Friday 16 February 2007

Chinese New Year Cookies Part II

I was crazy enough to try making 2 types of Chinese New Year cookies this morning!

A few weeks ago, I was telling myself that I should not be making any CNY cookies as store-bought ones are so easily available, and most of them taste quite ok. Little did I know that I found myself caught in the baking craze over these cookies in the past week! It didn't help that most of the local food bloggers that I visit have all their delicious and yummy CNY cookies splashed all over their posts, be it pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, cornflakes cookies, peanut cookies and so on. I was so inspired and couldn't resist myself but to try baking one or two of them, otherwise I might regret it as I won't bake them till next year.


I attempted to make peanut cookies and kueh bangkit this morning. I try out with another recipe for the kueh bangkit. This time round, the dough is softer and easier to roll and cut out. The only problem is the baking time and temperature. The cookies took quite a long while for the centre to dry out completely. I had to test taste and adjust the oven temperature a few times to ensure that they don't get burnt. As a result, most of the cookies were a little over-browned :(

I compared the cookies made from the two different recipes, and came to the conclusion that I should "marry" the two of them. The cookies from the 1st recipe are more crispy but plain, while those from the 2nd one are sweeter and more fragrant.

Making the peanut cookies was a breeze. I followed the recipe from Florence's blog. The only difference is that I omitted the coarsely chopped peanut bits. I have the dough in the oven in less than 20 mins. Again, they took a much longer time to brown as compared to the stated time of 20mins. Taste wise, they are very good and really melts in your mouth :)





21 comments:

Sandy, 샌디 said...

Wow!Your peanut cookies and Kueh Bangkit looks really delicious ; )

Happy Homebaker said...

Thanks!! Both cookies were very well received by my family members :)

Anonymous said...

Felt inspired to bake my own peanut cookies after seeing your post. Thanks! BTW, what does Florence mean by a "lined tray"? What do we line the tray with? I thought it would just be glazing the tray with butter or oil?

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Soo Yee, what Florence meant was to line the tray with baking or parchment paper. This will help prevent the cookies from sticking onto the tray. Hope this helps :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your prompt reply! I just attempted to bake the cookies with my hubby. Everything turned out well except that the bottom of the cookies were charred :( I preheated the oven to 165deg C before baking for 20min. Should I omit that step? Oh yes, Merry Christmas to you :)

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Soo Yee, you should always preheat your oven...in fact for all bakes, you need to do this step to make sure the oven is at the right temperature when you put in the cake/cookies. Where's the heating element located in your oven? It could be the bottom of your tray was positioned too close to the heating element. For my oven, the heating element is on top, so I tend to get the top of my bakes charred than the bottom :(

Serena said...

Hi,

This is the first time I am putting down a comment and would like to say that I enjoy reading your blog and your pictures are all so beautiful. I work half-days and in the afternoon, I am with my 2 kids and would be cooking or baking in the kitchen. I had tried making kueh bangkit and they turn out hard. I am wondering if my kneading of the dough had caused this. I had to knead it to mix in the liquids properly. Also, is it possible for you to share your kueh bangkit recipe with us? Thanks for your thoughts and again, keep up the beautiful pictures!

Anonymous said...

hey! passed by your blog while syrfin for some recipies for new year cookies..
do you have the recipies for the kueh bangkit? and any other recipies? i hv been lookin for them quite despreately!!
thx!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Rave, I didn't keep a copy of the kueh bangkit recipe as I simply followed one of the bloggers recipe...and now I can't remember which one!!! Anyway, you may what to check out this blog for a kueh bangkit recipe (http://www.wlteef.blogspot.com/2006/01/my-kueh-bangkit.html)

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Serena, I am sorry I do not have the kueh bangkig recipe on hand...I need to recall which blogger I have gotten the recipe from! I am afraid I can't comment on why your kueh bangkit didnt turn out well, as I hardly bake CNY cookies. Sorry, can't offer much help on this :(

Anonymous said...

hii, do u have the pineapple tart recipe? i really wanna try making it

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Anonymous, I'm sorry I do not have any pineapple tart recipe. but I'm sure you can easily find one from other local food bloggers.

Anonymous said...

I've tried making Florence
s peanut cookies before. When u didn't add the coarsely chopped peanuts, do u have to make other adjustments i.e. Sugar and Peanut oil?? Thank you

Anonymous said...

Hi HHB,

I'd like to know how did you shape your peanut cookies? They look so nice! Thank you.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Adele, as mentioned in Florence post (under comments), simply omit the coarsely chopped peanuts, you dont have to make any other adjustment. Hope this helps :)

Hi Daphne, As mentioned in Florence's blog, you can use a bottle cap to shape the cookies. For me, I used my 'flat-bottom' measuring spoon...first place a small piece of cling wrap over the spoon and fill it with the cookie dough. Then lift up the cling wrap to release it.

HL said...

Hi,

wanted to know if my oven have both upper & bottom heating element. Which level should I put my cookies for bake? Middle level?

Can I straight away use roasted peanut to make the cookies? Then I don't need to fry the peanut? Just blend?

Happy Homebaker said...

hi HL, I think you can try the middle level. My oven has only one set of heating element on top, and I usually bake cookies using the middle rack position.

I am not sure about the roasted peanuts...I used ready made grounded peanuts.

Michelle said...

Hi,
Im very interested on the peanut cookies, but no recipe here..
Do u have any recipe?
Thanks!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Michelle, as mentioned in this post, I followed the peanut cookies from here:
http://www.wlteef.blogspot.com/2007/01/chinese-peanut-cookies.html
It is very simple and yet delicious :)

Anonymous said...

do you have any more blogspot for more recipes for baking cookies ? thx /

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, I do not have another blog, you may refer to my recipe index for the other cookie recipes which I have posted.