Kaastengels (Cheese Cookies) - 2nd Recipe & More Cookies & Cake I Baked 4CNY

My fifth cookies was another pineapple tarts, but it's those open tarts and it's cheesy pastry
I made them before but shaped into balls. You may view the recipe HERE

 

And my sixth cookies was chocolate chips cookies which is always loved by my family using THIS RECIPE

 

Now, the last cookies I baked, it's cheese cookies, Dutch influenced cookies which is very popular in Indonesia. I made these cookies before, recipe is HERE which is eggless
This time I used another recipe with eggs which is as satisfying

Recipe source: Natural Cooking Club (NCC)

What you need:

300g butter
100g grated edam cheese
100g grated cheddar cheese
400g plain flour
2 tbsp milk powder
2 egg yolks

Egg wash: 3 egg yolks, mix with 1.5 tbsp fresh milk
more grated cheddar cheese for sprinkle

Method:

1. Mix butter and egg yolks briefly, just til combined. Add in both cheeses, mix well
2. Add in flour and milk powder, stir well
3. On a lightly floured surface, place the dough, cover with a clingwrap and roll til about 1cm thick
4. Using a sharp knife, cut the flattened dough to form small rectangles, about 1x5cm each
5. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle cheddar cheese
6. Transfer to lined baking sheet and bake in preheated oven of 150degC for 20mins (original recipe stated 125degC but my cookies are bigger so I adjusted the temperature accordingly) til golden brown

This marks the last cookies I baked for this year's Chinese New Year. I think I never bake so much cookies for the festive season before haha..

 

 

I had many cakes I wanted to bake too, but in the end I only baked 1 cake, it's the delicious Sicilian Orange Cake which I ever baked before. You may view the recipe HERE

 

 

 

I am submitting this post to Cook & Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016 hosted by Yen of GoodyFoodies, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids

 

 

 

 

Pineapple Balls (Enclosed Pineapple Tarts)

My fourth cookies for Chinese New Year
Of course, pineapple tarts! But this time, I made the enclosed version, pineapple balls, and I had fun making them

I usually always prefer the open tarts, easier and faster to prepare. Tried to make into balls once previously but I got cracked balls. And the process was more tedious. But this year I just wanted to try again, and this time I enjoyed it. The dough was easy to handle and the whole thing was a breeze. Of course, it's still more time consuming than open tarts, but it's a nice feeling when I saw those round balls out from the oven, no cracks :)

UPDATE:
Baked these precious balls again for Chinese New Year 2017, and brushed only beaten egg yolk for glaze and it looked much more beautiful. So happy! :)

I used the most talked about recipe recently, from Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover
Love it! So melty, milky and yummy combination of the sweet pastry and tangy pineapple filling
Only one downside to me was the appearance, it couldn't give me golden balls. Instead they were whitish and pale. After some thoughts, my guess was I shouldn't have mixed the egg yolk glaze with fresh milk, and also I should have baked without fan. Okay, lesson learnt, must take note of that the next time I bake this recipe again :)

What you need:

350g butter
100g sweetened condensed milk
510g plain flour
2 egg yolks

1 egg yolk + 1 tsp milk, for glaze
(I will omit the milk next time)

700g pineapple jam filling, roll into 8g balls

Method:

1. Cream butter and condensed milk til light. Add in egg yolk one at a time, beat til combined
2. Mix in flour, mix til the dough becomes soft and not sticky
3. Roll the dough into 10g balls
4. Flatten a piece of dough ball, make a dent at the centre and place the pineapple jam ball on it. Bring the edges of the dough together and pinch to seal. Roll it in between palms to make a perfect ball shape
5. Make a pattern on the balls if desired (I didn't do it) and brush with egg wash
6. Bake at 165degC for 23mins (fan forced) (mine was 170degC for 30mins but I still got whitish pale balls, I will off the fan the next time I bake this again)
7. Cool completely before storing them in an airtight compartment

I am submitting this post to Cook & Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016 hosted by Yen of GoodyFoodies, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids

Salted Egg Yolk Cookies

My third cookies I baked this year. The ever popular salted egg yolk cookies. I saw them everywhere. I must try too :)
Happy with the result. A combination of sweet and salty in each bite. Very addictive. Yum!

Recipe is from Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids
Decided to choose this recipe among a few others as I was convinced the dough is easy to handle. This is important for me when doing cut out cookies in order to complete the process in full happiness haha..

What you need:
(below is double recipe)

170g unsalted butter, room temperature
80g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 cooked salted egg yolks, mashed
250g all purpose flour
20g corn flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten, to glaze
chia seeds to sprinkle (original recipe used black sesame seeds)

Method:

1. Beat butter, sugar and salt til light and fluffy
2. Sift in flour, corn flour and baking powder and mix gently with spatula til the flours are absorbed
3. Add in mashed salted egg yolks and stir til evenly incorporated. Gather the crumbly dough to form a soft pliable dough. Wrap using cling wrap and keep refrigerated for at least 30mins
4. Line cookie sheets and preheat oven to 170degC
5. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to about 6mm thickness (original recipe rolled to 3mm thickness) and shape using your preferred cookie cutter
6. Brush the cookies with the beaten egg yolks and sprinkle with chia seeds. Bake for 15mins (mine was about 25mins as the cookies are bigger in size) and let cool in the tray for about 10mins before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely

I am submitting this post to Cook & Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016 hosted by Yen of GoodyFoodies, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids

 

 

Horlicks Cookies

My second cookies for Chinese New Year
This was really popular some years ago, but I didn't get the chance to bake it. Until now :)

Too lazy to make all in dog shape haha.. and my little dogs have flattened heads with big nose, some of them with no nose LOL

 

 

Recipe is from Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover

What you need:

250g butter
120g Horlicks
40g corn flour
40g milk powder
250g cake flour
30g caster sugar*
1 egg yolk

Method:

1. Beat butter and sugar til creamy. Add in egg yolk, mix til just combined
2. Add in sifted corn flour, milk powder and cake flour, mix til just combined (do not overmix)
3. Shape 1 tsp dough into ball
4. If making the dog shape, decorate each ball with: KokoKrunch (ears), chocolate chips (nose), chocolate rice (eyes). Otherwise, just press in 1 chocolate chip in the centre of the ball
5. Bake in preheated oven of 150degC for 25-30mins depending on your oven

*If not making dog shape, it's advisable to increase the amount of caster sugar used to 45g. Without the Koko Krunch I found it not sweet enough

Nice and crunchy :)

 

I am submitting this post to Cook & Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016 hosted by Yen of GoodyFoodies, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids

 

 

 

Plum Blossom Cookies

The first month of year 2016 was gone - just like that, with me posting zero post! Haha..
And now is going to the second week of February soon! Let's start now! :)


I started baking cookies last week. This was my first cookies I baked for Chinese New Year. They had no chance to celebrate the festive season as all ended up in our tummies haha...

Firstly, pardon my not so pretty flowers here haha..
I guess I should have shaped them smaller. The original recipe stated 10g dough while I used heaped 1/2 tbsp. Too big. When I used the end of a wooden ladle to make a cavity at the centre, I found it's too small and I had to press deep to create cracks around the dough. What I never thought will happen was some of the jam filling leaked during baking haha.. Now I know what to do if I bake these cookies again in the future
Nonetheless, I still love them. Taste yummy with a hint of cream cheese taste, go well with strawberry jam. Texture wise, they are firm yet soft to the bite. Delicious!

Recipe is from Kenneth Goh of Guai Shu Shu

What you need:

450g plain flour
110g cream cheese
200g butter
150g caster sugar
1 hard boiled egg yolk
3 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 cup strawberry jam

Method:

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar til light and fluffy. Sift in hard boiled egg yolk. Stir well
2. Sift in plain flour and beat at the slowest speed. Take the dough out and knead slightly
3. Take 1 levelled tsp of dough and roll into a ball. Using the end of a wooden ladle, make a cavity at the centre of the ball, it will create cracks around the sides of the cookie making it look like flower
4. Spoon strawberry jam into a piping bag. Snip the tip into a very small round hole and pipe into the cavity of the cookies
5. Bake in preheated oven of 175degC for 10-12mins (my cookies were bigger it took about 25mins to bake)

 

 

I am submitting this post to Cook & Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016 hosted by Yen of GoodyFoodies, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids