Peanut Butter Cookies

In the words of Mr. Spock, "Live long and prosper." The phrase made its way into my mind today whilst thinking about Chinese New Year. I wondered if the family will find it amusing if I greeted them with a long-live-and-prosper instead of the traditional 'Kong Hee Fatt Choy'. Hard to tell, but I intend to try it this year.

Peanuts are said to be a symbol of long life. That is why I have always included it in festive goodie bags, which I give away to closest friends and family. Besides the packet of peanuts, this year's bag contains longevity noodles, nian gao, red dates and mandarin oranges.

Since we are now weeks away from Chinese New Year and I coincidentally had a jar of peanut butter which will be expiring soon, it just seemed apt to bake it off into festive auspicious cookies to be given away. Hubs loves peanuts. He was thrilled to find out I was making these. I wasn't. You see, I'm not a big fan of peanut butter, but surprisingly I was addicted to eating these.

Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are peanut buttery and dense. Personally, I find cookies like these best enjoyed in small portions. Hence, I made them bite-sized.

Peanut Butter Cookies
(Qty: About 80pcs)
Adapted from The Golden Book of Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup dessicated coconut and some extra for decorating
- 90ml Naturel Sunflower & Canola Blend cooking oil
- 90ml honey
- 1 cup chunky peanut butter
- Candied cherry bits for decorating

How-to:
1) Pre-heat oven to 165C. Line tray with baking paper.
2) Using a mixer - beat cooking oil, honey and peanut butter until combined.
3) Sift flour, baking powder and ground nutmeg over the mixture. Add salt. Mix with a baking spoon.
4) Add dessicated coconut. Mix to combine.
5) Press some of the dough into a rounded 1tsp baking spoon. Slide it out. Gently dip the bottom of the cookie dough onto some dessicated coconut. Roll some onto the sides too. Top with a candied cherry bit.
6) Bake at 165C for about 8 minutes on a lined baking tray. (Please do a bake test. Bake one cookie to see if this temp and time works for you.)

1) Mix wet ingredients together. 2) Combined wet ingredients.
3) Sift the dry ingredients over. 4) Combine wet and dry ingredients.
5) Add dessicated coconut. 6) The dough is ready to be shaped.

7) Use a spoon to shape the dough. 8) Dip the bottom of the dough onto the coconut.
9) Top with candied cherry. 10) Bake!

Peanut Butter Cookies Fresh out Of the Oven!

Admiring My Peanut Butter Cookie

The Bottom Is Nicely Browned

The cookies pictured above were the festive version. These, on the other hand, were made without the candied cherry. I have flattened the cookies a little. But I still dipped the bottom of the dough with coconut to keep it from browning too much.

Flattened The Dough For A Non-CNY Version

Peanut Butter Cookies Without The Cherry Bits

I packed them into plastic containers the next day. Off it went to business acquaintances!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016, which is hosted by Yen from GoodyFoodies, Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

Read more...

Fresh Mint Spice Cookies (Grown-up Cookies)

'Tis the season to be jolly. Merrily I went, to whip up a batch of cookies never seen before; in this household at least. I didn't have a particular recipe in mind. So I threw whatever ingredients I thought could work, into the dough, steadfastly staying away from the 'usual stuff'. This is a cookie for grown-ups, mind you. There are no chocolate chips, sprinkles or nonpareils here!

I had one goal, however. The colours red and green, both traditional colours of Christmas, had to be included. As my mint plant was in dire need of a trim, I used that for the green and since I had dried cranberries, why not for the red.

These are fresh out of the oven. I was so pleased with the results that I munched a couple even before it had the chance to properly cool.

Fresh Mint Spice Cookies

The cookie was delicious ; a pleasant, faint spicy aftertaste. A friend rated it an eight out of ten! My other half, of course, loved it! The line, 'sugar and spice, and everything nice' , comes to mind.

It's really easy to do, a matter of mixing all the ingredients together and voila! Still, I did it step-by-step, just to be sure I was combining everything properly.

Fresh Mint Spice Cookies
Adapted from www.spiceupthecurry.com .
Ingredients (18 cookies):
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 110g butter (softened)
- ½ cup soft brown sugar
- 2 tbsp full cream milk
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (seedless)
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 30 fresh mint leaves (chopped)
- 2 tbsp craisins/dried cranberries, pomegranate juice infused (chopped)

How-to:
1) Preheat oven to 170C. Line baking tray with baking paper.

2) In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar using a baking spoon or a whisk. Beat or stir vigorously until it is well incorporated.

3) Then, sift the flour and baking soda over. Add milk. Stir to combine. I resorted to lightly kneading it with my hand midway. It was just much faster.

4) Add chilli flakes, sesame seeds, ground nutmeg, mint leaves and craisins. Knead this into the dough, until just combined.

5) Use a rounded spoon. Place one tablespoon of dough onto the lined baking tray. Use a flat spoon to flatten the dough into a round shape (as pictured below); a little over 1.5inches in diameter for me.

6) Do a test bake (bake one cookie) to find out best baking time and temp for your oven. I baked these for about 8-10 minutes at 170C. It gave me a cookie that's just done; in between soft and crispy. Lower the temp and bake awhile longer if you want it crispier.

Note: The cookies were still good two weeks in an air-tight container.

1) Fresh mint, nutmeg, sesame seeds, cranberries, chilli flakes.
2) Combining the butter and sugar.
3) Adding flour, baking soda and milk.
4) The cookie dough.

1) Add sesame seeds, cranberries, fresh mint and nutmeg into the dough.
2) The completed cookie dough.
3) Spoon one tablespoon out.
4) Onto the baking tray it goes.

Use a spoon to flatten the dough.

Freshly baked and out of the oven!

Mmmm....fresh mint spice cookies!

The back of the cookie.

The texture in between.

This done, my next goal is to bake more of these to give away to friends and family for Christmas! Am I excited!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate: Christmas 2015 hosted by Yen from GoodyFoodies, Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids .

Read more...

Semperit Pandan Cookies

Chinese New Year is days away! Many would have returned to their hometown for the Reunion Dinner on the eve. The same can be said for me.

In the old days, when we used to 'open' house, there would be a rush to order festive cookies and stock up on tidbits.

Wikipedia:
A practice known as "open house" (rumah terbuka) is common during the festivities, especially during Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Deepavali, Chinese New Year, and Christmas. Open house means that all well-wishers are received and that everyone, regardless of background, is invited to attend.

Kuih bahulu, kuih kapit, semperit cookies, pineapple tarts, kuih makmur, mini popiah rolls and prawn crackers were annual favourites.

Other than Kuih Makmur, I've never tried to make any of the rest. It happens to be my favourite ~ not only as a nice treat, but also because makmur means 'prosperous' in Malay.

Semperit Pandan Cookies

Anyway, I was motivated to bake these cookies after the girls in our Facebook cooking group invited me to join their Chinese New Year marathon baking adventure.

I chose Semperit Cookies because I find it pretty, and although this is supposed to be in pandan green (following the recipe), I chose to go with no colouring and just a red bit of glace cherry on top. This is how I've always remembered it in my younger days.

This recipe is adapted from Kuali and Resepi Planta (video).

Changes made: Omitted the use of colouring, glaze and dragees. Decorate with glace cherry. 

Semperit Pandan Cookies (about 140pcs)
Ingredients:
- 200g margarine
- 125g wheat flour (sift)
- 100 icing sugar (sift)
- 230g pure cornflour (sift)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp pandan essence
- Glace cherry bits

How-to:
1) Using an electric mixer, beat margarine and icing sugar until fluffy.
2) Add egg yolks. Beat until combined.
3) Add pandan essence. Mix well.
4) I used a baking spatula for this one. Add all the flour in, in stages. Mix until combined. 
5) Line baking tray with baking paper.
6) Fill cookie piping syringe (pictured below) with dough.
- Pump out, twist and press down a little. Repeat on top and break to make a double layered flower. (Flower 1 pictured below)
OR - Place the syringe near the baking tray. Pump and let the dough ooze out from all sides. Break. (Flower 2 in picture below)

7) Bake in a pre-heated oven.

Do a test bake. Bake time for my oven: 14 minutes at 148C for double layered flower cookies. Single layer, about 10 mins. Leave on baking tray for about 5 minutes before removing to cool completely.

Tip:
These are my findings. Do not allow the cookies to brown. Cookies should be the melt in the mouth kind (but in no way too delicate). If it feels a bit dry, it means that it's been baked a little too long.The glace cherry bit makes all the difference! ;)

Cool and store in an airtight container. It lasted well over two weeks for me.

1) Cookie piping syringe. Nozzle with a twist! 2) The ingredients.
3) Beat icing and margarine until fluffy. Add eggs. 4) Added the flour. Phew! Tiring.

Pump out, twist and press down a little. Repeat on top and break (Flower 1).
See the double layer?

Place the syringe near the baking tray.
Pump and let the dough ooze out from all sides. Break (Flower 2).

Semperit Pandan Cookies

Semperit Pandan Cookies redy to go into the oven.

The dough begins to melt a little.

Semperit Pandan Cookies fresh out of the oven with nice folds.

There you go, an easy-to-do festive cookie for the New Year.

Semperit Pandan Cookies ..nom, nom!

With that, we at Sweet Home-Chefs wish you Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Read more...

Christmas Tree Cut-Out Cookies

It's almost Christmas, and we're at the peak of joy and togetherness. This is halfway into the holiday season. Hardworking loved ones are having their much-needed break. Everyone's relaxed. It's a nice feeling. Now, imagine if there were week long holidays every month of the year! I guess we'd all be smiling from ear to ear.

I did hint in my previous post that I had baked Christmas Tree cookies. I'm finally unveiling it today. This is a Nigella Lawson recipe. I chose it because it was simple.

My strategy has always been not to make complicated food on days I have much to do and this happens often during the holidays. There's extra housecleaning, the kind that happens seasonally, and lots of outings ...lots!

Additionally, if I decide to organise a party, I'd rather catch up with people than try to wow them with something elaborate on the dinner table ..unless I have help, of course and if it's an event where everyone chips in. Otherwise, it's always quick and easy food for me during the festive period and more difficult ones, after!

So this is it - an easy one, but no less pretty. Click here for the ingredients and how-to on 'Cut-Out Cookies'.

Christmas Tree Cut-Out Cookies

These cookies are sweet enough on its own but this is meant to be a festive treat. Therefore, the little extra icing, I think, wouldn't hurt.

1) Creaming butter and sugar together. 2) The egg and vanilla is added.
3) Dry ingredients consisting of flour, baking powder and salt. 4) Combining wet and dry ingredients.

1) My cookie dough. 2) Form a flat disk, wrap and refrigerate!
3) Work on a floured surface. 4) Roll out to just under a quarter inch thick. Cut into shapes.

My baking experience - 8 minutes flat at 175C, no more. The cookies are ready when the edges begin to brown.

Off the cookie dough goes in the oven on a lined baking tray.

Isn't it a beauty?

Begin icing once the cookies are cool. I tinged a third of the icing with a bit of red and the rest with green. Use a teaspoon to drizzle the green icing back and forth across the cookie from top to bottom. Lastly, dot with pink icing.

Drizzling the green icing across and dotting the light pink on!

My Christmas cookies are ready

The back of the cookie

Storing tips - Stack the cookies with a piece of baking paper placed in between each layer. This prevents the cookies from sticking to each other.

Christmas Tree cookies on the third day!

I think it makes a nice gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog post is linked to Cook and Celebrate: Christmas 2014 organised by these wonderful people - Yen from Eat your heart out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

Read more...

Beetroot and Parsley Cookies

The scene is magical in our large shopping malls. Lights of gold and colourful baubles decorate tall trees. Joyful Christmas songs fill the air. I hear a happy lift in people's chatter. Wide smiles grace glowing faces.

Well, my kitchen feels magical too. At this time of year, I attempt to bake festive treats and it will have nothing to do with chocolate chip cookies! Chocolate chip cookies are what I call 'staple food' in the sweet treats department. Therefore, a festive cookie needs to be something else.    

I try to be different about it, of course. That's how beetroot and parsley made its way into this cookie. The other reason was because I had parsley growing in my garden and I felt that it needed to go somewhere. Haha, I know.

The end result of these adventures, although often pleasing, is no reflection of work in between, which is sometimes laden with dramatic moments of 'why-is-this-happening-to-me'.

Beetroot and Parsley Cookies

As I rolled this cookie dough into shape, I consoled myself with an, "It's going to be alright, Hun. You've got this! "

This cookie dough is soft and a little sticky. It requires refrigeration for easy handling. As the weather was humid, I had to work quickly and was constantly on my feet, putting the dough in and out of the refrigerator, because I was baking in batches.

It's a recipe I adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookies book, which was originally for choc and cranberry checkerboards. I did away with four of the ingredients and a couple of steps, then added what I thought should be in there.

Anyway, off one went into the oven. A test. It turned out really great. So, I proceeded to bake the entire batch.

Beetroot and Parsley Cookies Fresh Out Of The Oven!

 
Beetroot and Parsley Cookies (About 30 pcs)
Ingredients:
- 200g softened butter
- ¾ cup caster sugar
- ½ tsp artificial vanilla flavour (bottled liquid)
- 1 egg
- 2 cups plain flour (sift)
- 1 tsp finely chopped beetroot
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (curly-leaf)

How-to:
1) Using an electric mixer, beat all these ingredients together - butter, sugar, vanilla and egg, until light and fluffy.

2) Stir half the flour in. Keep stirring until all of it has been incorporated into the batter. Then, stir the other half in.

3) Divide the dough into half. Add parsley into one, and beetroot into the other. Knead until it is evenly spread.

4) Transfer this onto baking paper. Fold the baking paper up and shape the dough into a long bar. Then, refrigerate covered in the same baking paper until it's easy to slice - about 45 minutes for me.

5) Work quickly, slice the chilled bar lengthways. I did this on a cutting board lined with baking paper. Clean the knife after every slice. This is NOT the fun part.

The dough was a little sticky so I shaped it using the baking paper it was already in.

Do the checkerboard design - Slice 6 thin strips from each bar. Stack 3 from each together in alternate layers to make a bar. Then, give the whole 'thing' a little twist and gently press and roll to combine, making it into a round bar (like in the pictures). Do the same for the the remainder of the strips...or do something else.

Then, wrap it up again and chill until it's easy to manage again. Now you will have two round bars of pretty pink and green dough in a distorted checkerboard design.

6) Line the tray with baking paper. Take one of the now combined dough out of the fridge. Cut into just under 1 cm slices and arrange on the tray for baking. The cookie will spread a little, so give it some space.

7) Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170C for about 10 minutes (or until the edges brown a little). Let it stand on the baking tray for about 5 minutes before transferring onto wire racks to cool.

This temp and timing suits my oven best. Always do the bake test!

Continue doing 6) and 7) until all the dough is finished.

How-to 1 to 3 in pictures with Red Beetroot and Green Parsley

1) Take the chilled dough out. 2) Slice lengthways and arrange in alternate flavours.
3) Chill again, then slice. 4) Place on baking paper and bake!

1) The cookie begins to spread in the oven. 2) The edges are brown, it's done!
3) The back of my cookie. 4) The pretty pastel front!

Texture-wise, this is neither crunchy nor soft, something in-between. It smells like vanilla - devoid of parsley scent.

Beetroot and Parsley Cookies Cooling On The Wire Rack

This is sweet but not overly. I packed 10 pieces for my guy to bring to the office. He came home empty handed with an uh-oh for eating too much. Yep, he rated this as one of the best cookies I've ever made. I had to laugh. I guess all the work was worth it after all!

One Beetroot and Parsley Cookie

Biting into a Beetroot and Parsley Cookie!

Read more...

Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

It used to be that when I think about cookies, I would envision something with a little crisp somewhere. Over the baking years, I learned that cookies aren't defined by the crunch factor. It can be soft and cake-like too.

This pumpkin cookie recipe that I tried out the other day is just that - a scrumptious mini cake. I found it really addictive. So, if you have a weakness for eating more than you should, I suggest that you invite me over to help reduce the numbers available in your cookie jar. I'm kidding, of course.

Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Click Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies for the recipe, which I found at the Very Best Baking  website.

The changes I made:
1) I replaced 1 cup canned pure pumpkin with the real deal. Steam fresh pumpkin (about 470g gave me just a little over a cup) with skin on, until tender. That took me about 30minutes. Scoop the flesh out and mash. Leave it on a strainer to drip excess liquid away while you collect and mix the rest of the ingredients. Add in as instructed.

2) I went with baking paper, instead of greasing the pan.

3) I baked mine at 165C for 12-13 minutes, just over a baking tbsp size each, which gave me about 44 pieces.

Tip: Don't be too quick to prepare the glaze because it will begin to harden soon enough.

Honestly speaking: It's tasty enough without the glaze, and may even be 'too sweet' for some people. However, I like the sugar glaze because it adds a little crunch on top. On my next attempt, I will work on reducing the sugar in the dough so that I can glaze with abandon.

I only prepared a small amount of glaze for this batch because I didn't want it on all the cookies. My adventure in pictures:

Top-left, clockwise: The 470g pumpkin, spooned steamed pumpkin,
combining the flour, beating wet and dry ingredients together.

Top-left, clockwise: The wet cookie dough, 1 tbsp on baking paper,
bake in pre-heated oven, preparing the sugar glaze

Soft Pumpkin Cookies Fresh Out Of The Oven

The No-glaze Pumpkin Cookie

Taking A Bite!

Nice Bottom!

Have you baked a cake-like cookie before?

Read more...