Almond Cookies

Another cookie that is a favorite during the Chinese New Year festival. Cookies that are rich in flavor and savory in taste. Ingredients for this cookie is relative simple, and no you don't have to ground your own almond meal since its available in supermarkets and specialty store.

It doesn't have the melt in your mouth texture, but I can promise you it's almond flavor is enough to tantalize your taste bud! And the process? So simple that you just need to rely on your mixer and oven to do the work.

Before going into the burning oven of 180*C. Look at those yellow little dough coated with a rich mixture of egg yolks.

Pretty little crumbly almond cookies.Sinful but oh so delicious. After one piece, you'll ask for more.

Recipe :

Ingredients:

- 120g ground almond (super fine)

- 75g caster sugar       

- 1/4 tsp salt         

- 180g plain flour 

- 1 tsp baking powder  

- 1 tsp baking soda    

- 122ml cooking oil

- 1 egg yolk (beaten plus mixed with a few drops of oil) for glazing

Steps :

1. Preheat oven at 180*C

2. Mix all dry ingredients.

3. Combine cooking oil and dry ingredients in a mixer to form a dough (about 30sec to 1 min).

4. Roll them into bite size balls. Arrange each ball on lined baking trays and glaze the top surfaces.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180*C for 18mins or until lightly browned. 

Tips :

- To get the little dot on the top of cookie, use a chopstick to gently press into the cookie to form a little hole.

Original recipe from MySweetHut.

Voila! You made your own almond cookies. Almond cookies are selling about RM 25 but it's way cheaper to make yourself and the process itself is fast and simple. So why not?

-thevanillapudding-

Peanutbutter Cookies

With the Chinese New Year festival just around the corner, it's hard to not get into the mood of celebration. Instead of decorating the house like usual, I've decided to go on a crazy baking spree for cookies. Not the healthiest option but hello, its food. 

What could be more sinful than those melt in your mouth peanut butter cookies? Most people mistaken these cookies for peanut cookies but in actual fact, its purely peanut butter. That is the simplified version, I rather not go through the hassle of roasting and grinding peanuts. 

This recipe is very simple and you can hardly go wrong with the right recipe.

The original cookie recipe makes about 3 containers but I've modified it to only yield a tray since my family has a control diet of food like cookies and desserts. 

In the preparation of CNY cookies, the most delicious ones uses pork lard - very sinful and oh so artery-clogging. But this recipe uses vegetable oil instead of lard, and the texture its good enough for me. 

Recipe :

Ingredients:

• 250grams Chunky Peanut Butter (any brand, get the ones with peanut bits)
• 225 grams plain flour, sifted
• 100 grams vegetable oil
• 70 grams pure icing sugar, sifted
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk (mixed with a few drip of water and oil) - for glazing cookies

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 180*c

2. Mix all ingredients except the egg yolks till it forms a dough

3. Form the dough into small balls of 2-3 cm, do not make it too huge, bite size is good enough.

4. Line it on a greased baking tray and bake it for 15-20 minutes till brown

Tips :

- Do check on your cookies by the 15 minute to prevent over browning

- You can reduce the amount sugar based on your liking as peanut butter itself is quite rich in flavor

- If you're like me, try the batter, it won't do you harm, if the batter taste good, your cookies are going to taste just like that!

- Its soft and crumbles easily, so be extra careful when you're removing it from the tray.

Original recipe from Dinewithleny.

And now, you have your very own peanut butter cookies! Its definitely cheaper than purchasing it from vendors and the best part? You control what you put into the cookies! Speaking about healthier options. 

Would I make it for the second round? Definitely! Its simple but oh so sinful.

-thevanillapudding-

Meringue

I baked a lot and it's unfortunate that I only decided to start an official food blog now. Today, I decided to try my hands on making meringue. Oh, yes, those egg whites with sugar whipped till stiff peak and baked at low temperature.

It was a good attempt, it wasn't perfect, neither was it a complete failure. Apart from it sticking to the parchment paper and being less marshmellow like internally, it's quite delicious. Kids, will love it with its marshmellow-cotton-candy like texture.

My brother has downed 4 pieces in one go and he refuses to let me bring the remaining meringue for my friends. 

Recipe :

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (you can substitute with salt or lemon juice)

3/4 cup (150 grams) caster sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30-60 seconds in a food processor)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish:

1/4 cup shaved Almonds

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 95*C and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks.

Note: Soft peaks are when the egg whites are froty white but it stills ribbony like when you flip the spatula upside down, it doesn't hold onto the spatula.

3. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.  

Note: Stiff peaks is when the egg whites are froty and it holds onto the whisk.spatula when you flipped it upside down. It just holds its form and its not liquid. The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

4. Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding.  

5. Alternatively, spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the prepared sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few shaved almonds, if desired.

6. Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. 

7. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. (The meringues will release easily from the parchment paper.)

8. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours or overnight.The meringues can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days.

Makes about 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) meringues.

Original recipe from JoyofBaking-Meringue.

Tips :

- Do use eggs at room temperature, mine were cold and it took a fair bit of time to froth.

- Always always check on your meringue to avoid burning.

- Use a parchment paper, I tried doing it without and it stuck so badly to the tray.

- Your mixer should be dry and clean of grease!

- Don't worry when your eggs doesn't froth, it takes a while, I panicked because my egg whites weren't reaching their peaks till I cranked up the speed till real high. 

Would I attempt it again? Maybe, it taste pretty good but the process is daunting for an amateur like me. 

-thevanillapudding-