That Almost Famous Cookies ... Almost

CNY is around the corner ... Last year I baked marble cakes for my colleagues which looks very miserable and small ... This year I am so motivated to bake something more?

I was thinking of Kek lapis .... CRAZY!!!! I'll over work my poor oven ... or macaroon it will look very classy but not yet pass as to date .... Cookies!!!! Idiot proof and I can't go wrong.

In total I bake 7 batches in 4 days... Not bad hor ... 

Why cookies? 1. It doesn't have to be pretty 2. No specific shape 3. All u need is 2 spoons to shape it.

I want to bake some cakes to go with the cookies but I won't be in so early tomorrow and I do not want to go around with big bags ... Heavy you know.

I hope the receiver will love the small token before I MIA from work hee hee

Stickers are design by my dear hubby ...

It looks reddish brown cos of the infused coffee oil.

It's reddish cos I added food coloring ... Due to upcoming festive holiday tong tong tong Chiang 

Ingredients

250g salted butter,softened (i used SCS)

200g light brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp coffee oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup oats,processed to bits in a chopper (i put nestum instead)

1/4 cup ground almonds (i omit this)

1/2 cup of your favourite nuts,chopped finely (optional)(i put in chopped hazelnut)

1 pack of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips OR chocolate chunks 

300g self-raising flour 

Method

This is the most important step,at least 2 hours before,or the night before,beat the egg with the vanilla and the coffee oil to infuse or you can do this the night before,refrigerate it then bring it to room temperature before baking.

Preheat oven to 160C.

To the softened butter,beat in the sugar and the salt to combine. Beat in the egg and stir in the processed oats,ground almonds,optional chopped nuts and the chocolate chunks. Sift the flour and fold it in,this dough will not be too stiff but not too wet either.

For small cookies,place half-tsp of the dough,spaced slightly apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes.

For large cookies, place rounded tbsp of the dough spaced apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.

Cool completely and let it sit overnight in an airtight container,this is for the flavour and fragrance to develop further.

Source: Kak Rima @ www.bisousatoi.com

Dark Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups whole milk
4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a medium sized saucepan.
Slowly whisk in the eggs, egg yolks, and milk. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat until bubbling. Stir in the semi-sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate and unsweetened chocolate.
Continue to cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Be sure to scrape the sides and the bottoms of the pot as you whisk. As the pudding cooks, it will gradually darken and thicken.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook while gently stirring with a wooden spoon. After 1 – 2 minutes, the pudding should thickly coat the spoon. Stir in the butter, vanilla, and orange oil.
Transfer pudding to 6 small bowls or jars. Cover the surface with plastic wrap as it cools if you do not wish for a skin to form on the top of the pudding. Cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, and then transfer to the refrigerator for about an hour, or up to 2 days.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had an interesting day today ... We went bowling at 9am to avoid the crowd.  Conclusion I suck big time lol ... should have just gone for archery instead haiz ...

So after bowling is Art Science Museum ... hmmm ... it didnt happen ... on the way there it rained so heavily so we U-turned and went home. =( Sad huh ...

Since we din go to the Museum I have nothing to do ... so boring! so I decided to bake ... heeh.

Taken from: Martha Stewart

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
   
   
   

Bread & Butter Pudding with L.O.V.E

New year's resolution to update blog promptly.  Oklah slightly late... hee hee ... I made this last saturday.
I will try to update one a week lah eh if I'm free. Umi ask for bread & butter pudding a few weeks back so I gave her.  I realised that I've not been baking for a super long time.

Since she (my cousin and my niece) visited ibu last sat I decided to surprise her. I took the recipe from Livin' In The Kitchen. The recipes here are all mouth watering ... my gawd!!! I wish I can try everything in there ... but .... I have to be focus ... one at a time.

So here we go Bread & Butter Pudding with Vanilla Sauce. I did the Vanilla Sauce first cos I chill it before serving.

Bread and Butter Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

Recipe from “Lenôtre’s Desserts and Pastries”
7 ounces fresh sandwich bread, uncut
Butter for bread
2 cups, (generous, 1/2 1) milk
1 vanilla bean (I used vanilla bean paste)
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup, generous (125 grams) granulated sugar

Optional

1 cup of sliced almond

1 cup of chocolate chips

Remove the crust from bread and slice very thin (set crust aside)
Lightly butter the slices, cut them in half, corner-to-corner so that they are now 2 triangles.
Brown the buttered side of the bread under the broiler for 3 minutes, cover oval baking pan with bread, toasted side up in overlapping pieces.

Sprinkle sliced almonds and chocolate chip.
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Boil milk with vanilla bean. Beat the eggs and the egg yolks with the sugar for a few minutes, until mix whitens. Slowly pour hot milk (not boiling) into egg mix while stirring.

Pour the combined mixtures over the bread while pressing down bread that floats with a spoon.
Place the Bread Pudding into a larger dish. Pour boiling water in the larger dish until it reaches half way up the sides of the smaller dish.
Bake 30 minutes, continue to press down bread when it rises to the surface in oven. When baked, allow to cool then place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Make Vanilla Sauce (can be served without).

Vanilla Sauce
1 cup (1/4 1) milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Place milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot and let the vanilla bean infuse for 10 minutes.
Beat egg yolks and sugar on medium speed until the mixture whitens. While beating, add milk to yolks. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring constantly. When liquid coats spatula, remove the saucepan immediately and place in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Remove the vanilla bean.
Cool mixture in bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. Whip sauce occasionally while cooling.
Once cooled, pour over your Bread and Butter Pudding and return to the refrigerator,
Wa-La!

Almost Famous Cookies

For this coming Raya ... this is the only cookies I made (want to send to LA ... fuuuh I've never been to LA before but my cookies will reach there anytime soon... LOL!).  Cos MIL has her stash for Raya goodies and my friend, Nurul gave me Cornflakes Macaroons.  I do not want to bake more cookies cos last year was such a waste.  So I am contented with small amount of goodies this year.

But ... this year I will try some of the cake recipes that I saw online.  I hope it turns out well lah.

Ingredients

250g salted butter,softened (i used SCS)

200g light brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp coffee oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup oats,processed to bits in a chopper (i put nestum instead)

1/4 cup ground almonds (i omit this)

1/2 cup of your favourite nuts,chopped finely (optional)(i put in chopped hazelnut)

1 pack of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips OR chocolate chunks 

300g self-raising flour 

Method

This is the most important step,at least 2 hours before,or the night before,beat the egg with the vanilla and the coffee oil to infuse or you can do this the night before,refrigerate it then bring it to room temperature before baking.

Preheat oven to 160C.

To the softened butter,beat in the sugar and the salt to combine. Beat in the egg and stir in the processed oats,ground almonds,optional chopped nuts and the chocolate chunks. Sift the flour and fold it in,this dough will not be too stiff but not too wet either.

For small cookies,place half-tsp of the dough,spaced slightly apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes.

For large cookies, place rounded tbsp of the dough spaced apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.

Cool completely and let it sit overnight in an airtight container,this is for the flavour and fragrance to develop further.

Source: Kak Rima @ www.bisousatoi.com