The Great Chef

In another two more weeks we will be welcoming the "Monkey" for the coming Chinese New Year .   I am sure those who are celebrating the Chinese New Year, will be busying themselves baking all sorts of cookies. And my first bake for the CNY cookies is Peanut Cookies.  Though it is quite laborious to make this, I guess it is worth it.  So fragrant and nutty flavour!   PEANUT COOKIES Recipe sourced from Food-4Tots   Ingredients   300g raw peanuts 250g plain flour 130g icing sugar 135ml peanut cooking oil 15g butter (softened – optional) Pinch of salt   Egg Wash   1 egg yolk (from 1 large size egg; lightly beaten and diluted with 1 tsp milk   Preparing the peanuts   Rinse the raw peanuts and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dry fry the raw peanuts in a big wok or frying pan under medium heat; stir frying from time t o time till golden brown. Remove and set to cool before removing the skin. Grind the  peanuts till fine or  superfine (to...

I have a few cookies recipes which I've bookmarked using Ginger thinking to be baked during Christmas time but every year, I always miss out baking those bookmarked recipes.   When  Hui of Waltzing Butterflies posted her Gingernut cookies recently, and looking at the simple ingredients and steps to prepare, and in no time wasted, I made mine today. GINGERNUTS COOKIES makes 16 cookies Ingredients 105g flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 ½ tsp ground ginger 40g brown sugar 50g unsalted butter, cold, diced 1 tbsp + 2 tsp golden syrup Method Preheat oven to 180C. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and ground ginger together in a mixing bowl. Add in the brown sugar till combined. Mix in the diced butter into the dry ingredients till crumbly. Add in the golden syrup into the mixture and mix till become stiff paste.   Divide into 16 pcs and roll into balls   Place them onto the baking sheet and flatten the balls slightly. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or...

I made this Kuih Bangkit just last week ~ thinking it was easy and bravely doubled up the recipe in two batches in a row eventhough it was my first attempt making it.  It was indeed a wrong move and making it hastily without reading the recipe carefully.  I didn't cream the egg yolk and icing sugar till creamy resulting the dough was little more yellowish in colour.  And there was other factor that I did wrong too.  Sigh... BUT....nevertheless, those cookies were delicious and full of aroma taste. As I am not pleased with the first attempt, I am adamant to try it out again.  And indeed, I done it!!  More than happy now..... Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies) Recipe sourced from  Sonia of NasiLemakLover   (I made 1 ½ recipe from her original recipe)   Ingredients 190g tapioca flour 190g sago flour 6-8 screwpine (pandan) leaves, cut into small pieces 2 medium size egg yolk 130g icing sugar 125ml - 140ml concentrated coconut milk (or adjust accord...

Aaah.....has the title of this post the word "Kumquat"  makes you recall Mel being the Kumquat lover?  Kumquat is available now at Tesco!!  I bought it at RM3.70 per pack.....isn't it a bargain? I have been eyeing to bake this recipe for quite awhile......at first I was thinking of using pineapple as filling....and everyday I've been looking, and looking at this recipe but lazy bug was inside me and wasn't even feeling wanted to lift up my legs to stand long hours in the kitchen.    But at last, it was the kumquat makes me do it!   Kumquat Almond Pie Cookies Recipe inspired from  Sweet Explorations Ingredients 226g butter, room temperature 160g sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 cups (I used 420g) plain flour Filling ½ cup Kumquat Jam * (puree the sweetened kumquat with 2 tbsp almond meal)   Method In a bowl of electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed till soft and fluffy.   Add in egg and vanilla extract. ...

Hi everyone, how have you all been doing?  I'm sorry for not updating my blog for so long...... I have been lazy to sit in front of the computer to do posting eventhough I have been busy cooking and baking yu mmy good food for my family here in Auckland. Lately it has been raining almost everyday here ; and instead I just stay at home reading and brow s ing cookbooks. Today post is Chocolate Chips Cookies.  I have wanted to bake this back at home this "Almost" Famous Amos Chocolate C hips Cookies for so long b ut I was afraid that I couldn' t fin ish this cookies all by myself as I am not a big fan of chocolate chips cookies.  So since I am here and my niece is always pestering for chocolate chips c ookies, so I grab th is opportunities to make it for her. I wanted to make half of the recipe and I am glad I didn't.  This chocolate chips cookies are SO GOOD and crunchy.  I LOVE IT and in fact I can say I am in love this chocolate cookies !  I am g...

The past weeks I had wanted to bake this pi neapple tarts or pineapple rolls or whatever you wanted to call it.... I was in thinkin g should I buy the ready made store bought pineapple filling or should I go ahead to make my own.  Well, the store bought definitely is very sweet and this is why I hesitate to buy it. Well in the end, when  Sonia  posted her best melt in the mouth p ineapple tarts, it just make me wanted to make it too .... Moreover, oh...shy to say ..... the Kumquat Nastar Rolls which I made earlier, I almost finished munching away....    PINEAPPLE ROLLS   Recipe sourced from  Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover Ingredients 350g butter 100g condensed milk 510g plain flour / all purpose flour 2 egg yolks 1 egg yolk +1tsp milk, for egg wash 700g Pineapple filling (homemade or store-bought) Method 1. Cream butter and condensed milk till light. 2. Add in egg yolk one at a time, and beat until combine. 3. Mix in flour, mix till become a soft and...

I thought I won't be baking anymore cookies for the CNY but I still have some ghee left and thought of finished it off. I have browsed through the "New Year C ookies cookbook" and this Suji /Ghee Cookies was highly recommen ded by the Editor's Choice so I guess this must be good.   My previous  Almond Cookies was  from this same recipe book and wa s also highly recommended by the Editor's Choice. Yes, indeed this Suji/Ghee cookies is yummy because of the added ground almond.   SUJI / GHEE COOKIES Recipe sourced from “New Year Cookies” Cookbook by Alan Ooi   Ingredients A 80g icing sugar ¼ tsp salt 160g plain flour 50g almond flour B 110g ghee/clarified butter For Glazing: 1 egg yolk (beaten) For Decoration Some red or greed candied sprinkles (I don’t have this so I just dot with red colour and some red chocolate rice) Method Combine ingredients A in a mixing bowl.  Add in ingredient B and mix to a soft dough. Cover with a piece of clean kitc...

I loves to eat cookies that have a crunch and crispy...... because I like munching and munching! When Wendy of Table for 2 ....or more posted her Barazek (well, I have not heard of what is Barazek before) and after looking at the pic, I guess this type of cookies is in for me as I can see it has that crunch for me! BARAZEK (Pistachio & Sesame Seeds Cookies) Recipe from Wendy of Table for 2....or more   Ingredients 150g sesame seeds 53g honey 65g ghee (clarified butter) 1 medium size egg 70g sugar 1/8 tsp salt 120g plain flour 160g semolina flour 1 tsp baking powder 120g pistachios Method 1. Mix the sesame seeds and honey.  Set aside. 2.  Chopped the pistachios coarsely and place on a flat plate. 3.  Mix ghee, egg, sugar and salt; cream till smooth. 4.  Sift in flour, sugee and baking powder. Mix well. 5.  Take 1/2 tbsp level of dough (1 scoop out using a melon baller) and form into round. 6.  Drop dough onto chopped pistachios that has been pla...

Everyone is making pineapple rolls or pineapple tart...... I wanted to make this too but I still have two punnets of kumquats in my fridge so I thought of using it to make Kumquat Nastar Rolls instead of the usual pineapple.    How's that for a change? KUMQUAT “NASTAR” ROLLS Pastry Dough from Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover Ingredients 175g butter 50g condensed milk 255g plain flour / all purpose flour 1 egg yolk 1 egg yolk, for egg wash About 450g Kumquat filling (blend & puree the kumquat and cooked with sugar and some water) Method 1. Cream butter and condensed milk till light. 2. Add in egg yolk, and beat until combine. 3. Mix in flour, mix till become a soft and not sticky dough. 4. Put dough into a Nastar mould and press out into strips about 5-6cm long. 5. Place kumquat jam filling on the edge of a strip and make a small elongated roll. 6. Cut off excess dough, brush with egg glaze. 7. Bake in preheated oven at 170c for 15-18mins or till golden brown. 8. Cool on wire rack...