Almond Biscotti 杏仁 脆饼

Biscotti, which basically means twice baked, had put me off for the longest time. I don't want to put in twice the effort to make a same recipe. The process involves first baking it whole and then slicing it thinly to be toasted in the oven. Whatever is initially daunting, however, became advantageous. I can now precook the batter and leave it in the freezer. I can slice the amount that is needed and toast it crispy whenever I want. I, therefore, have a fresh supply of biscotti whenever there is guest coming over or when the occasion arises. It is perfect dunked in your favourite cuppa or as a leisure afternoon snack. This is one snack that I do not have to hold myself out because it has more nutritional values and practically oil-less. So you can munch all you want. You might also want to double the recipe. It gets pretty addictive once the nibbling starts.

Almond Nestum Cookies/Nestum杏仁曲奇饼

Making cookies is one of the easiest in baking. And making these Almond Nestum Cookies is even easier. You don't even need a mixer or a food processor. The whole process is forgiving whereby you could shape the cookies into any shapes that you fancy and it does not burn easily. When I was making this cookie, immediately I thought of my Muslim counterparts who are fasting in this Ramadhan month. This is an ideal snack since it is so effortless to make. It also makes perfect gift.

Almond and Seeds Crisps/Brittle

I have just finished baking my pineapple tarts and that left me with lots of egg whites. What should I do with it? There were a couple options but this Almond and Seeds Crisp seems to be the best pairing. Amongst all the wonderful yummy Chinese New Year Chinese snacks, this is the lesser evil. It is made of almond flakes, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, all heavily loaded with vitamins and minerals. It is baked and not fried. And if that is not enough to convince you, it is awfully scrumptious in its mildly sweetened, aromatic and super crunchy combination. This is one snack that I am happy to be addicted to. And boy, was I addicted! I prided myself in having great self-restraint but when it comes to this snack, all reservations seem to go down the drain. I nibbled, and nibbled and nibbled...still nibbling as we speak.

Almond Cookie Stick 杏仁饼干条

Chinese New Year is just one month away and I belief many of you must have already gotten yourselves busy. To kick start the Chinese New Year baking frenzy, I am introducing something slightly different this time. When you have so many similar recipes like pineapple tarts, love letters, and kuih loyang, you just have the urge to do something different that makes you stand out. I got this almond cookie stick idea from Awayofmind blog and marries this with the almond biscotti concept. The result is an elongated cookie instead of the usual round but without the need to double bake the cookie like an almond biscotti.

Christmas Shortbread Cookie Recipes: Nonpareils Shortbread Bites/Almond Snowballs

Now that we know the recipe for easy shortbread cookies, things are only going to get easier. Using the same recipe, I managed to dish out two different variations with a Christmas theme. This first one was easy. Just invest in some rainbow nonpareils and add it to your shortbread dough and make it into bite-size cookies. The nonpareils add colours and excitement to this cookie. It is colourful, it is festive, it is Christmassy. Surprisingly, it also add a beautiful seedy crunch to the otherwise soft cookies. These nonpareils shortbread bites are children magnet. The kids just adore the colours. Very suitable for parties or gatherings with children.

Christmas Shortbread Cookie Recipes: Nonpareils Shortbread Bites

Makes approx. 48 bites

Ingredients 

1 portion shortbread dough (recipe here)
3 tbsp rainbow nonpareils (or red, green and white only)


Mix dough with nonpareils. Pinch a bit of dough to be shaped into little balls. Alternatively, you could also bake like you would a shortbread and then cut it into cubes. Bake at a preheated oven at 160C for 15-20 minutes or until the sides are slightly browned. Remove and cool completely before storing.

Christmas Shortbread Cookie Recipes: Almond Snowballs

These almond snowballs taste like snowballs. It melts...so pleasantly in the mouth. The almond nibs add crunch and additional flavour to these melt-in-your-mouth cookies. I thought these cookies would be too sweet for my palate since they are rolled in so much icing sugar. It was however beautifully balanced off by the additional almond. A sweet cookie it is but in an acceptable way. Perfect for those who has a sweet tooth.

Makes approx. 50 balls

Ingredients 

1 portion shortbread dough (recipe here)
60 g almond flakes/nibs, toasted
3/4 cup of icing sugar

Mix almond flakes into shortbread dough. Pinch a little dough and form into a little ball. Repeat until all are done. Bake at a preheated oven at 160C for 15-20 minutes or until the sides are slightly browned. Remove to cool. Roll balls in icing sugar while still slightly warm. Roll again when serving or when completely cool.

Melt In Mouth Pineapple Tart - Valentine Edition

Oh my, I have been so busy cooking for Chinese New Year I have no time to concentrate on this special day we call St. Valentine's Day. I have been scratching my head on what is an appropriate gift to celebrate this day on such a short notice. Fortunately, something just struck me (and it is not the cupid's arrow. I am too old for that). I have the perfect Valentine gift - a special edition Valentine's Day pineapple tart. I am packaging my pineapple tart into lovely heart shaped cookies to represent Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year. How's that for killing two birds with one stone?

There is really no secret recipe here. All you have to do is use the same recipe for the pineapple tart. It is the moulding and packaging that changed. This post will give you a step-by-step guide to making your very own heart shaped pineapple tart. Hope you enjoy the process. Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Melt In Mouth Pineapple Tart

Makes 42 pineapple tarts (depending on the size of the mould)

Ingredients

1 portion pastry (click here for recipe)
350 g pineapple jam (click here for recipe)
1 heart shaped mould
egg yolk for egg wash

Instruction

1. Get a reasonable sized heart-shaped mould that has a wall of about 1 cm. Fill the mould with dough. Weigh the dough to find out the quantity needed. Mine is about 20 grams, just the perfect size that I need. I allocated 9 grams of filling and 12 grams of pastry for each pineapple tart.

2. Roll the 12 grams of pastry into a ball. Flatten and put pineapple jam in the centre. Wrap dough around the pineapple jam. Make sure all the fillings are nicely wrapped up. Roll into a ball.

3. Gently fill the mould with dough. Press the dough a little to make sure all the sides are filled. Carefully remove the dough from mould.

4. Put moulded dough onto baking tray. Repeat until finish. Brush with eggwash.

5. Preheat oven at 170C. Bake for 20 mins turning the tray once or twice to get even browning.

6. Remove and cool completely before putting into boxes.

Note:
There are many ways you could decorate your heart-shaped pineapple tarts such as sparkles, imprints or even chocolate. I personally prefer my pineapple tarts original, hence, the plain eggwash.

Chinese New Year Cookies - Delicious Melt In Mouth Pineapple Tart 凤梨酥

What is Chinese New Year without pineapple tarts. It is a must have. Maybe it is because of the meaning behind these tarts. Pineapple in hokkien is "ong lai". The same slang also depicts wealth arriving. Yes, we Chinese are a funny lot. We like to use simple things or actions to signify prosperity. Another example would be "fatt gou" which basically means a leavened cake. At the same time, it also means high in prosperity or something of that sort. But please don't laugh. We Chinese take this seriously. It is a lucrative industry just by selling meaning.

Chinese New Year Cookies - Almond Crisps/Almond Brittle 杏仁片脆饼

I always wonder why this is only sold during Chinese New Year. Surely the ingredients used here are available all year long. There is another type of almond crisp that uses florentine powder. Somehow I still prefer this simple recipe. It is more aromatic due to the egg whites used. Besides, florentine powder is not sellling cheap here. At RM22.50 per half kg pack, it sure makes simple egg white more than appealing!