Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Taken from http://magdalenestc.multiply.com/journal/item/68

Did some adaptation of my own - I doubled the proportions (makes 55 cookies) so I neatly used up a 28 oz jar (medium sized) of peanut butter, and used 1 cup of choc chips. As such, I used 3 eggs instead of 2, and also because my eggs are quite small.

Very fudgey rather than crispy.

Kuih Bangkit

I used to make this with my Grandma on CNY eves after coming home from school. Till now, my deepest memories are of her frying flour in the wok, and then me cutting out shapes with the kueh bangkit cutters and crumping them. But what type of flour always escaped me...until now. (I always knew it was this particular small roll of flour and if you bring me to the supermarket I would be able to pick it out (if it is still in production that is) but I never knew what flour it was.

Thanks to my new ladies' forum, I finally got my answer - the humble tapioca flour!

Kuih Bangkit

Pineapple Tarts

This recipe came from today's Sunday Plus. Looks dead easy to make esp if u get the ready made pineapple jam from places like Phoon Huat. A work auntie once told me that the jam from Phoon Huat tends to be very sweet, so she'll dilute with her own unsweetened pineapple jam.
The words are probably too small to read so I've reproduced it here, but the pictures are useful.

FILLINGIngredients2 medium sized pineapples, skin removed and cut into quarters
150g sugar

Method1) Grate the pineapple finely.
2) Place the grated pineapple in a cheese cloth and squeeze to remove any excess juice.
3) Cook the grated pineapple in a saucepan over low heat, stirring continously to prevent the pineapple from burning.
4) After 5 minutes, add sugar to the pineapple gradually, stirring to ensure that it is well incorporated. Taste the mixture to determine if more sugar is required.
5) Continue stirring the mixture over low heat for about 1 hour until all the moisture has evaporated.
6) Cool the pineapple filling on a table top for about 30 minutes before placing it in the refridgerator for another 30 minutes.
7) Remove the pineapple jam from the refridgerator, scoop a teaspoon of it and roll between your palms to form a ball with a 2 cm diameter. Set the pineapple ball aside and repeat for the rest of the filling.

TART (Makes about 40 tarts)
Ingredients250g butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg yolk
440g plain flour
1 tbs milk powder
pineapple filling (above)
1 egg, beaten

Method
1) Preheat the oven to 165 deg C.
2) Cream the butter and vanilla essence with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 10 minutes.
3) Add the egg yolk and continue mixing for about 2 minutes until well incorproate.
4) Sift the flour and then the milk powder into the mixture. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes before increasing it to medium speed for 3 minutes, until a coarse, crumbly texture forms. (photo A)
5) Place the mixture in a large bowl and knead it for about 5 minutes until a smooth ball of dough forms. (photo B)
6) Leave the dough in the bowl, seal it with clear plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
7) Remove the dough from the refrigerator, pinch a small amount of it and roll between your palms to form a ball with a 2.5cm diameter.
8) Flatten the dough into a circle and wrap it around a ball of pineapple filling. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the rest of the dough. (photo C)
9) Brush egg wash over the pineapple tarts and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the tarts turn golden.

[Anna Olson] Lemon Thyme Shortbread

As mentioned, I don't do big cooking projects so this looks like a really easy cookie recipe to try. From the show "Sugar".

Ingredients

Shortbread
* 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (or use 2.5 tsp dried thyme)
* 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 2 tbsp lemon zest
* 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
* 1 egg
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* milk, for brushing

Infused Honey
* 1 cup honey
* 1 bunch fresh thyme, washed
* 1 cup old (white) cheddar cheese
* 1 pear, optional

Method

Shortbread

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in chopped thyme.
2. Cream butter, sugar, zest and ginger until fluffy. Stir in egg and lemon juice. Add dry ingredients and blend until dough comes together.
3. Divide dough in half and shape into logs. Wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (or freeze).
4. Preheat oven to 325 F.
5. Unwrap dough and slice into thin wafers and place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush cookies with milk and bake for 12-15 minutes, just until edges turn golden.

Infused Honey

1. Heat honey with thyme over low heat for 20 minutes.
2. Let sit off the heat for an hour to allow flavours to infuse further. Strain honey.

To Assemble

1. Place nugget of cheddar cheese (about 2 oz) on a plate. Drizzle honey over cheese and place a couple shortbreads on the plate. Accent with a few slices of pear.

Cornflake cookies

Here is the traditional recipe for cornflake cookies. Very easy to do and very crunchy! Courtesy of a very good old friend and a very good cook who started me out on all the basics of cooking, Cynthia!

Ingredients
350g self raising flour
1pc butter (250g)
7oz fine sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
1 box cornflakes, use rolling pin to crush half ,and reserve half for coating

Method
1) Beat butter and sugar with mixer till soft.
2) Add 1 egg.
3) Fold in flour slowly.
4) Add the crushed cornflakes.
5) Scoop one teaspoon of the above and roll on the remianing cornflakes.
6) Place the cookies in the small paper cup for baking.
7) Bake at 130 C for approx 30-45 min and ensure that inside and outside of cookies are cooked.

Cornflake and coconut biscuits

Thanks to Mag's recipe for Anzac biscuits, I'd thought I'd modify it a bit considering I don't really like oats and don't want to have a big bag of it hanging around after I've done baking! I leant the hard way about parchment paper - you still have to oil it otherwise it will still get stuck to the biscuits! To be extra kiasu, I recommend dusting on some flour on top as well.

Ingredients

3 cups cornflakes, crushed (put it into a ziploc and use a rolling pin to bash it up...great for working out frustration!)

1 cup plain flour (150g)

1 cup packed brown sugar (200g)

1/2 cup dessicated coconut (45g)

125g butter

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1) Combine the dry ingredients (cornflakes, sugar, flour and coconut) well in a big mixing bowl.

2) Combine the wet ingredients by melting the butter in a microwave bowl with sugar, water, and vanilla. Once the butter has melted, stir in the bicarb.

3) Pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix well.

4) Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Oil/butter the parchment paper well and dust on a thin layer of flour. Shake off excess.

5) Use a spoon to form rounded tsp of the mixture, and put them approx 5 cm apart. I used my hands to really crush and pack the mixture together into a tight ball, patting it down only slightly to get the flat biscuit shape. If it's too dry, add a bit more water or use milk.

6) Bake in a 160 degree oven for approx 15 to 20 mins until firm to the touch.

Cornflake cookies

That dratted festival will soon be upon us! Yes, CNY again. I remember getting all excited about the festival - coming home from school and helping Gran make cookies. She'll always make 2 kinds - her delicious butter cookies and also her kueh bankit. No where else have I tasted kueh bankit which quite compares. I'd help her cut the dough with the cookie cutters, crimp out the designs, etc. My aunt would make her delicious pineapple tarts and love letters and never failed to give us at least a tin of each.

Sadly, Gran's receipes are lost to us now. As for my aunt, she's getting on in years and can't bake as much as she used to.

However, in the spirit of baking something festive, I've started my own traditions of baking simple cookies. This year however, the spirit escapes me. Maybe it's the environment, at least in the past in an 'auntie' environment, I was spurred to bake my own goodies and bring them to work, sharing in the season. Everyone would be in on it, baking their own goodies and bringing them to work. I miss those times.

This is the prized receipe of my ex-colleague, a super duper baker.

Ingredients
10 oz self-raising flour
1 egg
8 oz butter
6 oz fine sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 box cornflakes

Method
1) Cream butter, sugar & egg till sugar has melted.
2) Add vanilla, flour slowly bit by bit.
3) Finally add the crushed cornflakes.
4) Press together hard into a ball and fit them into tiny paper cups. U can coat some cornflakes on the outside too.
5) Bake at 120 degrees for about 45 mins.