Laziness

Quick and easy - perfect when you need a quick fix or when you are just plain lazy.

My last bake for now as we're renovating the house. -sighs- Probably will post up stuff from my travels (some are ancient).

Cashew Nut Cookies II

Recipe adapted from Small Small Baker

(Recipe doubled and modified)

Ingredients:

220 g	Butter
90 g	Castor sugar
½	Vanilla bean
1	Egg
100 g	Grounded cashew nuts
380 g	Plain flour
40 g	Corn flour
1 tsp	Baking powder

Topping:

1	Egg yolk
100	Halved cashew nuts

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar till pale and creamy.
2. Add in vanilla beans. Add in egg slowly. Beat until well-mixed.
3. Fold in grounded cashew nuts. Fold in sifted flours and baking powder gradually. Knead to form dough.
4. Roll the dough into 3/4 cm thickness. Cut the dough into crescent shapes (or any shape you like) and place them on the baking tray. Brush a layer of egg white on the cookies and top each cookie with one halved cashew nut. (Brushing egg white helps the cashew nut to stick to the cookie well.) Brush a layer of egg yolk on top of the cashew nuts for a nice golden brown color.
5. Bake at 180 degree C for about 15 minutes or till light golden brown.

Notes:

1.     The dough is very soft. I probably have to chill it for a while if I was to cut it into shape but I decided to make the cookies round this time.

2.     My cookies are 1 tsp in size.

3.     Did not apply a layer of egg white. I just press down the cashew nut onto the dough and apply the layer of egg yolk.

4.     I baked my cookies for about 20 minutes so they are more brown and crunchy. (My oven’s temperature are kind of off to begin with)

Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favorite CNY Cookie - Pineapple Tarts

I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favorite CNY Cookie hosted by j3ss kitch3n. More information can be found here. Join in the fun! =D

Pineapple Rolls/Tarts

Pineapple filling's ingredients:

2	Pineapple (~1kg each)
40 g	Sugar (or to taste)
4	Cinnamon sticks
2	Star anise

Method:

1.    Peel the pineapples and cut out the black eyes. Cut the pineapples into pieces. (Remove core). Blend till fine.

2.    Pour blended pineapple into frying pan and cook for a while before adding sugar, cinnamon sticks, and star anise.

3.    Cook till it thickens and dry enough to handle. Set aside to cool.

4.    Once cool, shape the pineapple jam into small balls. (I made about 50 [1 tsp-size] balls)

The bottom right picture: Left (more bright yellow) are cooked for shorter time (wetter). The right one are more dry.

Notes:

1.    I put about 4 tsp of sugar when cooking the pineapple. The pineapples itself are very sweet and my family prefer less sweet and sour-ish jam. Do add more sugar (about ~100g).

2.    My jam were not coked till very dry – just enough to handle to form into balls.

3.    When forming the balls, wetting your hand helps.

4.    I made about 50 (1 tsp size balls) – too little for the amount of dough >.< Have to add more pineapple in the future.

Pastry recipe adapted from Fresh from the Oven. Changes made in red.

Ingredients:

375 g	All-purpose flour
2 tbsp	Cornstarch
1/4	Teaspoon salt
220 g	Unsalted butter (room temp)
50 30 g	Icing sugar
1/2	Vanilla bean
2	Egg yolks

1	Egg yolk, for egg wash

Method:

1.    Sieve all-purpose flour and corn flour. Set aside.

2.    Beat butter and icing sugar until it turns light in color and fluffy. Add in vanilla beans and egg yolks until well combined.

3.    Slowly beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Assemble tart:

1.    Roll dough into small rounds.

2.    Flatten the dough and used it to cover the prepared pineapple jam. Shape it anyway you prefer.

3.    Brush with egg wash and baked in preheated oven at 180 degree C for 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown. 

Tried different patterns. Pillow, round, and pineapple.

Notes:

1.    My dough are ½ tbsp size.

2.    Mum loved it, especially the jam. But Dad mentioned that the pastry is too flaky, too "melt-in-the-mouth" for his taste. I believe it is due to the corn flour. Reduce the amount of corn flour if you prefer harder texture.

Rolled the left over dough into crushed corn flakes.

Argh! Half gone! Don't think it will last till CNY. D=

It was my first time making pineapple tarts and it was definitely a fun process and good experience! I really enjoyed it. =D (Except being attacked by hoards of mosquitoes. >.<)

Hope everyone had a fun time preparing for the festive season (or just baking in general).

Cashew Nut Cookies

Recipe adapted from Small Small Baker

(I halved the recipe and made slight changes)

Ingredients:

50 g	Butter
30 g	Sugar
½ tsp	Pure vanilla extract
¼ (about 14 g)	Egg
20 g	Cashew nuts, grounded
90 g	Plain flour
10 g	Corn flour
¼ tsp	Baking powder

Topping:

1	Egg, seperated
68	Cashew nuts, halved

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar till pale and creamy.
2. Add in pure vanilla extract. Add in egg slowly. Beat until well-mixed.
3. Fold in grounded cashew nuts. Fold in sifted flours and baking powder gradually. Knead to form dough.
4. Roll the dough into 3/4 cm thickness. Cut the dough into crescent shapes (or any shape you like) and place them on the baking tray. Brush a layer of egg white on the cookies and top each cookie with one halved cashew nut. (Brushing egg white helps the cashew nut to stick to the cookie well.) Brush a layer of egg yolk on top of the cashew nuts for a nice golden brown color.
5. Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes till light golden brown. 

Notes:

1. I baked the cashew nuts before I “grind” it (I just pound it with a rolling pin – too lazy to take out and clean the blender afterwards).
2. My Mum said the cookies are sweet (but my aunts said they are just right) – will reduce sugar the next time I bake this to suit my family's taste.

This is a great recipe; I can see why it is Small Small Baker’s favorite. Definitely a keeper.

Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking

1 cup (110 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)
     (I used about a handful of almonds)

3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
     (used 120g of butter – did not want to open up a new pack of butter >.<)

1 cup (210 grams) packed light brown sugar (used 120g of granulated sugar)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda (substitute with baking powder)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (omitted)

3 cups (260 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins or 1 cup white or dark chocolate chips (optional)
     (omitted – because I forgot >.<)

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

(To toast nuts: Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop into pieces.)

2.      In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.

3.      In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the nuts, oats, and dried cranberries or chocolate chips. 

4.      For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of batter (I like to use an ice cream scoop) and space the cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the baking sheet. Then wet your hand and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick.

5.      Bake the cookies for about 12 - 15 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft and a little wet in the centers.

6.      Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 20 - 24 large cookies

The cookies are very delicious and I love the oats’ fragrance and texture. The cookies are more to the chewy side (or maybe it’s because I did not use baking soda? – it is said to make cookies crunchier). Make it thinner and bake longer if you prefer crunchy cookies.

My family love the cookies too. Dad and Mum are not used to chewy cookies – they prefer crunchy ones, so I popped a few into the oven for a few minutes. Despite cutting down the amount of sugar, my Dad and I find it a bit too sweet for our taste.

Shared some with my friends and they loved it. The cookies got better the next day; it was harder/crunchier and even more fragrant.

Easy and simple recipe that yields satisfying results – definitely a keeper.

Long Long Ago...

Just pictures of what I had made long long time ago...

I remember I made this after Halloween...'Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies'. Not sure where I got the recipes from.
Most of the candies did not made it into the cookies...I ended up eating most of them during the process.

The easy way.
Made this with Pillsbury Biscuits  (oh...how I miss all the easy-bake stuff)

Was testing a butterless sponge cake recipe....It turned out good but I lost the recipe. D=

My first swiss roll attempt.

Whipped cream with red bean filling.

The "sponge cake" was lacking...Perhaps that's the reason I did not keep the recipe for it.

My first steam buns.
Had to steam it with makeshift steamer.

Rather ugly looking. But I WAS pleased with it.
Now that I look back at it...I should really try to make steam buns one of these days...better looking ones hopefully.
(Any steam buns recipes to recommend? I would love to try them out =D )

Souffle Cheesecake. It was a Japanese recipe that I painstakingly transalated but I lost it. D=

I remember that it tasted very good. Strong cheese flavor as the eggs' flavor were not overpowering. But the method was definitely different from most souffle-type cheesecake. (Lots of work >.<;)