Daring Bakers’ Challenge November 2012: 12 Days of Cookies!

How could I resist this month’s DB challenge? I was so excited to find out about Peta’s challenge for us fellow Daring Bakers that I must be the first to post up my crinkle cookies in the forum:P.. Peta of Peta Eats challenged us to make 2 celebration cookies, squares or bars. She generously provided us with 12 recipes in which we must make at least one of the recipes and the other celebration delicacies of our own choice.

I must say, this is the best challenge to date!  

Kueh Makmur

In two days time it will be Eid.

Feels like it was only yesterday that we sat down, completed the Ramadhan, bought new clothes, painted the house 'red' with vibrant cookies and delicacies..and it is time to celebrate again! I generally don't do much for the Eid-ul-adha, with pressing work and only a short public holiday as compared to Eid-ul-Fitr. Hence the seasonal celebrations are usually kept to minimum.

Fabulous Food Fotography Friday & Whole Wheat Linzer Cookies

I remember vividly tasting those jam filled cookies in one of the Christmas German Markets, many many years ago. Amongst all the trinkets, German sausages, Merry wheels, Christmas stolens and palmistry huts, those snow dusted cookies stood out of the crowd, in that carnival. That was a good 12 years ago, or perhaps more. I did not know what they are called back then, neither did I dissect the taste of what went in the cookies so-I-could-recreate-it-at-home habit unlike nowadays. But what happened next was, I would eagerly wait for the troop to come back, year after year, so I could immerse in those ‘carnival’ cookies again.

Then many years later, something magical happened.

A German medical student did her attachment in my unit, and after much mentoring and the new-found friendship, she also came to know about my passion for baking. Before she left, she gave me a handmade booklet of German recipes as a thank-you note, and the booklet remains one of the most treasured gift I ever received thus far. Of course by this point, I already knew those jam-filled cookies are called Linzer cookies but thanks to Anke, I finally managed to get my hands on an authentic homemade Linzer recipe, just like how her 90-year-old Grandma would make at home, Christmas after Christmas, without fail.

I am not one to wait for festive season just to have cookies, and judging by the love for Cookies that my daughter demonstrates so far, those Linzer were made in haste and the only slight adaptation I made to Anke's original recipe was to use whole wheat flour. You’d think it was my deliberate healthier route, but no, truth is, surprise surprise, I just ran out plain flour! With the mixing already running with butter and brown sugar, and eggs all set on the counter, I decided against yet another trip to the grocery store! It was really a blessing in disguise, as the cookies turned out gorgeously delicious and next time, I sure will use more whole wheat for my bakes.

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On a different housekeeping note, I am happy to receive entries for today's Fabulous Food Fotography Friday, bring in the gorgeous pics! If you don't have time to do a new blog post just for the event, you can submit your entry of the week, as long as mention a link of this event on your post, and contains a picture relevant to Food Photography. The round-up will be by this weekend:-)

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Whole Wheat Linzer cookies

250g unsalted butter

120g brown sugar

170g almond meal

200g whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

Strawberry preserve (approx few tablespoons as filling)

Confectioner's sugar-for liberal dusting

1. Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and almost pale.
2. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract.
3. Gradually add in the combined almond and whole wheat flours, cinnamon,allspice powder,and salt.
4. Remove from mixer and using clean hands, forma dough. If the dough is too soft to be rolled, keep in the fridge for interim 30 minutes.
5. Roll the dough onto 1/6 thickness circle. Cut out the cookie using Linzer cookie cutter ( where there is a premade cut-out shapes in the middle). Otherwise cut out the middle using a smaller cookie cutter of various shape. The idea is to sandwich both cookies together and the 'window' would allow jam in the middle to be visible.
6. Bake in preheated oven of 175C for 13-15 minutes or until the cookies are almost golden.
7. Cool the cookies on the rack.
8.Assemble the cookies just prior to serving. Sandwich 2 cookies with small amount of jam filling and dust the cookies with some powdered sugar.

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Eid Special: Melt-in-the-mouth pineapple tarts

I think it is probably an Asian thing-every time it is Eid ul Fitr or Chinese New year, each household must always display their best showcase of pineapple tarts, so much so that it becomes a must-have festive cookie in every house. It is no surprise then that there are a variety of recipes for this tart, some argue that the pineapple jam is the piece de resistance in judging the tarts, whereas some swear by the making of the dough; tender, buttery tarts is what most people aim for.



I must confess, I never made pineapple tarts all by myself before. Not until this year. Yes, for years and years I have helped my mother, but that was different. I was only less than 12 then, and all I was given is the prepared punched out cookie tart with freshly made jam. All I was asked to do is form little balls of pineapple jam and fill the centre. That,in my book, did not qualify my own baking repertoire. This year, in my own little home furnished with my own little helper, I took charge my role as the main baker and I let go the job of filling the ball of jam to someone else. My little helper, Couscous.



Giddily she was all excited to bake with Mommy and even 'helped' to flatten out the pressed tart dough, before I went hysterical! It was a good job that I gave her a mini rolling pin and a little cookie cutter so she can play with her own dough. Who knows, I think she might bake better than me in 20 years' time!

Just like most households, we made our pineapple jam from scratch..economical and tastier! I don't know all the details of which pineapple is the best as all we got here is the 'honey' variety, which is sweet enough for jam, IMHO.



If you haven't tried making those little cuties before, do give this recipe a go. And hope it is not too late to wish all Eid Mubarak..Selamat Hari Raya!


Melt-in-the-mouth pineapple tarts

250 g unsalted, cold butter (diced)
320g plain flour
30g corn flour
1 small egg
1 tsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
50g milk powder
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp cold water

For the pineapple jam:
~makes a 500ml jar worth of delicious jam

3 pineapples ( honey variety)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water.
2 cinnamon sticks
a pinch of salt
(some also add lemon juice but I don't)


Method
1. Prepare the jam. Peel off the pineapple skins and grate the pineapples finely. Do not discard the juice or the hull.
2. In a wok or heavy bottomed pan, pour in the sugar and water. Once the sugar completely melts, add in the pineapple and reduce the heat to slow/medium.
3. With occassional stirring, the pineapple juice would start to evaporate and the sugar caramelise. At this point, add the pinch of salt, and stir until the jam thickens.
4. The jam will thicken more as it cools, so take it off the heat once the jam can start forming a 'ball'.
5. Store in an airtight jam container if not using the jam imemdiately.

Prepare the tart dough.
Fundamentally I prepare my tart dough just like how I would with even big tarts, or fruit top tarts.

1. Combine the plain flour, milk powder and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold diced butter until coarse bread crumbs are formed.
2. Add cold water as appropriate so a soft dough is formed. Do not over knead the dough as then the tart will be hard.
3. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before using.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 3/4 inch thickness. I like the dough slightly thicker so I can fill more jam in !
5. Use the special tart mould to get the right shape of the tart with indentation in the middle designed to fill the jam. Please see one of the pics above that shows the tart mould.
Otherwise you could also make an indentation using your finger tip.
6. Fill the cooled jam in the middle and garnish the top with a small ball of dough, or lattice as you like.
7. Bake the tart at preheated oven of 170C for 14 minutes.
8. Store the cooled tarts in an airtight container, best consumed within 2 weeks.

Couscous made Pecan Shortbread Cookies..and Happy Mother's Day!

 

Gotcha! I bet you would be curious to know what has Couscous, the typical fare of arabic main dish, got to do with Scottish shortbread? Another weird food fusion across two continents?

If you read this blog long enough, you would know Couscous, my darling daughter whom we nicknamed just that, for our love of Couscous. Growing steadily, naughtier by the day and the reason for my mother's day celebration today! Couscous loves cookies, and given her recent difficult phase with main meals, I try to bake various, different types of healthy cookies to keep her appetite going and to maintain her on 50th growth centile at the very least! 

When she showed interest in kitchen-play recently, I thought it was time to indulge her in real dough! After all that is the best way to encourage toddlers to eat..and the trick worked wonders! It was also my bonding time with her over the basic staples of flours, butter and sugar, rubbed gently with the tips of fingers to create the beautiful crumbs that would soon resemble cookie dough and bake to perfection,just like the old fashioned way. 

Whilst I am not a big fan of shortbread, I seem to make these cookies more often than not, years ago for my family members who love the british classic, and now as a go-to whenever I feel like baking something simple, yet  indulgent. I know there are so many ways of making shortbread..the various shapes of petticoat tails, fingers or wedges and the various add-ons of either rice flour or corn starch..somehow I keep going back to an old recipe from a Scottish leaflet that I got many years ago from a Tourist centre, believe it or not. Very unassuming, yet always turned out buttery delicious! This time round, I added some toasted pecans for extra crunch and nuttier taste.

So this recipe is for you. All the mothers out there, to celebrate the days or years of motherhood that comes with joy and tears..and to indulge once in a while for good food without the care for the growing hips, hands-on for  the motherly bonding time in kitchen and something simple enough to be your child's repertoire in no time at all.

Happy Mother's Day;-)

Old-Fashioned Scottish Pecan Shortbread..using hands!

120g cold butter, unsalted

60 g rice flour

150g plain flour

70g castor sugar

50g coarsely chopped pecan (toasted lightly)

1/2 tsp salt

a few teaspoon of demerara sugar for dusting

1. In a large bowl, sift the plain flour, rice flour, salt and castor sugar together. 

2. Grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and using your fingertips, mix the ingredients well until fine crumbs are formed.

3. Add in the chopped pecan and mix more vigourously until a log of dough is formed. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight, covered in clingfilm.

4. Preheat the oven at 170C. Take out the dough from the fridge, and using sharp knife cut a disc of 1 inch thickness and place the cookie on a silpat or baking paper. Bake the shortbread cookies for around 18-20 mins, or until the cookies turn golden.

5. Once out from the oven, sprinkle the demerara sugar on top of the cookies. Let the cookies cool before storing them in airtight cookie jar.

Suji Cookies..welcoming the 2012!

Well, well, 10 days into the new year and here I am, all delayed yet again to wish all of you a Happy start to hopefully, another meaningful year of life.

It's hard to believe but a year has just passed by, leaving the trail of memories..reflections..and just like another start of the year, the cliche of resolutions. I embraced 2012 with all the positive changes of what 2011 brought to us, some really remarkable feats including the birth of this blog, and the friendships I made with fellow bloggers..priceless!

Having said that, it has not been a terribly good start of the year. And sometimes, trying too hard to be positive takes a toll on its own when all I wanted to do is curl up into my own oblivion and cocoon myself to sleep, but of course the days have to go on, and probably the only time I could really stop and have time for myself is the odd five-minute break of tea. Or coffee for that matter.

I need lots and lots of them, it seems, these days.

Yes, I tried to bake more, and those hours of kneading the dough, or mixing the flours or cutting up the pastry really do wonders to the mind. As it is, I am too quick nowadays is to reach for the cookie jar, and those other sweet treats that I bake almost daily seem to distract me from eating too many cookies at once. Except, I can't get enough of those Suji cookies. They are my childhood favourite. It feels that every morsel that I take lures me down the sweet memory lane of childhood once again. Funny how taste is so much associated with memories. Every year, without fail there would be a jar of Suji cookies waiting for me at home, every time I came back for holidays, every festive occasions that call for sweet treats, and sometimes parceled all across the continents for me to savour during uni days.

As a result, I never made those cookies myself. I always rely on my mom to bake me some, craving for her love in the form of the cookies. She made them time and time again. Such an easy recipe, why don't you bake it yourself? She used to say. I know that, but I also know that it won't feel magical, maternal, something that I can nibble for my tea-break and pretend the world is beautiful. Perfect.

I only took those photographs for my keepsake..and thought I could share my mom's recipe here too.
Something sweet for you, to embrace the new year.

Suji cookies

900g plain flour
300g castor sugar
500g ghee-melted


Method
1. Mix the flour and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Whilst still hot, add the melted ghee gradually  forming a dough until all the ingredients are well kneaded and not tacky.
3. Cover the dough with a cling film and keep aside in cool place for at least 8 hours.
4. Preheat the oven at 170C. Using clean hands, shape the dough into 2cm sized balls and arrange them on a greased baking tray.
5. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes until the top almost cracked and turned golden.

Farmhouse Biscuits..a lil gift of festive to you

It's holiday season yet again.

Everywhere around me, there is a rush of festivities going on. From huge, tall Christmas trees adorning the shopping malls and streets, year-end parties, Secret Santa gift exchanges to the aroma of baking in the blogosphere, more so than before. Anything homemade is considered de rigeur this season, with packs of goodies and hampers well received in the neighbourhood.

This is where I want to join in. Wholeheartedly. 

Baking for a cause. Baking is sharing. A little joyous ribbon tied parcels for friends and neighbours. Given the unexpected leave that came my way, I used the time with delight and baked one of my all time favourite goodies to share.

Farmhouse biscuits. Quintessentially English, a reminiscence of years buying those cookies from my local grocer in England. Those cookies, 8 for £1.79 were homemade too, arranged neatly on a paper tray and sealed with love. I was complacent enough to savour them without any inkling of making them at home myself. They were delicious, they were homemade, and I presumed must be without the unwanted preservatives, so why bother replicating them?

Then the move. Then the longing for those things that used to be there, at the doorstep, but alas, no longer within reach. It was pure chance that I flicked through my old, worn out cookbook and came across the recipe, almost jumping out to me, a spooky sign of yearning almost fulfilled. This recipe even has the secret weapon of peanut butter, a dash of goodness that I love so much, I was more than happy to bake those munchies at the first sight of dawn. The recipe certainly did not disappoint, and without further ado, I whizzed 2 more batches of dough for giveaways. Local neighbours and friends who could share the love of this English cookies too, now from the hearth of my oven.

 

 

A ribbon-tied parcel was given to the local shopkeeper's wife, so she could take a break from standing all day long minding the customers.

 

Another parcel was safely delivered to the old lady down the road, by none other than The Baby and her grandma, safe in the knowledge that those cookies would sure give a tiny amount of pleasure on otherwise, her another mundane  day.

The cookie jars are filled. A special jar tucked at the corner, especially for The Husband, our own Santa whose presence is much awaited for! (Sorry honey, if you are reading this, no more surprises for you)

I wish I could reach all of you with a cookie jar, or a ribbon-tied parcels, for friendship sake, for the holidays, for those lovely comments whilst I was on my blogging break, and for ending the year with a sweet note. Alas, given the impossibility of such dream, I shall share the recipe with you so you could make those cookies too. In the comfort of your own home. Those cookies are easy bake for the kids, let your tiny helpers splutter the dough in whatever shape, they will turn out just fine. Perfect for bonding time in the kitchen, this hols season. And whilst the cookies are fresh from the oven, adorn them with your prettiest ribbons and give them away to those you love, will ya?

Farmhouse Biscuits


recipe from Martha Day's Complete Baking 
makes 21 medium sized biscuits

115 g unsalted butter
100g light brown soft unrefined sugar
70g peanut butter
1 egg
55g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
a pinch of salt
170g muesli (or rolled oats)
55g raisins
55g chopped nuts (walnut/almonds/pistachio)

Method
1. Cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.
2. Add in peanut butter, followed by egg.
3. Transfer the batter in a bowl. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and sift through onto the batter. Combine well.
4. Stir in the muesli (or rolled oats), raisins and nuts.
5. Using an ice-cream scoop or tablespoon, drop a dollop of batter onto a greased baking tray. I prefer using silicon mat as they are non-stick. Flatten the dollop with back of spoon to form an almost flat circle of 3 cm diameter.
6. Bake cookies at 180C for 15 minutes for chewy cookies, or 18 mins if you like them crunchy. They should turn lightly golden by 15 mins.
7. Cool the cookies on the wire rack. The cookies will firm up a bit whilst cooling.
8. Store in airtight container.

Chinese Peanut Cookies..unassumingly delicious!

I wanted to pop by here and say 'HI' to all of you for such a long time, but last month proved to be rather challenging when time is concerned. So like a forlorn lover, I waited, and waited for TIME to come by and relieve me from the grueling schedule. But one thing for sure, my workplace is exciting and inspiring enough that last week, I decided to venture into all Oriental cooking, just like the dishes that I got served (for free! and gourmet, mind you) on my operating days. Amongst all the cookie jars and biscuit tins that were arranged neatly in the coffee room, there was a hidden gem that not many staff seems bothered about, but it sure did pique my interest, and before I knew it, I became more enthusiastic than usual to finish up the op so I could savour the 'little gem' afterwards, a little treat for myself. I swear I've never tasted such moreish cookies before, Chinese peanut cookies they call it, tucked in the corner, waiting to melt in the mouth with added crunch of toasted peanuts on top.

Then one day, they just disappeared. Never to be seen again. Replaced by the boring Jacob's crackers, or some jam filled sandwich cookies. They could never be on par as my peanut cookies though. After weeks of yearning, I decided to search for the recipe and do it myself. It was definitely a good call, as not only the yield was over 100 cookies that could last me forever, they also tasted so good, almost as identical as my love-at-first-sight Chinese peanut cookies at work.Apparently those cookies are a must at Chinese New Year, and I can understand why, as I don't mind them any time of the year:-)

I hope I could do more blogging, and blog hopping once this settling in period is over and I could feel like an old seasoned local at this new place..in the mean time, please endure this eerie silence until my keypad gets hold of me yet again. I haven't explored much of the baking bazaars and the little alleyways of bargain hunting here, but guess what, another fellow blogger, Happy Home Baking, really made my settling-in journey much easier, with her long guides on where to get my continental stuff and even the electrical shops with best deal on ovens. Thanks to her, I managed to not only got my much awaited built-in Bosch oven for a cheaper price, and a beautiful handmade walnut cabinet to go with it..so if you are reading, HHB, thank you for all your help, even though we have never met and only connected by this  virtual bloodline of food blogging:-)

If you could spare an hour of your time in the kitchen, make sure that hour is spent on making these delicious cookies. You could obviously halve the recipe for smaller yield, but go on, make the full batch, and share them all:-)

Chinese Peanut Cookies
recipe largely adapted from here

600g coarsely ground peanuts
350g sugar
400g all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
400ml corn oil (or neutrally flavoured oil like Canola)
1 egg (mix with 2 tbsp water and a pinch of salt to form egg wash)

Method
1. Toast the peanuts at 180C for 15 minutes.
2. Grind half of the peanuts into fine powder, and I keep the remaining half coarse for the crunchier taste.
2. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the oil and egg wash. Combine well.
3. Slowly add the oil and mix well with clean hands until a soft dough is formed. You can adjust the amount of oil used here.
4. Form small walnut sized balls and using a chopstick or a clean tip of ball point pen (seriously!), indent the middle of the cookie. Alternatively, press half a peanut in the centre like the original recipe.
5. Brush the top of the cookies with the egg wash.
6. Bake at 180C for 20-25  minutes until the top is golden brown and cracked slightly.
7. Transfer the cookies to cool on wire rack and keep in airtight container. Enjoy!

Sablé au chocolat (Chocolate Sable)..and E-Book for IndusLadies

The world is definitely getting smaller. Is it a good thing, that's another question for all of us to ponder. One thing for sure, the food blog community is definitely getting stronger, and the culinary world being so diversified, it is no surprise that a lot of homemakers nowadays even know how to prepare bakes and cakes which were once foreign to our grandmothers.

Such is the beauty of the world today.

This sablé au chocolat, or easily translated as 'Chocolate sand', is one of the popular festive cookies in France, Thankfully it was also one of the popular festive cookies in my home, with almost 2 decades of yearly bakes for Eid. Growing up in a melting pot of Malays, Chinese, Indians and even Anglo-mixed races in Malaysia, each festive season is celebrated with a passion, irrespective of race, culture nor religion. I remembered vividly getting Ang Pau ( a small red packet with money) after visiting neighbours during Chinese New year, and as a child, playing fire crackers and nourishing myself on Murukku and Bombay mix from the aunties down the road from us during Diwali or Deepavali seasons. Not to forget, the excitements of school holidays and 'man-made snow' with Santa grotto that mushroomed overnight in shopping complexes, some even 2 months before the actual Christmas! 

What do we give as festive tribute to our multi-ethnic neighbours? Cookies and cakes, being my mom's specialty, are esteemed highly amongst her friends. Some even came to the house to learn how to bake cookies, some took the shortcuts and asked for trays of goodies to be sent over to theirs, all in good spirit of festivities. Although we lived across the world from France then, somehow, sable au chocolat would be made at home, and sent away as gifts. Year after year. Ironically my trips to Paris and even a short stay there reinforced what I already knew, the cookies are definitely a delight and the recipe that I inherited is for keep.

I am more than happy to contribute the recipe to IndusLadies' E-book of Diwali goodies; albeit virtually, this is my little way of sharing the joy of festivities with those who celebrate. I know it is not traditionally Indian, but judging by how popular this recipe is amongst our family friends, I hope the cookie canisters would be filled with these treats in 130,000 Indian homes this month. Yes, I am flabbergasted to know that is the average number of readers for IndusLadies! Please feel free to download their e-book, 100 Yummy Diwali Recipes, which is full of treats and recipes, available for free from this week to Oct 26th.

In the mean time, let those beauties be a reason itself to celebrate, it's time to indulge in a little bit of piping therapy..happy baking!

Sablé au chocolat

Makes around 30 small pieces

250g butter- kept at room temperature

200 g plain flour

50 g cornstarch flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

30g cocoa powder

120g powdered sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp fleur de sel (fine sea salt)

Note: I never tried normal salt for these cookies, although my mom's original version called for just 'cooking salt', so I suppose that is ok too.

Method

1. Cream the butter with golden castor sugar until almost fluffy.

2. Add the egg yolk and salt. Mix well.

3. Combine the flour, cornstarch flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Using a metal spoon, add the flour mix to the creamed butter and mix only until everything is well incorporated. Do not overmix.

4. Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a star-tip nozzle, and pipe each cookie with a swirl onto the baking sheet.

5. Bake for maximum 10 minutes at preheated oven of 170C. 

6. Cool the cookies on the rack and store them in airtight container.

Book Review: Ready for Dessert

A lil bird told me that all the bookshops in America was alarmed with panic. A long trail of readers queued up for someone larger than life, David Lebovitz was in town for book signing events and all the books were already sold out!! Some went back empty handed, some decided to just get a signature on napkin paper, whilst few eagerly ordered the book online, as everybody is heating up the oven, Ready for Dessert!

Don't be green with envy, as I must consider myself the lucky one-this book has been in my possession even before the official launching date in the UK on 9th September. An impromptu voyage across the other side of the world meant I could not make it to some of the glamorous invitations to see Monsieur Lebovitz in person, his cooking demo and tasting event invite by Divertimenti as well as a breakfast get-together at the new NOPI restaurant in London. With a heavy heart, I embarked on my journey but I did not forget the book. I took along Ready for Dessert all the thousands of miles to the Middle East followed by Southeast Asia, all the while getting some 'peeks' from Emirates cabin crews, fellow passengers as well as my mother! Now I am happy to report that David's recipes were successfully tried-and-tested and I hope this review will well compensate for my absence in the London events.

If you want to impress your dinner guests with a stunning and out-of-the-world dessert trays, I urge you to get a copy of this book. Armed with 173 recipes, endless witty anecdotes and stunning photographs, this hardback deserves a prominent place on your coffee table. The recipes are divided by the categories; 29 various cakes from celebratory to simple gateau, 29 arrays of pies, tarts and fruit desserts, a small section of 16 ideas on custards, souffles and puddings, a large chunk on frozen desserts with 30 recipes ranging from ice-cream, sorbets to frozen nougats, 30 cookies and sweets recipes and a dedicated chapter on basics, sauces and preserves. 

It was very difficult to choose just one recipe to try. So I chose to try out a few of them..and many, many more.

Cakes

You can tell that I was impressed with this book as I baked David's Racines Cake for my birthday  cake. I like the humour and the history of this cake recipe, as apparently David got the recipe from the graffiti on the wall of men's room at Racines restaurant in Paris! Well, half way through melting the chocolate, I realised that the recipe did not call for any flour. I must admit my heart raced a bit, but the cake was gorgeous and well impressed my dinner guests, though with such a risen cake, nobody believed that it was flourless.

Pies, Tarts and Fruit Desserts

I was spoilt for choice as it was very difficult to choose one bake from this section, all the recipes and photographs are very inviting. I had been eyeing the beautiful rustic picture of the Apple Frangipane Galette, but we had plenty of fresh plums so I used that instead. The frangipane brought back the memories of coffee and cake in Paris, so original and just divine. I love the fact that fruits of all seasons are featured in this section, from fresh ginger tart, marmalade tart and pavlova to summer pudding and pineapple, rhubarb and raspberry cobbler.

Frozen Desserts

Do I need to say more on this, after being bowled over by David's The Perfect Scoop? He is the ice-cream specialist , and I find myself falling in love all over again with the sorbets and ice-cream, thanks to the tropical weather. The ice-cream maker loyally reproduced yet another perfect vanilla ice-cream, and I added my own touch of chopped pistachio sprinkles. There are a lot of fancy recipes to try out next; Frozen Caramel Mousse and Kiwifruit,Pineapple,Coconut Alaska to name a few.

Cookies and Sweets

Croquants, tuiles, biscotti, amaretti, peanut butter cookies, gingersnaps..the list goes on, yet I decided to bake David's chocolate chip cookies, as he says ' I couldn't imagine chocolate chip cookies tasting any better'. As I am still a novice when it comes to food tasting, I asked my mom the baker to do the honours. She likes them so much that before long, I was packing jars of those cookies to give away to her friends who popped by to the house. 

Custards, Souffles, Puddings

This is one section that I haven't tried out yet, due to  my own fear of souffles. There are plenty of other recipes to choose from-Buttermilk Panna Cotta with blueberry compote, creme brulee and butterscotch flan amongst a few, but perhaps I shall conquer the souffles one of these days. For now, I am contented to lounge in reading through DL's life's experiences, stories behind each pudding and tips for success, something that you could hardly find in most cookbooks nowadays.

This book, enriched with chapters on ingredients, equipments and some basic recipes, is a must-have for beginners in the kitchen who aspire to achieve professional results yet, with minimal efforts. The photographs and styling is inviting, although I long to see more pictures especially for slightly complicated recipes, even for the sheer pleasure of knowing what do they look like. This is David Lebovitz's greatest hits, though I sincerely hope this is not the last book he ever writes, as I would like to see more of his creativity. After carrying this hardback almost everywhere I go with my journey, I realised that Ready for Dessert is a treasure to behold that has attracted David's legion of fans, and if the sales of the book soar exceptionally in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, don't blame me.

To get your own copy of Ready for Dessert, click here.

Note: My heartfelt thanks to Jacqui Small Publishing for the copy of Ready for Dessert, Catherine,  you are a star! Thumbs up to David for the fabulous recipes and brilliant write-up, hope this is not the last book from you!

Eid Special: Almond Oatmeal Cookies

Growing up, the cookie jars in the house were never empty. Almost every week, we would bake something sweet, something savoury to have with tea, and cookies are my all-time favourite. When occasions called, the frequency of baking would increase exponentially, Eid being one of the most celebrated seasons of goodies. I remember those days waiting for the clock to strike 1 pm, so I could rush home and help my mom to bake cookies. The house would be so magical, with the aroma of flavours stretched far and beyond that I could smell what's cooking from a mile away. Cinnamon with hot cocoa, vanilla fresh from the pods, a whiff of citrus of candied peels in the fruit cake batter, the list goes on and the memories stay alive.

Those days feel like yesterday but it was a good twenty years ago. I would request my mother to let me do the chocolate tempering. Of course, I did not know then what 'tempering' means, I was only 10! What I knew was, the chocolate has to be melted until glossy and shiny, and I would dip the cookies filled with whole almonds into this molten heaven, and sprinkle the chocolated coated cookies with more almonds before they are tucked into their little pretty petit four cases. It was no surprise that I grew up liking almonds so much that whenever a recipe calls for almond, I would give it a try.

These cookies are one of my old time favourite. It is almost like Hobnobs, only tastier, crunchier and certainly not sickeningly sweet. I baked this on half batch the other day for The Baby to help with her teething, and before I knew it, the jar is almost empty! Stealing from a baby is a definite crime eh? 

 

As I was in the mood of decorating these days, some of the cookies were even piped with melted dark chocolate, a reminiscence of old time memories and the two decades of  life that have passed. 

Truth be told, I miss Ramadhan and Eid back home. Here, it gets quite lonely. The celebration is usually very low key, and certainly would not last the whole month like Eid in Malaysia. What with the open houses, the arrays of delicacies and jars filled with sweets, cookies, cakes, that one could even go into sugar coma! I am trying to relive the experience of Eid here by baking and cooking my childhood favourites, and for all of you to share too, hence you will see on the blog these new posts titled 'Eid Special' from now running up to Eid.

 

So here goes, ladies, the first of my Eid Special, something new for your cookie jar. Crunchy, nutty cookies that would break your diet, yet makes you feel good. Cookies and milk. Cookies and coffee. Cookies and tea. Cookies, for that special occasion.

 

 

Almond Oatmeal Cookies

250g unsalted butter-at room temperature

140g golden castor sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla

320g plain flour

a pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

130g rolled oats

50g almonds

Method

1.Grind the oats and almond until they become almost fine powder, set aside. Preheat the oven for 170C.

2. With electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until almost pale in colour. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla, blend well but do not beat too much.

3. Using wooden spatula, add in the flour, bakign pwoder, salt, and almond-oats mixture. Mix well until dough is formed. 

4. There are many ways to form the cookies:

 

i. With rolling pin, roll the dough onto a 1-inch thickness rectangle and cut into shapes using cookie  cutter.

 

ii. Form small 1/2 inch balls, flatten slightly with the back of fork, so cookies will have ridged top.

Take your pick, its your cookies! Bake these sweeties for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer onto wire rack to cool.

For decorative purposes, melt some good quality chocolates using bain-marie, add into piping bags and using roudn Nozzle no 2 (Wilton), pipe some chocolates on the cooled cookies.

 

Store in n air-tight container.