recipe of the dough was adapted from Munch Ministry.

Ingredient A

- 200g butter
- 40g castor sugar

Ingredient B
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla Essence

Ingredient C (sifted)
- 300g plain flour
- 25g custard powder
- 1/2 tsp salt

Glazing
- 2 egg yolks (beaten)

Fillings
- 1 kg pineapple paste ( I used ready-made paste)

1) Mix ingredient A till creamy.

2) Add in ingredient B and mix well.

3) Fold in ingredient C and mix to form a dough.

4) Leave aside for 20 minutes.

5) The thumb rule for the amount of dough and paste to be used is 1/2 tbs dough to 1 tsp paste so you can forget abt the weighing scale for a while Roll the paste between your palms into a round ball. Roll the dough between palms into a round ball and flatten it. Place the paste on top of the flattened dough, seal it and roll the pineapple ball between palms again to shape it up, making it neatly round.

6) Glaze pineapple balls with beaten egg yolk.

7) Optional - Add a piece of clove (丁香) with the star-like part protruding for a mandarin orange look-a-like presentation or with the stem part sticking out resembling an apple.

8) Baked at 180c for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!