Savory Potato Chip Cookies 薯片曲奇

Dear all, how about baking savory cookies for this Chinese New Year?  I bet you will love this cookies, and will definitely will not stop at one! 

 
This is a really yummy savory cookies. My family and friends just love it so much.
1 portion of the recipe can make about 1 tin of plastic container measuring 14.5cm height and 11.5cm diameter with extra few pieces.When I shopped for the ingredients in the bakery shop, and noticed that the smallest packet of cheese powder is 500gms whereas the the amount needed for the cookies is only 20gm.  I don't have to make so many containers.  I   had some left over shredded cheese in the fridge which I can make use of that. Emmm....... The moral of the story is we don't have to follow the recipe 100%, we can do our own adjustment to suit us ; we can always substitute with other ingredients which are available in our own kitchen. I always reduce quite a lot on the amount of sugar in all recipes, this is why I prefer home-made rather to buy outside which are too sweet for my family.

This is one of the 3Rs - we should practice everyday - REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE! 

 

Sour cream potatoes chips, walnuts, butter and shredded cheese.  This butter weigh 227 gms only

 

Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips and chopped walnuts

Chocolate Almond Cookies

Happy Year of the Dragon 2012 with abundance of joy and prosperous to all!

My very 1st posting for year 2012!  

This Chocolate Almond Cookies was organized by The Star and  Malaysian Institute of Baking in Petaling Jaya in June 2011.  The cookie is crunchy with strong chocolate taste, most important is not so sweet!

The pastry is compressed into rectangle shape put in the freezer for at least 1 hour before cut into slices.

Pineapple Tarts

Yummy pineapple tarts are ready to be served

Rolls of 'Sunflowers'

Pineapple tarts is a must for my family during chinese new year celebration. My whole family love pineapple tarts. My old recipe for pineapple tarts are very old fashion using cups for measuring, over the years I have be doing some comparison and trial and error and came up with this recipe, the methods are the same on some plus and minus on the ingredients.
During those days we have make the pineapple jams ourselves, which incur long hours of cooking and stirring of the pineapple jam during cooking time. I did buy ready made pineapple jams, but found there are too sweet. So I cook the jams myself again. But this year, I am so lazy, i give it any try for the ready made jam. Hmmm...... not bad leh, this time the jams are not sweet and just nice, hah.. save this lazy mama a lot of work leh! Hurray!
Nevertheless for those who preferred to make their own pineapple jams here is the recipe.

3 pineapple (cut the skin and the eyes - grated and use muslin cloth to squeeze out some juice but make sure not too dry)
3 1/2 cups of sugar
4 cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Put all the ingredients in a heavy based pot on medium fire and cook almost dry, turn to low fire and keep stirring to avoid the jam get burned. Continue to cook till the jams thicken. Set aside to let it cool. Stored in fridge for later use. The jam can be prepared in advance for a day or two. 
 
Ingredients for pastry  
300 gms flour  (sifted)
2 tbsp icing sugar
 1/4 tsp of salt
200 gms cold butter  (butter should not be soften
2 egg yolks
 2 tbsp cold water
 1 tsp of Vanilla essence
1 egg yolk add 2 tsp of milk for glazing 
 
Method

1. Mix  flours, icing sugar and salt to combine. Mix well to combine.
2. Using a plastic spatula (hard type) cut and slice /flake the butter into the flour, rub with fingertips until it resemsemble like fine bread crumbs,  continue rubbing the bigger pieces into finer pieces. 
3. Beat eggs yolk, cold water and vanilla essence.  Add into the flour mixture.  Using fingertips, mix the mixture into a large dough.  Do not knead the dough.  Cover and  chill in the fridge for about 15 mins
4.  Place the dough in between 2 plastic sheets and roll out to desired thickness (as show in the photo below).  Using cutter to cut out dough and arrange neatly onto baking tray.
5. Place the rolled pineapple jam balls onto the centre of each tart.
6. Bake at  pre heat oven of 160°C for 8 minutes.
7. Take out the tray from the oven, glaze them  with egg and milk mixture.  (This is to allow the tarts shell shaped up for easy grazing and will not disfigure the shape of the tarts  shell).
8. Continue baking in the oven for another 15 mins or  till done. 

You will notice that I used plastic sheets in between the pastry is for easy rolling and handling, this way, you can rolls to your desired thickness and not that messy leh! Good idea leh!

 

Resemble like bread crumbs

Dough is ready, chilled in the fridge for 15 mins

 

Roll in between 2 plastic sheets of desired thickness, and use pineapple tart cutter to cut tarts into shapes

Most bakery shops are now selling ready to use Pineapple jams.

Roll the pineapple jams into small balls

Hope this will help you to make tasty pineapple tarts. Please do let me your success or even if you are not happy with the recipe. Good or bad all welcome to discuss.
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR N KONG XI FAI CHAI!!! 

 Updated on February 2012  ~   my different pattern of melt in the mouth Pineapple Tarts!  

London Almond Cookies 伦敦杏仁饼

With Lunar year of the Rabbit is just round the corner, I notice all my FB friends are busy making chinese new year goodies and upload on FB. These goodies are feast for the eyes only.
In this world of FB, I noticed there are bountiful of young talents really can cook like a pro. Strongly believe that the food they prepared not only looks gorgeous and presentable and must be taste yummy too.

Come back to my London almond Cookies which I copy from somewhere and kept in my scrap recipe book. I have problem making these cookies not bcoz it is difficult to make but is bcoz of my children, one dont like cookies with nuts but another insist with nuts, so end up I have to prepare cookies with nuts and w/o nuts. All mama are same like me, right? Hmmm......

Just found out that the source of the original recipe came from Amy Beh of kuali.com
when I surfed the net.

Ingredients

125g butter
75g icing sugar
1 egg yolk

Sift
225gm plain flour
1/2 tsp rice flour

300gm whole almonds, toasted
450g cooking chocolate, melted - using double boiled method
Almond nibs, toasted
small paper cases

Method
Cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg yolk, Stir in sifted dry ingredients and blend well to form a dough.
Take a small piece of dough, the size of a marble, wrap it around the almond and shape into a ball
please dough on lightly greased trays. Bake in preheated over at 175 degree C for 20-25 minutes or until cooked and golden. Remove and cool on wire racks.
Put cookies inside small paper cases and top with melted chocolate. Sprinkle with almond nibs

Tips-
I times 2 on the above ingredients
Instead of using almonds nibs can substitute with colorful chocolate rice, or melted with chocolate for deco.