Pandan Coconut Candy Recipe

Ingredients
250g icing sugar
125g desiccated coconut
200g condensed milk
60g shortening
1 egg white
few drops pandan paste
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
30g chopped raisins

Method
Line a 18cm/7-in baking tin with aluminum foil.
Sift icing sugar, combine with desiccated coconut, condensed milk, shortening and egg white in the mixer, beat until well blended.
Divide the mixture into two portions. Combine with pandan paste in a portion.
Combine with vanilla essence and raisins with another portion.
Press half of pandan coconut mixture into prepared tin. Follow with vanilla layer. Continue layering until finished.
Refrigerate until set. Slice and serve.

Cashewnut and Coffee Cookies Recipe

I just bought some nice cashewnuts and wholemeal flour. I plan to make wholemeal cashewnut cookies. I just realize that I used a lot of vanilla essence on my previous cookies recipes. So, this time I use coffee essence to add some bitter taste.

Ingredients
plain flour – 200g
wholemeal flour – 80g
corn flour – 35g
butter – 200g
egg york – 1
egg white – 1
caster sugar – 150g
coffee essence – 1/2 tsp
coffee liqueur – 1 tsp
cashewnuts – 85g, coarsely chopped

Method
Line baking trays with parchment paper. Preheat the oven at 160°C.
First, beat the butter, egg york, sugar, coffee essence and coffee liqueur until creamy.
Fold in the sifted flour and corn flour, add the wholemeal flour and mix into a dough.
Divide the dough into 3 portions for easy handling.
Roll our each portion between plastic sheets to a thickness of 3mm. Stamp out desired shapes.
Then, brush the cookies with egg white and press some chopped cashewnut pieces on the surface of the cookies.
Bake them for 20 minutes until it turn golden brown.

Pistachios Cookies Recipe

Few days ago when I went to my neighbor ‘s house, she was baking some cookies for this coming Chinese New Year. She offered me to try one of her new recipe, the Pistachios cookies. It was very delicious and I like the crunchy feeling.  So, I asked her about the recipe and the secrets. Here is the recipe she gave to me. I try to make it a little different by adding some vanilla essence.

Ingredients
flour – 275g, sifted
butter – 180g
salt – 1/2 tsp
icing sugar – 160g
vanilla essence – 2 tsp
pistachios – 80g, plus extra 65g, chopped
egg – 1, lightly beaten

Method
Line the cookie trays with greased-proof paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Cream the butter, icing sugar, vanilla essence, salt until creamy and light.
Add the sifted flour and pistachios to mix until a soft dough is formed.
Pinch off a small portion and roll into small lime-sized balls. Dip in the beaten egg and coat with extra chopped pistachios. Press them lightly with a fork.
Arrange the cookies on the prepared trays and bake it for 20 minutes until golden.
Cool them on the wire racks, then store in the airtight containers.

Eggless Corn Flakes Cookies Recipe

I love this corn flakes cookies very much. I bought 3 big boxes of corn flakes just to make this cookies.  Here is another corn flakes cookie recipes for you and the Chinese New Year.

Ingredients
white flour – 75g
baking powder – 1/2tsp
self raising flour – 225g
corn flakes – 50g
butter – 250g
caster sugar – 100g
cooking chocolate – melted
red cherries – sliced

Method
Preheat oven at 180°C.
Sift together the flours and baking powder, then stir in the corn flakes and sugar, mix well.
Rub in the butter into the flour mixture, mix well until soft dough forms.
Roll the dough into 1cm thick and cut with desired cookie cutter. Then place them on a lightly greased baking trays, allow room for spreading.
Bake it in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove form oven and let it stand for 20 minutes.
When it cool, drizzle with melted chocolate and decorate with red cherries, let it set and keep in airtight container.

Preparation and baking time: 60 minutes
Makes: 115 pieces
Other corn flakes cookies recipe: click here

Peanut Butter and Corn Flakes Cookies Recipes

The Chinese New Year is coming. There will be families and friends who come and visit us during Chinese New Year. Since my grandpa still living with me, so most of the family members will come back to visit him. Every year, I will prepare some factory-made cookies, tidbits, snacks, and drinks for the guests. And this year, it will be little different… I will prepare some home-made corn flakes cookies.

Ingredients
flour – 180g
corn flour – 50g
corn flakes – 100g, finely ground
baking powder – 1 tsp
caster sugar – 100g
butter 150g
vanilla essence – 1 tsp
egg – 1
chunky peanut butter – 3 tbsp

Method
Preheat the oven at 180°C. Sift the flour, corn flour and baking powder together, then stir in the corn flakes, mix well and set aside. Cream the butter, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla essence until fluffy, add the egg and beat well. Fold in flour mixture and mix well until soft dough forms.
Roll the dough into 1 centimeter thick and cut with desired cookies cutter. Place dough in lightly greased baking trays, allow room for spreading. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let it stand for 20 minutes. Lastly, drizzle with melted chocolate it you like.

Preparation and baking time: 60 minutes
Makes 72 pieces
Previously, I also posted Corn Flakes Cookies on my blog.

Chilled Strawberry Soup with Champagne Sorbet Recipe

Christmas is just 5 days away, besides some decoration in shopping malls and supermarkets, you really don’t feel the present of festive mood. There will be definitely no white Christmas because the weather is all round sunny. I think I will give myself a Christmas treat with a big cup of nice ice cream.

Ingredients
Strawberry – 1 kg
icing sugar – 1 tbsp
caster sugar – 2 tsp
vanilla bean – 1 piece, split, seeds scrapped
mint leaves – 3 pieces
Champagne sorbet or vanilla ice cream – 4 scoops

Method
Put aside 1/3 of the strawberries. Thickly slice remaining fruit.
Place the sliced strawberries, sugar, mint, and vanilla seeds in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, place over a saucepan of simmering water on low heat.
Cook it for 30 minutes, then remove and cool for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Pour the mixture over sieve. Allow juice to drip through. Do not attempt to squeeze the pulp.
Place the reserved strawberries into a bowl, sift icing sugar over them, gently add strawberry juice.
Put in cooler bowls and pour strawberry sauce around fruits and top with champagne sorbet or vanilla ice cream. Serves 4.

Traditional Christmas Stollen Recipe

Ingredients
flour – 625g
melted butter – 285g
sugar – 40g
yeast – 40g
warm milk – 180ml
eggs – 2
sugar malt – 5g
salt – 8g
vanilla sugar – 340g (vanilla extract 7.5ml, sugar 225g, powder sugar 115g)
ground cinnamon – 1.5g
ground cardamon – 3g
ground cloves – 5g
dark and golden raisins – 115g each
pecans – 115g
candied orange peel – 115g
glazed cherries – 55g
rum – 45ml, optional

Method
Chop the pecans, orange peel, and cherries into raisin size. Place them in a bowl with raisins and rum. Cover and leave aside.
Dissolve the yeast with warm milk, add in flour, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and spices. Mix well into a dough.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes. Put back into a greased bowl. Cover with damp towel and leave until double in volume.
Knead in the fruit mixture, cover with damp cloth and let the size rise again to double volume.
Remove the dough from bowl, punch the dough down. Divide it into three, form the loaves and let rise.
Bake the dough at 190 degree Celsius for 60 minutes. Brush the loaves with melted butter, invert into vanilla sugar until well-coated. Makes 3 x 595g loaves.

Cranberry Almond and Cherry Nougat Recipe

Nougat can be made a week ahead. You just have to store in an airtight container between layers of baking paper in a cool dry place.

Ingredients
sweetened dried cranberries – 75g
toasted almond kernels – 80g, chopped
green glace cherries – 70g, quartered
egg white – 1
caster sugar – 220g
glucose syrup – 2 tbsp
water – 2 tbsp
honey – 2 tbsp
vegetable oil –
edible rice paper – 2 sheets, don’t confuse with Asian rice paper

Method
Cut the rice paper into 12 rounds to fit 6 egg rings, each ring is about 7.5cm diameter. Oil inside of egg rings, place them on baking paper-lined oven tray. Place one paper round in each egg ring.
Combine honey, glucose, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Stir over low heat without boiling, until sugar is completely dissolved.
Brush down side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in hot water to dissolved all the sugar crystals.
Bring the syrup to the boil, uncovered, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 154 degree Celsius on a sugar thermometer, remove immediately form heat.
Just before the syrup is ready, beat the egg white in a small heatproof bowl until soft peaks form. Add the hot syrup into the egg white in a thin continuous stream. Beat until all syrup is added.
The mixture will be firm and sticky, so you must work quickly. Stir in the cranberries, almond and cherries into the egg white mixture. Using an oiled spatula, quickly press the mixture into an egg ring, press a rice paper round on top.
Repeat the remaining mixture and rice paper. Stand for 5 minutes before removing the egg rings.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Do not refrigerate. Can be left whole or cut in half for presentation. Makes 6

Notes: A sugar thermometer is also known as a candy thermometer, is used to measure the temperature and therefore stage of a cooking sugar solution. It is similar to a meat thermometer, except that it can read higher temperature.

Christmas Pecan Cake Ring Recipe

Ingredients
soft flour – 500g
baking powder – 10g
butter – 500g
brown sugar – 500g
eggs – 625g
cinnamon powder – 7g
pecan – 75g
red cherry – 250g
mix citrus peel – 250g
ground almonds – 75g
sultanas – 750g
raisins – 900g

Method
Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius. Grease 4 x 22cm ring mold with butter. Coat ring and mold with additional ground almond. Set aside.
Sieve flour together with baking powder into bowl. Add in the dried fruits to the flour. Mix well.
Cream the butter and brown sugar, add in egg a little at a time. Fold in flour mixture and cinnamon powder thoroughly.
Transfer the cake mixture into grease ring mold. Bake in the oven for 60 minutes. Allow to cool.
Remove the mold and brush apricot jam on the cake. Arrange the roasted pecan on top of the cake and evenly glaze with warm apricot jam.

Christmas Panettone Recipe

It is not Christmas without the delicious bakes of the season.

Ingredients
flour – 400g
whole egg – 1
dry yeast – 15g
salt – 5g
butter – 115g
milk – 150ml
egg yolks – 2
orange peel – 75g
raisins – 75g
lemon – 1

Method
Sieve the flour into a bowl. Add mixing yeast, whole egg, egg yolks and milk. Mix well.
Knead the dough until it very smooth, add the salt.
Add the raisins and orange peel, continue to knead the dough. Form the dough to a round shape and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
When the dough rises, divide the dough into desired weight.
Form the divided dough into a round shape and place on the baking tray. Brush with egg wash before baking in oven at temperature of 180 degree Celsius until golden brown.