Happy Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year is the most important festival in Chinese culture. It is celebrate on the new moon of the first month according to the lunar calendar and is a time for family reunions and scrumptious feasts.

It's time to ring in another Chinese New Year. It's the year of the horse.
The horse is a symbol of power, fortune, strength and good luck.

To all my dear friends and family. May the year of the horse usher in prosperity and many golden opportunities for all of you. 

Let's enjoy some of my cookies...........

Assorted cookies

Pineapple shape tarts

250 gm Anchor butter ( chilled)
4 cups flour
1 tbsp custard powder
1 small egg yolk ( lightly beaten )
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk for glaze

1/  Sift the flour and custard powder.
2/  Cut the butter into cubes, add in to the flour.
3/  Rub butter lightly into flour with tips of fingers till mixture resembles bread crumbs.
4/  Add in the egg yolk and vanilla mix to form a pastry dough.
5/  Do not knead, just use your fingers to mix lightly as the butter melt pretty fast.
6/  If dough too mushy add a little flour. This dough is suppose to be fairly soft but not sticky.

7/  Divide dough into 55 pieces, roll into round balls and flatten slightly.
8/  Wrap with pineapple jam and press the edges together using finger and thumb.
9/  Roll tart so that one end is tapered.

10/ Using a small pair of scissor, snip tiny V shapes on the front half of the tart. Snip in rows.
11/ Insert a cloves to resemble a pineapple stalk.
12/ Brush with egg yolk. Place tarts on greased tray and bake at 180 deg c for 20 mins or till light brown.
13/ Cool completely before store in cookies jar.

Note:
1/  Proper measuring of your flour is important, as too much flour will result in a tough and/or heavy baked good.
2/  When measuring flour spoon your flour into a measuring cup and then level off the cup with a knife.
3/   Do not pack it down. As stated above, flour gets compacted in the bag during shipping, so scooping your flour right out of the bag using your measuring cup will result in too much flour. 250 gm anchor butter ( chilled )

Pineapple Open tarts
14 oz flour
1 egg - lightly beaten
1 tbsp custard powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp fine sugar
1 egg yolk for glaze

1/  Sift flour and custard powder together.
2/  Cut butter into small cubes. Rub butter lightly into flour with tips of fingers till mixture resembles bread crumbs.
3/  Add egg and vanilla to form a pastry dough. If dough too soft chill for 1/2 an hour. If too dry add a little ice water.
4/  Roll out the dough to 1/4 in thick in between plastic sheet. Dust with flour lightly and cut with tart cutter. ( coat the tart cutter with flour and shake off the excess flour. )
5/  Fill tart with pineapple jam. Decorate the top as desire with extra dough.

6/  Brush with egg yolk and bake at 180 deg c for 15 to 20 mins or till golden brown.
7/  Cool completely and store in cookies jars.

Pineapple Jam
5 pineapples
22 oz sugar
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick ( 2 in )
5 pieces cloves
2 limau kasturi ( lime )

1/  Remove skin and eyes of pineapple. Chop into small pieces.
2/  Blend in food processor until fine and sieve until quite dry. (Keep the pineapple juice in case the jam too dry, you might need it.)

This pot contain 15 pineapples

3/  Put in big cooking pot, add grated pineapple, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cook in moderate heat for 1 hour.

4/  Add sugar and lime juice continue to cook till mixture thick and gluey. Keep stirring all the time to prevent burn.
5/  Cool completely and roll into small balls till ready for use.

Note: If jam too watery add sugar and continue cooking. If jam too dry add pineapple juice and cook till sugar melt and gluey.

Peanut puff aka Kuih Makmur
250gm butter
100gm ghee
50 gm sugar
1 egg
400gm plain flour
60gm plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
 few drop of green coloring

1/  Sift the flour and baking power together
2/  Beat the butter, ghee and sugar until light and creamy.
3/  Add in the egg, vanilla extract, green coloring and beat till well blend.
4/  Add in the flour and mix till soft dough is form.
5/  Cover with cling wrap and chilled 30 mins.

6/  Divide dough into round balls, wrap with peanuts filling and seal tight.
7/  Shape the round ball into leaf shape and use a pincher to make leaf design.
8/  Place onto greased baking tray, bake for 20 to 25 mins.
9/  Cool completely and store in air tight container.

Peanuts filling for peanut puff cookies
250gm roasted groundnuts
110gm sugar
3 tbsp peanut butter

1/ Mix all the ingredients together.

Chocolate Coated Cookies

250gm butter
4ozs sugar
1 egg yolk
1 whole egg
550gm plain flour
1 tsp vanilla
Toasted hazelnut ( optional )
Estimate 300gm  bitter sweet chocolate ( chop )
1 tbsp butter or chocolate fat

1/  Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy.
2/  Add the egg  yolk and whole egg, cream till well blend.
3/  Add vanilla and flour and form into a dough.
4/  Divide dough into small balls, wrap with hazelnut and place on greased  tray.
5/  Baked at 170 deg c for 20 to 25 mins.
6/  Cool completely and store in air tight container.
7/  Double boil the chocolate with butter or chocolate fat until chocolate melted.
8/  Put the cookies in paper liner and mini muffin tray. Scoop the melted chocolate onto the cookies and sprinkle with chocolate rice.
9/  Store in the fridge.

Peanut cookies

300gm roasted groundnuts
7ozs sugar
600gm plain flour
2 cups corn oil
egg yolk for glazing
extra groundnuts for topping

1/  Grind the roasted groundnuts until fine.
2/  Sieve the flour then mix with sugar and grind groundnuts.
3/  Slowly add in the corn oil.
4/  Do not knead, mix lightly till dough is form.
5/  Roll into tiny balls and place on greased tray.
6/  Top with half the groundnuts and glaze with egg yolk.
7/  Bake at 170 deg c for 15 to 20 mins.

Butter cookies

220gm plain flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
160gm butter
60gm icing sugar
1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla extract Almond slice/strips ( optional )

1/  Sift flour and baking soda.
2/  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3/  Add in egg white and blend well.
4/  Add vanilla, flour and mix well.
5/  Scoop mixture into piping bag fix with star nozzle, pipe a rosette and place almond slice in the middle.
6/  Bake at 160 deg c for 8 to 10 mins or until slightly brown.
7/  Cool completely and store in air tight continer.

Butter Cookies 2
4 oz butter
1 egg
4 oz icing sugar - sift
2 oz fine sugar
9 oz self raising flour
4 oz corn flour
chocolate rice for topping

1. Sift the corn flour and self raising flour together.
2. Cream butter and icing sugar, fine sugar until light and creamy.
3. Add in the egg and beat until well blend.
4. Add in the flour and mix well.
5. Pipe out the dough on the grease pan and top with chocolate rice.
6. Bake at 160 deg c for 15 mins or until golden color.
7. Cool completely ad store in air tight container.

Pipe out the dough using the cookie mold in a long strip on a grease tray.

The cookie dough is quite soft so use a spatula to cut the dough and push a little to the left and right.

This is the cookies mold that I use. One is standard size and the other is a mini size.

Now let me show you my nothing better to do hobbies... collecting red packet aka ang pao wrappers.

 These are my top favorite and very classic red packet wrappers.

Red packet is a monetary gift which is given on special occasions like wedding, birthday and Chinese New Year.

The red colour of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirit.

These are really beautiful and gorgeous red packet wrappers. My collection of red packet wrappers started few years back and now I got few hundred of various designs.When I got nothing better to do, I enjoyed admiring those really beautiful and classic designs.

Wishing all of you a  Happy and Prosperous New Year. Have a wonderful weekend. Cheers!
Amelia