Peanut Cookies

Makes about 70 - 80

Ingredients
Grounded peanut - 300g (You can buy the grounded peanut from Fairprice)
Castor sugar - 150g
Plain Flour - 250g
Vegetable oil (I used Canola oil) - 200ml (use only enough to hold the dough together)
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Peanuts / Cashew nuts (halved) - a handful
Egg Yolk for glazing - 1

Method
- Preheat oven to 200 degree celsius.
- Sift the flour and sugar, add salt and mix well.
- Add the peanut powder and mix.
- Drizzle half of the oil into the flour mixture, using your hands, knead into a dough till the sugar has melted. Do not pour all the oil in at one time. If the dough breaks easily, add in more oil. Try rolling a small piece of the dough into a ball and if it doesn't fall apart, the dough is ready.
- Scoop a teaspoon of the dough, roll into small balls and place them on the baking tray with baking paper.
- Place half a peanut / cashew nut on the top, pressed it in gently, glaze and put in the oven.
- Bake for 17-18mins.

Molten Chocolate Love

Jas, my colleague, got me a set of ramekins for Christmas (how thoughtful!) and she suggested I try this recipe she saw on youtube. Thanks Jas! 


Makes about 4

Ingredients

Large eggs - 2

Large egg yolks - 2

Butter - 5 tablespoons

Sugar - 3 tablespoons

Premium dark chocolate - 3.5oz (standard bar)

Plain flour - 3 tablespoons
Cocoa powder - 4 teaspoons

Vanilla essence - a few drops

Salt - a pinch
Icing sugar - for dusting

Vanilla ice cream

Method

- Generously grease ramekins with butter. 

- Whisk the eggs with sugar till pale and fluffy.

- Melt the chocolate and butter over indirect heat.

- Combine the chocolate mixture with the egg mixture.

- Sieve cocoa powder and mix.

- Sieve flour and mix.

- Add in salt and vanilla essence and mix well.

- Pour batter into the ramekins and leave them onto a baking / casserole dish.

- Cover with cling wrap and chill it in the fridge for 30mins.

- Preheat oven to 220 degree C.

- Pour tap water into baking dish till it's about half full. 

- Bake for 12-15 mins.

- Leave the ramekins to cool (out of the baking dish) for about 10 mins before removing.
- Serving suggestion: use a sieve to dust icing sugar over the cake. Serve with scoop of vanilla ice cream and berries at the side. 

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGgwdacErks

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Butter Cookie

Makes about 120 cookies

Ingredients

Plain flour - 8 oz
Custard powder - 2oz
Icing sugar - 6oz
Corn flour - 4oz
Unsalted butter - 250g (cold from fridge)
Egg yolk - 2
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
Dried cranberries or cherries, cut into small pieces. 

Method

- Lightly beat egg yolk with vanilla essence.

- Sieve plain flour, custard flour, cornflour, icing sugar into mixing bowl.

- Use rubbing-in method to rub in butter into the flour until you see bread crumbs.

- Add egg yolk mixture into flour mixture and blend just well enough to form a dough. Do not overwork the dough.

- Wrap dough up with baking paper and refrigerate for about 30 mins

- Preheat oven to 180degree C.

- Pipe out the dough using a cookie press onto the baking tray. Place a piece of dried cranberry on each as topping.

- Bake for 12 - 13 mins

Pineapple Tarts

Makes about 75 - 80 pieces

Ingredients
To make the pastry
Plain flour - 340g
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Icing sugar - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 200g (cold from fridge)
Egg yolk - 1
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Cold water - 5 tsp


Ready made pineapple filling - 500g
Egg glaze: Lightly beat 2 egg yolks with 2 tsp water

Method
- Lightly beat egg yolk with vanilla essence.
- Sieve flour, baking powder and icing sugar into mixing bowl. Stir in salt and blend well.
- Use rubbing-in method to rub in butter into the flour until you see bread crumbs.
- Add egg yolk and ice water into flour and blend just well enough to form a dough. Do not overwork the dough.
- Wrap dough up with baking paper and refrigerate for 45mins to an hour.
- While the dough is being chilled, roll the pineapple filling into small balls.
- Remove dough from fridge, using a rolling pin, roll out dough into 7 mm thick and use tart cutter to cut out the dough. 
- Place tart onto baking tray lined with baking sheet. Apply egg glaze.
- Bake at 200C for 10 minutes and reduce to 180C for another 5mins. 
- Remove from oven and lightly press the pineapple balls onto the indentations of the tarts. 
- Bake again at 180C for 5 minutes until you see a light golden colour on the pastry.


Tips
- Do not overbake as the pineapple filling will be very hard. 
- I find that Bake King Pineapple paste is good, not too sweet. Can buy 1kg pack from fairprice. 
- When doing the rubbing in method, do quickly so that the butter will not melt. 

Chives Meat Dumpling

With compliments from Gen, she shared this dish with us in a recent cook out.

Makes about 30
Ingredients
- 400g of minced pork
- 1 bunch of chives
- 2 tablespoons of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour
- light soy sauce
- sesame oil
- pepper
- shaoxing wine
- shanghai / taiwanese dumpling skin

Sauce
- Ginger
- Black vinegar

Method
- Marinate the meat and chives with light soya sauce, sesame oil, pepper, wine and cornflour
- Leave it for about 1-2 hours
- Wrap in dumpling skin and seal the ends with water mixed with cornflour. Leave a gap between each dumpling to avoid them sticking together.
- Using a frying pan, fry on the ends till brown before flipping to its side. After flipping to another side, pour 1/4 of hot water and cover the pan till the water boils. Ready to be served.

Banana Bread

Ingredients
1.5 cups of plain flour
3 large bananas, very ripe (del monte types) - makes about 1-1/3 cups
1/2 cup Miracle Whip dressing Or natural yogurt.
3/4 cup sugar, white or brown
1 egg, whisked
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
 
Method
- Preheat oven to 175 degree celcius
- Mashed the ripe bananas, do not overmash them if you will like to have a bit of texture in your cake.
- Combine egg, banana, sugar, dressing and whisk until well blended.
- Mix flour, salt, baking soda, walnuts in a separate bowl.
- Add the dry to wet mixture and stir just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour into greased loaf pan, 4 x 8 inch.
- Bake for an hour or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 10-15mins, remove from pan to wire rack.
- Served best when warm and with vanilla ice cream!

Remarks
- To make muffins, you can pour the mixture into greased muffin tins / cups instead, and bake for 25 - 30 mins.

Source: Kraftfoods.com

Stir fried chicken thigh with dark soy sauce

Caught Kylie Kwong's programme on Discovery Channel. I have to try this someday!

Chicken thighs marinated with
- soy sauce
- dark soy sauce
- sesame oil
- chinese wine
- chopped ginger
- honey
- dark sweet sauce
- pepper
- oyster sauce
Leave in fridge overnight.

Add oil, fry chicken in wok on high heat. After chicken has been cooked, remove from wok. Fry dried chilli with red cut chilli. Then mixed chicken with chilli, and add a dash of salt. Squeeze half a lime into it and then serve.