Nestum Cereal Cookie Bars

Had a nice weekend with family and friends, lots of good food and some shopping too. I love holidays when I don't have to wake up early preparing breakfast, don't have to rush home to prepare meals while shopping..haha! Wish everyday is holiday..;p

Well, even though it's holiday, I still bake a little. Yeah, can't live without going into my kitchen though..(^^)

Here's an easy recipe which I baked last 2 days for my daughter's snacks (she loves snacks). First attempt, and it's not bad at all. 

Nestum Cereal Cookie Bars

Recipe:
80g sugar
125g butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsps fresh milk
100g Nestum honey cereal
100g plain flour
30g cornflour
30g tapioca flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
* Beat butter and sugar till creamy.
* Add in egg yolk, milk and vanilla.
* Add in Nestum honey cereal and (all) flour.
* Mix well to form a soft dough
* Pour into a 10x10" square pan and press firmly.
* Bake at 170'C for 30 mins or until golden brown.
* Remove from oven and cut into small rectangles with a knife while it's still hot.
* Let cool completely before remove from the pan. Store in an airtight container.

The texture was crispy outside and a little soft in the inside. It's still good until today!
Maybe you can try with some other cereal or oats. I bet it will taste good too.

Cheers!

Macadamia Chocolate Chips Cookies

Chocolates! Bet everyone can't resist this sweet and tasty snacks huh! I love chocolates as much as my daughter. We can both wallop up few bars of chocolates in a day..haha! 

I have alot chocolate cookies recipes and all are so yummy and tasty and just can't finish to try out all of them. Here, one of the yummilicious one that I'll like to share. Recipe adapted from one of my collection books, with some changes as I can't get some of the ingredients from my nearby bakery store. 

Anyway it turned out super delicious and they never stay long in my cookie jar..;p

I think you can judge how delicious they were from the pictures below...(even though they were badly captured)...haha!

Ingredients:

115g butter

115g brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

115g dark chocolate (roughly chopped)

50g raisins

100g macadamia nuts (roughly chopped)

Method:
~ Preheat oven at 190'C
~ Cream butter with sugar until pale and fluffy
~ Add in egg and vanilla and beat well
~ Stir in flour into the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon
~ Add in chopped chocolate, chopped nuts and raisins and stir well
~ Spoon small spoonful of the mixture onto prepared tin and leaving space for spreading
~ Bake for 15-20 minutes until beginning to turn pale golden
~ Cool for 2-3 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely

Look at the chocolate!! It melted when you bite them and the crunch of the nuts just come so well with the cookies. Trust me...its heaven!
If you like chocolates.....please try this!!

Cheers!

Brandy Mixed Fruits Biscotti

Time flies, it's September now! Getting busier towards year end. What is your plan end of this year's holidays? We, Chinese will celebrate the lantern festival (mid autumn festival) in a week time then our Indian friends will be celebrating their Deepavali soon, and then Christmas! Well, school term break is going to start in November and I bet all parents are planning to go somewhere for this holidays. I'm planning to go somewhere relaxing, out from the city life...haha!

Back to the post, here's the biscuits I always love to bite with my cup of coffee. These crunchy Italian cookie has been my all time favourite since many years ago. I've searched for the recipes from many bloggers, books and finally got this from the web (improved). I've done this before (almost similar) long time ago but this time I've added some liqueur to enrich the flavour.

Ingredients:
1.5 cup dried mixed fruits (such as raisins / cherries / orange peels)
*soaked in 2 cups brandy for at least 1 day
3 cups plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsps butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs

Method:
~ Drained the mixed fruits. Set aside.
~ Preheat oven at 180'C.
~ Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
~ In an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter with sugar till fluffy.
~ Mix in eggs, one at a time.
~ Reduced speed to low, slowly add in mixed flour then follow by the mixed fruits.
~ On a lightly floured surface, halve the dough and shape each dough into logs (flatten logs to 1/2 inch thick)
~ Brush logs with beaten eggs .
~ Bake for 35 minutes at 180'C. Transfer to wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes.
~ Cut each log on the diagonal into 16 to 18 pieces (shown above)
~ Transfer pieces to prepared tin laying them on sides. Bake for 8 minutes; flip.
~ Bake further (for another side of cookies) for another 8 minutes.
~ let cool until crisp.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Or kept in the fridge to restore the crisp.
These crunchy cookies can be served with some melted chocolate. Finely chopped 120g semi sweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat. Add another 60g chocolate and stir until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Slightly cool the melted chocolate and dip in the biscotti and served.

Cheers!

Simple Danish Cinnamon Rolls

2nd post as I promised...:p

Quite a simple one which I found from a recipe book I got last few weeks, "tea time treats from Chef Wan".

Don't really remember when I had a cinnamon roll but this sweet dough is always my favourite. It really goes well with my favourite long black. Yummy!

Ingredients for Puff pastry:
300g plain flour
1 tsp salt
100g butter
70g vegetable shortening
4-6 tbsps cold water

Method:
~ In a bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
~ Add in the butter and shortening and mix well with a fork.
~ Slowly pour in the cold water and mix into a soft dough.
~ Wrap with cling film and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Ingredients for the filling:
1 tbsp butter (melted)
50g castor sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
*raisins

Method:
~ Preheat the oven to 200'C. Prepare the tray with baking papers.
~ In a bowl, mix together sugar and ground cinnamon together.
~ Roll out the child pastry into a 25x35cm sheet, 1 cm thick. Repeat this rolling for few times.
~ Spread the cinnamon mixture all over the pastry sheet. Sprinkle with raisins.
~ Roll the pastry up from one side until the whole sheet is rolled up like a swissroll.
~ Cut the roll into 2.5cm thick slices.
~ Arrange on baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool and serve with maple syrup.

A good alternative to the layered pastry is puff pastry. You can buy prepared puff pastry from the supermarket.
The outcome is satisfying, light and crunchy. I really enjoy them over the afternoon tea.

Cheers!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cupcakes

Another goodies for my daughter to bring to school last week. It was for her Science subject and everyone loves this so much, even the teacher asked whether she can bring this again to school for the Children's Day next month...^^

It's a simple but very very delicious cupcakes that I found from a book, "Beautiful Cupcakes" by chef Kevin Chai. I love his books, all the recipes turn out beautifully!! Anyway there were some changes in this recipe because I was lacked of some ingredients stated in the book....:p

Ingredients:
225g butter
200g sugar
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
120g peanut butter
120g dark chocolate (finely chopped)

Topping (which I didn't apply):
60g peanut butter
50g butter
2 tbsps fresh milk

Method:
~ Preheat overn at 175'C, place some cupcakes paper casing on tray. It calles about 20-22 small cupcakes.
~ Combine butter and sugar and beat till light and fluffy.
~ Add in eggs one after another then fold flour and beat until smooth.
~ Stir in peanut butter and chopped chocolate until well combined.
~ Spoon batter into prepared cases and bake for 20 minutes.
~ Remove and cool on rack.
~ For the topping, combine peanut butter and butter, beat until light and fluffy.
~ Add the fresh milk and beat until well combined.
~ Make decoration on top of each cupcakes as you desire.

Soft and fluffy and so yummy! Love this so much!!

While the cupcakes were baking in the oven, my whole kitchen was filled with the smell of peanut butter and chocolate. If you are a peanut butter and chocolate lover, you cannot miss this!!

Cheers!!

Rapsberry & Cheese Delight

Special treats for my niece! Thinking what to bake for her on her birthday but instead of cakes that will make her fat....so this light desert is what I think will suits her since she's on a diet...LOL!! Anyway...cheese...hmm is fattening though...haha!

Well, this is not very special from any special chef's recipe. It's just something she loves..."rapsberry & cheese"...so I just combined them and put it in a cup. Looks tempting though....^^

Very easy and it was done within an hour. No bake and no fuss!! I personally like the combination and the colour of the cream cheese...beautiful! The tatse?!...PERFECT!!

Ingredients:
170g rapsberries
250g cream cheese
100g whipping cream
75g sugar
150g digestive biscuits
30g butter (melted)

Method:
~ Mashed the rapsberries and keep aside.
~ Beat cream cheese, sugar and whipping cream till fluffy.
~ Mix in the mashed rapsberry and sti well.
~ Smashed digestive biscuits into crumbs and add in melted butter and mix well.
~ Scoop the biscuits follow by the rapsberries cream layer by layer into a cup.
~ Chill before serve.

See the biscuits and the cream?! Melt in the mouth and appetizing...wonderful!!
Try it and you'll know. Its easy as ABC...:))

Cheers!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节快乐

Its Mid-Autumn Festival today!! Wish everyone has a great day and a good celebration with family and friends. During this festival, we'll have lots of food and snacks to celebrate under the beautiful moon. (Hopefully there is a beautiful one tonight..;p) Well all kinds of food and of course not to mention, there must be mooncakes!! Lots of choices nowadays, huh.....and lots of flavours to choose too. By the way, I've just did 2 types this year and both with the same fillings (lotus paste with yolk). And both mooncakes were already sent to family members and friends...none for myself...haha! Anyway, I'm not so keen on eating them this year...:)

Here's my (new) recipe for this year, the other one was the flaky type which I did last year.


The name of this mooncake is so classy and I love it once I read the ingredients....hehe! Yup! This was easy to prepare with a classy name....."Golden Drops" (莲蓉核桃金露酥).

Ingredients:
270g Cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
30g custard powder
90g icing sugar
1 egg
75g shortening
75g butter

Deco:
50g walnuts
some white sesame seeds

Method:
~ Mix all ingredients together into a dough. Leave aside.
~ Prepare any fillings as you like and wrapped up with some baked duck egg yolks.
~ Divide pastry into 30g each and wrap with the fillings.
~ Brush with egg yolk, sprinkle some sesame seeds and top with one walnut.
~ Bake at preheated oven at 180'C for 20-25 minutes.


Nutty Ham Mooncakes & Piggy biscuits (below) from my mum....yummy!

Not to forget some ice cream mooncakes during this hot weather. A gift from my friend from Haagen-Dazs...:)

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everyone!!!

中秋节快乐

Chocolate Chips with Digestive Biscuits Butter Cake

I usually bake at night so that we'll have some fresh bakes the next morning for breakfast. Without any hesitation, I baked some cakes for my daughter's breakfast and her tea break in school. It was suppose to be some chocolate cake but she requested butter cake. Funny, this time she said no chocolate...haha! Anyway I added some chocolate chips into the cake, taste better...:)

The texture is soft and crispy outside but alittle oily due to the digestive biscuits and butter added. Overall I think the kids will love it with the special shape of the cake...:) I've bought this cute silicon mould few weeks back and have been wanted to try it since then. Well, it did not came out as what I expected. I'll try with some other recipes again or maybe some cream piping to make it more tempting next time.

Recipe adapted from "I love butter cake by Kevin Chai".

150g butter
140g sugar (reduced)
3 eggs
50g digestive biscuits (blended)
100g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g milk chocolate chips

Method:
~ Grease baking pan or any mould you'll like to use with alittle butter. Preheat oven to 180'C.
~ Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
~ Add in eggs one at a time.
~ Fold in blended biscuits, flour, baking powder and chocolate chips.
~ Mix until well blended and spoon into prepared moulds or pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked at 180'C.

Cheers!!!

Chocolate Cornflakes Biscuit

Hi dear readers and friends, I'm back with a simple easy post today. I've been alittle quiet lately due to my joints problem but I feel much better now. For the last 2 weeks I hardly bake and cook and I find rather guilty for my dearest daughter to eat out most of the time. I promise her that I'll bake and cook something nice for her when I feel better, and today I'm back to my kitchen again..;p Hope there are more for me to share with you...:)


About today's post, its a simple and delicious biscuit that I found in the Malaysian Women's Weekly magazine (August issue). I've changed and replaced some ingredients though, actually I'm out of those ingredients at home..hehe! The biscuits turned out delicious and everyone loves it.



Ingredients:
250g butter
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour (original called for self raising flour)
2 tsp baking powder (avoid this if you are using self raising flour)
1 cup original cornflakes
1.5 cups milk chocolate chips
2 cups mixed fruits (original called for 1 cup sultanas & 1 cup glace cherries)


Coating:
3 cups original cornflakes (lightly crushed)

Method:
~ Preheat oven at 180'C. Lined 2 trays with parchment papers.
~ Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add in eggs and vanilla and mix well.
~ Fold in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
~ Round up a small portion of mixture (about a fish ball size) and coat with crushed cornflakes.
~ Place on the prepared tray and slightly flatten it as shown above. (3cm apart from each other)
~ Bake at 180'C for 15 minutes until golden. Cool before storage.

If you like chewy biscuits, this is the recipe you must keep. Very crispy outside and chewy inside..super delicious!!

Cheers!!