Cashew Nut cookies

Chinese new year. The time of festivity, fun and loads and LOADS of food. Seriously. It's an opportunity to meet my distant relatives again, indulge in delicious snacks and meals. Of the wide array of snacks, my favourites are bak kwa(roasted pork slices), love letters and nut cookies.
I have tried, without success, to recreate nut cookies that have this salty-sweet taste, where the saltiness of the cookie cuts through the sweetness, bringing about a new dimension to the cookie. It is absolutely delicious, yet, I have not achieved this taste in my nut cookies yet.

This year, I baked pineapple tarts and tried out this new recipe for cashew nut cookies. Although they do not have this sweet-salty taste, they were well received by my sisters and cousins, so do give it a go.

Cashew Nut cookies, recipe adapted from Small Small Baker
Ingredients:
110g butter
70g castor sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 egg (about 25g)
40g ground cashew nuts(toast whole, raw cashew nuts at 160C for 10-15 minutes, then grind the nuts)
180g plain flour
20g cornflour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg white

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 colour.
5. Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes till light golden brown. 

chocolate pumpkin brownies

 I'm back! With a healthy brownie recipe! Enjoy!

Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies recipe, adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie
Ingredients:
60g  unsweetened cocoa powder
128g white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100g maple syrup (you may increase it up to 240g, my brownies were VERY dark and bitter)


1 cup pureed pumpkin
3 tbsp oil
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup cacao nibs

Method:
1. Combine dry ingredients(except cacao nibs), and mix very well.
2. Combine wet ingredients, then mix into dry.  Add in cacao.
3. Pour into a greased pan loaf tin.
4. Cook for about 23 minutes at 170C.
NOTE: The brownies to taste much sweeter only after they have cooled down after baking, so don't finish them once they've cooked! Give them some time to rest and develop their flavours.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake

I realise that I haven't baked with fruits as much as I have with chocolate or vanilla. And it's probably because the fruits are usually all eaten up before I can even bake with them, haha! Anyway, I baked this when I was facing an overload of pears in my house.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake, adapted from Pastry Affair
125g white whole wheat flour flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 eggs
113g unsalted butter
150g sugar
4 pears, diced in small pieces(I used Chinese pears)
115g bittersweet chocolate pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour a 9 inch spring-form (or cake) pan.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whip the eggs until they are pale and very thick. With a hand-held mixer, this will take 8 to 10 minutes.
5. In the meantime, brown the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. As the butter cooks, it will foam up. Stir occasionally and scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan as they accumulate. Do not let it burn. When browned, remove the pan from the heat.
6. Add the sugar to the eggs and continuing whipping for a few more minutes. When the eggs start to lose their volume, turn the mixer onto low and add a third of the flour mixture. Then, add half of the butter, a third of the flour, second half of the butter, and the rest of the flour. Mix until the flour is just barely combined. Too much mixing will result in losing more volume.
7. Put the cake batter into the pan. On top of the cake, place the diced pears and bittersweet chocolate. When the cake bakes, the cake will rise up around the pears and chocolate, burying them deep within. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Gula Melaka Mango Sago Pudding

 Gula melaka sago is one of my favourite desserts. Every time I visit Malaysia, I never fail to encounter this dish. It is made up of a pearl sago pudding, flooded with rich, pandan-infused coconut milk and a caramel-like palm sugar syrup. What's not to love about it? Of course, due to health concerns, I rarely partake of this dish nowadays. But when I do, I thoroughly relish it.

  I added cubes of mango at the side to complement this dishand bring out a feel of the tropics. It is best served on a hot day, when you're just craving for a cold dessert.
  

Gula Melaka Sago with Mango Recipe, adapted from Jewel Pie
Ingredients:
100g pearl sago
100g gula melaka
125ml coconut milk
4 pandan leaves, tied in a knot
pinch of salt
1l water + 2tbsp water, divided
1 mango, cubed

Method:
1. Wash pearl sago and soak for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a large pot, bring 1l water to a boil over medium to medium high heat. Add in sago. Stir constantly to prevent it from clumping together. Boil until it is cooked, when it is translucent with a white dot in the middle, about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Leave it for about 5 minutes.
3. Pour the sago and water into a fine mesh sieve and run cold water over it to remove excess starch.
4. Once drained, separate the sago mixture into 4 ramekins(you may want to brush the ramekins with vegetable oil to ease the unmoulding stage). Leave it to cool, then refrigerate it until set.
5. Combine coconut milk, pandan leaves and salt in a small saucepan. Bring it to a gentle boil over low heat. Remove from heat once it bubbles. Discard the leaves. Set the coconut milk aside to cool.
6. Using the same pan, combine water and gula melaka. Over low heat, stir until it dissolves. Be careful it doesn't burn. Once dissolved, set a side to cool.
7. Unmould the sago puddings. Pour the coconut milk and palm sugar mixture over it and serve with mango at the side.

Rice Krispy Treats

For the past two years, I made gingerbread cookies with royal icing as Christmas gifts. It was a complete nightmare having to bake the cookies, let them cool, make the royal icing and outline the cookies, wait for them to dry, then flood the cookies, followed by another period of waiting, then the eventual wrapping.
This year, haunted by past Christmas baking episodes, I turned to rice krispy treats. They only require one pot, 5 ingredients and little waiting! So here's an easy alternative for a Christmas gift. I'd have to warn you though, this will get you less "ooh"s and "ahh"s compared to red velvet cupcakes, gingerbread cookies and what not.

Rice Krispy Treats recipe, adapted from The Vegan Mom
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
7 cups puffed rice, or more as needed

Method:
1. In a large pot, heat together light corn syrup and sugar over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Stir constantly to avoid burning the pot.
2. Add in butter and continue heating until melted. Remove from heat.
3. Add vanilla extract. Stir.
4. Add in the puffed rice and stir until the puffed rice grains are well coated with the syrup mixture.
5. Scoop the rice crispy treats into little paper liners with a spoon.
6. Leave it in the fridge to set.

Butter Cake

As the old saying goes, "Variety is the spice of life." I don't know if this is normal, but I don't really like to bake the same things over and over again. I mean I know of people who have an amazing signature dish, but that's all that they ever cook, most of the time. I like to experiment with different combinations and create new dishes every time I bake. But that's not possible when the people around you, like my family, are pretty resistant to change. 

I love change. I embrace it wholeheartedly. But to my sisters? Change is like a gross dish served to them at dinner that they're forced to eat. Honest. They like to dine at the same places, eat the same types of food, and have me bake the same types of cakes, brownies, blondies etc. 

Of course, there are downsides to having too much or too little change. Baking a new dish every time means I don't learn to improve on past dishes that show promise, baking the same dish leads to boredom(at least for me). And while I was so tempted to tweak the recipe and add different flavours or spices to the cake, I held back. Some things are meant to stay the same. 

Butter Cake, adapted from MrsNgSK as seen on Wendyinkk

Ingredients:

230g unsalted butter 

200g eggs (4 grade eggs), separated
40g + 120g sugar
200g all purpose flour, sifted
60ml milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped 

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 170C. Grease an 8 inch square pan. 
2. Separate the eggs, and place the whites into a medium sized bowl. Beat egg whites until soft peaks, gradually add 40gm sugar and beat until stiff. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and 120gm sugar until pale and fluffy. Put in vanilla seeds and and beat for a while. Put in egg yolks one by one and beat well after each addition.
4. Put in half the flour and mix on low speed until incorporated. Put in milk in 2 additions and mix until well incorporated. Mix in remaining flour.5. Put half the egg whites in and mix on low speed. Fold in the balance of egg whites.6. Pour batter into pan and level.7. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. 

Bagels

As a child, I worshipped at the shrine of the Golden Arches. Yes, I'll admit, I loved eating McDonalds. (Don't give me that look. I'm long over those days already.) Don't ask me what was my favourite thing on their menu because I loved practically every single thing on their menu. From their burgers, to french fries, to breakfasts. I can still remember spending my Saturday mornings there, drowning my hotcakes in their "maple syrup" or chomping into their quarter pounder burgers. (I can't help but cringe as I look at my younger self.) Occasionally, they served specialty items like Nasi Lemak and for a period, spaghetti. And for breakfast, they once served bagels with cream cheese and jam. I was so hooked onto it. I couldn't resist the warm, bagel served with a generous helping of tangy, creamy cream cheese and sweet jam. When it was taken off the menu, I recall being pretty upset about it. My experience with bagels at Macs with my first and for the longest time after that, I hadn't gotten the chance to have bagels again.

After all these years, I guess I do get a chance of reunion at bagels. And this time, I know that it's not going to be filled with any sort of additives chemicals.

Basic Bagels, adapted from 17&Baking

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp dry yeast(1 envelope)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup warm water
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour(I used white whole wheat flour), plus extra for kneading
1 1/2 tsp salt

Method:
1. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into 1/2 cup of the water in a small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve. 

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Form a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast.

3. Pour half of the remaining water into the well. Mix in the flour and stir in the reserved water as needed, forming a firm and moist dough.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Gradually work in as much additional flour as possible while comfortably kneading to form a stiff and firm dough.
5. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch down and let the dough rest 10 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball – cup between your hands and press the bottoms together between your palms. Press down to get rid of air bubbles and roll the dough between your palm and the work surface to form a smooth ball. Coat a finger in flour and press it through each ball to form a ring.
7. Work the rest of your fingers into the hole, stretching the ring and widening the hole to about 1/3 of the bagel’s diameter. Place the bagels on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 10 minutes and preheat the oven to 220C/425F.
8. Bring a large pan of water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Use a perforated skimmer to lowel the bagels into the water in batches of 2-3. Boil, uncovered, until they rise to the surface, about 1 minute. Turn them over once. Then remove from the pan, letting the water drain, and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, until golden, and cool on a wire rack.

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Garlic Prawns

I've been spending the bulk of my past few days at home. And well, while a "break" from school sounds nice, when you have absolutely nothing, no activity or any sorts to spend your time on, this amount of time you have on your hands gets on your nerves. After all, time is a precious commodity. This is going to sound morbid, but no one knows how much time we have on this earth. How many more days we wake up to, how more breaths before it's our last, how many more precious moments we will get to spend with our friends. Which is why I always make it a point not to waste my time doing nothing. I'd rather be reading a book, talking to friends or even typing out this blog post than staring blankly into space. This is so that, when I do take my last breath, whenever that is, I want to know that my time was well spent.

Creamy Avocado Pasta recipe, adapted from Kevin & Amanda
Ingredients:
100g spaghetti
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 lemon, juiced, divided into 2
3 garlic cloves, 2 whole 1 minced
10 prawns
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
some vegetable oil for sauteing

Method:
1. In a small saucepan, bring several cups of lightly salted water to a boil and add in spaghetti. Cook until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, make the avocado sauce. In a food processor, combine avocado, 1 portion of lemon juice and 2 garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and lemon juice. Add prawns and cook until the turn pink.
4. Turn off the heat. Add scallions and stir to combine. Then, add pasta and avocado sauce. Mix it well.
5. Garnish with lemon zest and season as needed. Serve.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Pests. They exist everywhere. Most of them live, breathe, twitch and crawl about to scrounge for food. As for others, they don't scounge. Like the ones that live in my house, happen to be 2 years younger than me. So how then, do they feed themselves? They ask, or well, you could say demand.
"Jie, bake double chocolate chip cookies PLEASE!!!!!" one cries.
"No....Jie, I want blondies! Please!!! I'm dying without blondies!" the other protests.

A few days ago, I satisfied the cry for blondies and today, I'll shush the one asking for cookies with cookies.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies, recipe adapted from iloveicookibake
Ingredients:

150g butter

100g sugar

30g brown sugar

1 egg

220g plain flour

50g potato starch(you can sub with cornflour)

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

150g chocolate chips

30g cocoa powder

Method:

1. Sieve flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda together, set aside.
2. Cream butter with sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add in egg and vanilla essence. Mix well.
4. Fold in the sieved flour til it forms dough and mix in the chocolate chips.
5. Roll out the dough into walnut sized balls. 
6. Bake in preheat oven at 180C for 20 minutes.

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Couscous

When I first cooked and tasted couscous, I thought, eugh... It tasted like bland little balls of starch. I "fixed" this by adding some lemon juice, which definitely spruced up the flavour. But there was so much a dash of lemon juice could do. Couscous still wasn't something I was too keen on eating again.

Maybe my mistake then lay in the fact that I cooked couscous in water and I ate it without a dressing or sauce of any sorts. This time, I didn't do that again. I cooked the couscous in chicken stock that was flavoured with the sweetness of caramelized onions and mushrooms. Now this dish, well, it's something I don't mind eating for the next few days. 

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Couscous, recipe from fervourforfood
Ingredients:
vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 white button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup couscous

Method:
1.  Heat a frying pan with some vegetable oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until most of it starts to turn brown.
3. Make a well in the centre of the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are browned.
4. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat.
5. Add the couscous and cover for 2-3 minutes.
6. Serve.
 serves 1