Chocolate Almond Cookies

Have you come across cookies that do not look appealing but are delicious? This is one of them. 

I chanced upon these cookies when I went on a hunt for recipes for my leftover almonds slices.  I really can't recall when I purchase these almond slices.  Good thing for Chinese New Year where it is customary to clear out as much old stuff as possible making space for new ones.  Otherwise these almond slices will still be sitting in the dark corner of my fridge. 

The good thing about these cookies are, you can make the dough way ahead and freeze them.  According to some cookbooks, this cookie dough can be kept frozen for up to a month. 

When it comes to baking, there is no short cut where these cookies are concerned.  You need to bake them for at least 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookies, otherwise you will end up with soft cakey cookies.  That was what happen to mine.  I baked them for only 15 mins thinking that it would be ready by then.  But they turn out cakey and I had to rebake them for a further 15 mins. 

This recipe is from the cookie book named Joy of Making Cookies by Alex Goh

Ingredients
(A)
260g  butter
185g icing sugar
(B)
1 egg
1 tsp chocolate paste
(C)
400g plain flour
1 tbsp milk powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
15g cocoa powder
(D)
180g sliced almond

1.  Cream (A) till well bleanded, then add in (B) and cream till smooth.
2.  Add in the sieved (C) then followed by (D) and mix till well blend.
3.  Press the dough into an 8 inch square baking pan lined with grease proof paper.
4.  Refridgerate overnight or till the dough is very firm.
5.  Remove dough from fridge and cut into 40mm bars.  Then cut into slices of 5mm thick.
6.  Place cut dough onto greased baking tray and bake at 170C for 20 - 25 mins.

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Dark knight (18SX)

 

Last week was our friend, Lauren's birthday.  We, her lunch buddies decided to give her a surprise lunch and a little fun.  We got together and planned a movie followed by lunch in a Japanese restaurant.  The movie is non other than the Dark Night Rises that is showing on the cinema circuit.

Wanting it to be a memorable surprise for her since she was hitting her BIG 30, we decided to give her a Man-in-waiting cake.  Well of course not any man will do.  It has to be one with the 4Ps - Power, Position, Physic and Popularity.  We decided on Dark Knight, a follow-up from the movie.

As I have been using my cake caddy lately, it did not cross my mind that I need to be more discreet when transporting this cake around in my transparent cake caddy.  It only dawn on me when the cake appear so provocatively from the outside of my cake caddy.  I had to cover the sides of cake caddy with paper.  And this was a good move as Lauren didn't notice the cake until it was presented to her.

Her eyes almost popped-out when she saw the cake.  But we could tell that she secretly like it and was caught peeping beneath the yellow cover (wink). 

Happy Birthday Lauren.  Hope you had a great time with us.  And thanks for sharing your man (I echo what Shereen said) 

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Hello Kitty Cake

Sometimes things in life need not be so complex to be enjoyed.  Just like this cake for instant, only 4 basic colours and viola you got a Hello Kitty cake loved by many. 

I divulge that I am a person who enjoys the simplicity that life offers.  That's why I love Vietnam, Cambodia and now I am enjoying my coffee with some cream crackers (wink).

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Cranberry Yogurt Cake

Nothing as therapeutic as baking.  Whenever I had a stressful week, I look forward to a bake out weekend.  I feel a lot better after thinking of nothing but what to bake and how to bake them. 

Last week was a burnt out week for me at work and to counter that stress I ended up baking semolina shortbread, fruit cake and this cranberry yogurt cake. 

Though in the past I have tried out many different types of cakes but none leave me yearning for more as much as this cake.   I have baked this cake twice within the same week, this shows how much I love this cake.

For those of you out there who are keen to try, here is the recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

150g butter

200g castor sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1.  Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence till light and fluffy.

2.  Add in eggs, 1 at a time and beat well after each addition.

3.  Fold in yogurt, followed by sifted plain flour and baking powder.

4.  Then stir in chopped cranberries.

5.  Pour mixture into a bundt pan and bake in oven pre-heated to 180C for 30 to 35 minutes.

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Semolina (Sugee) Shortbread

Many years ago I baked some shortbread for my nephew, Fabian who was then observing the Lent period.  Lent is the 40 days period leading to Easter.  This is the period where many Christians observe a period of fasting, praying and repentance.  Like any other Christian, Fabian having completed his secondary school examination decided to go on a vegetarian diet for 40 days.  As his diet exclude eggs, there aren't many cookie recipes that do not have eggs. After combing my recipe books, I came across a Semolina Shortbread recipe by Delia Smith that does not have any eggs in it.

Recently, Fabian having started work in a different state got himself an oven and asked me for this recipe.  Before giving him the recipe, I thought I better bake some first so that I can be precise in documenting the steps in baking them.

So Fabian, this recipe is for you.

Ingredients

250g plain flour

250g butter

125g castor sugar

125g fine semolina (sugee)

1.  Cream butter and sugar until just combined.

2.  Add in plain flour and mix well.

3.  Add in semolina and bring the mixture together to form a dough.

4.  Roll the dough between 2 sheets of greased proof paper or cling wrap to fit a 12 inch by 9 inch pan. (I used a Swiss roll pan)

5.  Prick dough all over with a fork and bake in a slow oven pre-heated to 150C for approx 50 mins.  Shortbread should be of a pale golden colour.

6.  Remove shortbread from the oven. 

7.  At this point, the shortbread will still be very soft.  Immediately cut shortbread into squares and leave to cool.

8.  Shortbread will turn crisp after cooling down.

Note : For Step 4 above, this is what I did.  I place the dough on a Swiss roll pan lined with greased proof paper.  Then I place a second piece of greased proof paper over the dough followed by another Swiss roll pan of the same size.  Then I run a rolling pin over the 2nd Swiss roll pan.  This method will give you an evenly rolled out dough.  Remove the 2nd Swiss roll pan and greased proof paper.  Then continue with Step 5 above.

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