Gift #2, Stained Glass Cookies

Another gift idea I thought would be cute and extravagant, yet simple to make is stained glass cookies. These cookies are uber easy to make but I think they would never fail to impress!

You can use your favorite sugar cookie recipe here :D I actually used a tart dough, which, of course, I did not do on purpose =_= I just thought that the dough lying around in my freezer was a sugar cookie dough. But it worked!

Stained Glass Cookies

Ingredients:

I used a tart dough, but I will use my favorite sugar cookie dough next time ;)

Colored hard candies, crushed and set aside according to colors

Directions:

1. Prepare your favorite sugar cookie dough. 

2. Roll out the dough into about 1/4 inch thickness. I like to work with cold dough as it is easier to handle.

3. Cut out into any shape you like, making sure that you cut out the center of the cookie with a smaller cookie cutter.

4. Transfer the cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

5. Fill the center of the cookies with the crushed hard candies.

6. Bake according to the suggested temperature/time provided by the recipe.

7. Let cool on baking pans for a few minutes before transferring them onto a cookie rack to cool them completely.

Christmas Gift #1, Madeleines

It's still November, I know. But I just can't stop thinking about Christmas already! And IF, my parents would let me, I'd be flying to Bei Jing to spend this year's Christmas with my very-much-missed girlfriends! *cross fingers*

Anyways, I made a list of Christmas edible gifts this year! And the first one on my tryout list is madeleines!

Now, someone please tell me, is it all about the hump with these little yummy shells?  

Ooh! These shells would be so cute all lined up in a box! Or tied up in a clear plastic with a silver ribbon!

Oh and by the way, this is yummy stuff  :9

Madeleines, makes 12 

Adapted from Paris Sweets via Purplefoodie

Ingredients:

105gr flour (I used half cake flour half all purpose flour)

½ tsp double action baking powder

5 tbsp / 70g butter

1 tsp lavender, rubbed to release flavour

2 eggs

1/3rd cup / 65g sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the lavender. Let it cool.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale and think, about 2-4 minutes.
4. Add in the vanilla extract.
5. With a silicone spatula, fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter and honey.
6. Mix until just combined.
7. Transfer to a disposable piping bag and clip the end. Let this rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. (you can keep it upto two days – the longer the better – this gives the madeleine it’s characteristic hump.)
8. Butter and flour a madeleine pan, covering every millimeter of it, else the madeleine won’t come off easily.
9. Pipe the batter into the madeleine pan until almost full.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C / 400F for 10-11 minutes or until your finger springs back when you touch the centre of the madeleine. The baking time for smaller madeleines will be shorter by 3-4 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and eat the madeleines! If you’re going to be storing it for later, then transfer to an airtight container as soon as they’ve cooled.

best.chocolate.chip.cookie.

Whoaa! I know, I am just one out of zillions out there who brags about the best chocolate chip cookie ever (in my case, so far). But hey... baking itself is an art, isn't it? And tastes couldn't be more subjective! And as far as my taste goes, I love cookies that are crisp on the edges with a little chew in the middle. Soft, pillowy cookies are a nay to me!

See, I failed for oh-god-knows-how-many-times each time I attempt to bake cookies... It's funny, as simple as these cookies might seem to whip up, yet I have always ALWAYS ended up with soft/puffy/pillowy/off-textured cookies. No no, not this time... These cookies, in my opinion, has the perfect texture for my liking. It's not too chewy nor it is too buttery/oily. Then, there's a crunch and chew in every bite. Yum-O. I remember reducing the amount of sugar to suit my family's taste.

Then, I made some pillow cookies with Reese's peanut butter cups and Melty Kisses

Yummy! Happy! I think I will stick to this recipe whenever I need a fix for cookies. This, in my opinion, is the perfect chocolate chip cookies! Thanks to David Lebovitz for this recipe!

Chocolate Chip Cookies, makes 24 cookies
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
4 ounces (115g) salted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed (110g) dark or light brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup (180g) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt
1 1/3 cups (200g) coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate


Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar just until smooth and creamy.

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Stir the flour mixture into the beaten butter until combined, then mix in the chopped chocolate (including any chocolate dust) and the chopped nuts.

5. Cover and chill the batter until firm. (It’s preferable to let it rest overnight.)

6. To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

7. Form the cookie dough into rounds about the size of a large unshelled walnut. Place the mounds evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets, and press down the tops to flatten them so they are no longer domed and the dough is even.

8. Bake the cookies for ten minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies look about set, but are not browned.

9. Remove from the oven and quickly tap the top of each with a spatula, then return to the oven for two to five more minutes, until the tops of the cookies are light golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cookies cool.

Storage: The cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to five days in an airtight container. The dough can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for one or two months.

Chocolate Cream Rosettes

Chocolate Cream Rosettes

Honestly, I'm thinking of giving up the idea of this foodie blog... I have no problem keeping up with my other 2 blogs, and although I LOVE to bake and eat, it just seems so hard updating this particular blog... At the same time, I realize that trying to chronicle my baking experience in a form of a facebook picture album won't work too well in the future...

I hope that by the time I settled on a full-time job, it would also be easier for me to manage my time updating this FOODIE NEST ^_^".

Speaking of which, I am not 100% satisfied with these cookies. It's buttery, crisp, light and all, but the taste is a little off... Maybe cuz I used Blue Band?!

Chocolate Cream Rosettes, makes 40 - 50 sandwiches
Adapted from Sohphistimom

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons butter (I used Blue Band, sorry...)
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F/160 C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Add in vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, combine salt, flour, and cornstarch. With the mixer on low, slowly add to the wet ingredients. Scrape down the bowl as necessary, and mix until well combined, but do not over mix.
4. Place dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. And pipe small 1 inch rosettes onto the cookie sheets. 
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges just barely begin to brown. Allow to cool on a cooling rack. Match up cookies of similar sizes and sandwich together with a small amount of frosting.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup chopped dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

Bring the heavy cream to a simmer, then pour it unto the dark chocolate, preferably using a metal bowl. Whisk until all the chocolate has melted completely. Cool and whip into the desired consistency.

1st Yummy Post!

My first entry yet! Yumm Humm Dumm... So excited and happy ^_^
Although, to be honest, I have a premonition that this blog might not be updated that frequently... But.. hey I'll try my best! You can't blame me for not being able to have more than 24 hours a day!

I am a HUGE fan of cookies... I like them so much I can eat them for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Whoa! Especially those chewy ones with crispy edges and a chockful of macadamia nuts.. and they melt in your mouth. Noo! I've died and gone to cookie heaven!

Don't get me wrong, I love crispy cookies too... As an Asian kid, I grew up eating mostly crunchy-crispy cookies. It's kinda hard (Actually, I couldn't find them in Indonesia) to find soft pillowy chewy cookies which we can easily find (read: consume!!) in America.

When I came back home last summer, I had a mission... that was to "poison" my family with chewy cookies! But... I failed miserably... My parents hated them. But thankfully, those beautiful batches of baked goodness were warmly welcomed by my siblings and relatives :D

Having been back for good for almost a good half-year, sometimes (read: many many times), gets me cravings of for soft chewy cookies. At the same time, however, it also reminds me of how good crispy cookies are! The cookies I used to eat growing up as a kid, those I had every year during Chinese Lunar New Year. Yum...

So anyways, sometime after Lunar New Year 2010, I had this strong craving for a crunchy oatmeal cookie..Yes it has to be oatmeal! I've combed the whole World Wide Web to search for one good recipe the other day, and found what I hoped, or rather thought, to be something that would satisfy this sweet tooth just fine...But instead, I've found not just another cookie recipe. This might just be the best Crispy Oatmeal Cookie recipe! I love them and my parents adore these cookies so much that they started throwing out ideas of opening up a bakery!

I tried saving some for SS. But, cookies this good don't last long. I'm sorry SS I'll bake more for you next time!

Crispy Salted Oatmeal Cookies

Crispy Salted Oatmeal Cookies, makes around 24 big cookies
Adapted From Smitten Kitchen, Original Recipe by Cook's Illusrated

These cookies are so versatile, you can chuck in anything you like! I made the cookies in a couple of ways: plain; with butter toffees; with dark chocolate and cranberries. They are all TO DIE FOR!

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate bar, chopped.
2 ounces of dried cranberries
1 ounce of butter-toffees

1/2 teapoon flaky sea salt (I like fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and toppings of your choice and mix until well incorporated.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about 3/4-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie

5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.