SOFT FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES

This is not so much of Eid Mubarak cookies, it's more towards a daily cookies to meet our daily craving for something sweet. I stumbled into this in Annie's Eat cooking blog. I've long wanted to make it and only now when I have some left over Raya cookies ingredients, I made I batch of it. It's colourful, buttery with crisp edges.

SOFT FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES

For the cookies:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

5 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/3 cup (5 1/3 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

7 Tablespoons milk (plus more, as needed)

Food coloring, optional

Sprinkles (optional)

For the cookies:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.

When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Scoop a tablespoon of dough (about 3/4-ounce) and roll into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes, rotating halfway. It is important not to over bake. The edges should not even be brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

To frost the cookies:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, melted butter, vanilla and milk until smooth. You will want a thick consistency, but not too thick so that it is hard to spread on the cookie. Whisk in additional milk, one teaspoon at a time, to reach desired consistency. Tint with food coloring, if desired. Use an off-set spatula to spread each cooled cookie with the frosting. Top with sprinkles if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats, 

Terserempak dengan cookies ini dalam Annie's Eat Blog, tertarik sangat dan memang lama 

teringin hendak membuatnya tetapi tidak kesempatan..cuma baru-baru ini kebetulan ada lebihan bahan-bahan kuih saya cuba buat satu adunan...memang sedap..buttery dan garing ditepinya. Kalau yang ingin membuatnya saya cadangkan kecilkan sainya dan warna frosting biarkan terang sedikit supaya bangkit warna. Warna yang saya buat agak pucat dan kurang menarik. Resipi adalah sesuai untuk sajian petang atau untuk tekak yang inginkan sesuatu yang manis tetapi boleh jugalah kalau hendak buat sebagai kuih Hari Raya.

Next Post - Snow Almond

BISKUT KELAPA DELIMA / COCONUT RUBY COOKIES

This year I made a different turn with regards to Eid Mubarak cookies preparation.  I made it earlier with the anticipation that I will not hook up with last minutes house hold chores. But that was not a  good idea either...guess what ?..the earlier you prepared the fastest  you finished it especially if they fall under the family favourite cookies. OMG I have to bake another batch of Honey Cornflakes Cookies..it's gone within a day....look like I still ended doing the last minutes baking...ha..ha....

Over the weekend I completed four types of cookies, this Ruby Coconut Cookies, The Evergreen Pineapple Tarts, Biskut Arab and the Honey Cornflakes Cookies. This Coconut Ruby Cookies was adapted from Dapur Tanpa Sempada - Che Man Gebu recipe...I wanted to do it last Eid Mubarak..but didn't have the time to do so and this year I made a try. Well anything about coconut is always awesome...this cookies has the beautiful aroma of the rose essence and desiccated coconut..my godness smell so great and taste so yummy. For recipe click here - http://www.tiffinbiru.com/2011/08/biskut-kelapa-delima.html

Here are my Eid Mubarak 2012 Cookies Project Completed 

Fikirkan dengan membuat biskut awal tahun ini dapatlah rehat awal, tak payahlah hendak penat-penat last minit. Cadangnya lepas buat kuih raya bolehlah kemas-kemas rumah..lepas tu tapi idea ini tidak menjadi juga kerana lebih cepat kita buat kuih raya..lebih cepat dia habis...alamak...letih dibuatnya....lebih-lebih lagi kalau itu adalah favourite anak-anak. Biskut Cornflakes Madu...memang kena buat lagi satu satu adunan..tak sempat raya dah lesap. Kali ini kalau saya..buat maka kena "anti sorok" baru boleh bertahan sampai Raya...

Hujung minggu sudah sempatlah siapkan Biskut Arab, Tart Nenas ,Cornflakes madu dan biskut baru yang saya ambil dari dapur Che Mat Gebu. Biskut ini bukanya baru tetapi baru bagi keluarga saya...nampak menarik apabila baca bahan yang digunakan contohnya kelapa kering. Kelapa kering kalau digandingkan dengan esen ros memang akan semerbak seluruh rumah. Memang pun sedap biskut ini..ranggup dan wangi. Untuk resipinya sila lihat link ini  ya http://www.tiffinbiru.com/2011/08/biskut-kelapa-delima.html. Selamat mencuba dan terima kasih Che Mat.

SQUID TEMPURA - THE STORE BOUGHT BATTER

Look great ha....definitely no one can resists this Japanese signature food. I used to make my own batter but in this month of Ramadan I don't have the time for details so I just grabbed from the shelves. Not bad..really crispy and quite light.

Tempura is a Japanese preparation of batter-dipped, deep fried foods, usually vegetables and seafood. Squid is a perfect food for making tempura because it cooks up so fast. Of course if you would rather use other seafood, you can use this batter with shrimp, pieces of lobster, oysters, clams, small fish, or pieces of larger fish. Or you can skip the seafood altogether and just tempura fry some vegetables. I really love this and is one of my favourite when ever I'm in Japan...I'm more confident with tempura in terms of eating Halal food in Japan. Some brinjals and sweet potato will be a good pair. Serve best with Thai Chili Sauce. - Enjoy !!

FUN WITH FONDANT - MY FIRST EXPERIENCE

I have started playing with fondant. OMG it reminds me of how I used to buy and play with my kids the play dough from Toy' R' Us...it's exactly like that, it's lot like playing dough and it's really fun. The best part of fondant this day is that you can get the store bought fondant, all you need is to crack your right brain for creativity to shape want you want. It's an art. 

I don’t expect to turn into Cake Boss  overnight.  Truthfully I really don’t expect much to blossom out overnight anyhow I am happy that now I roughly have a clear idea what it is all about and by time I will be able to produce one fondant cake, Insyallah. As a start I’m trying something simple and truthfully plain using cookie cutters...ha..ha...so here's my first cupcake fondant. Thanks to Nurianie Tan for her guidance....I really appreciate it.

You need these to start

1. A decent little knife for cutting fondant
2. Fondant/clay modelling tools (the fondant ones work better, but the clay tools work almost as well and cost a fraction of the price!)
3. Clean, small-tipped paint brushes
4. Colouring pastes and gels 
5. A small rolling pin for rolling the fondant
6. Fondant stamp-cutters
7. Wilton grass icing bag tip (it’s what I used to make the grass in this picture)
8. Frangipani petal cutters – I have these in a range of sizes and use the smallest to cut mouths and bee wings
9. Vegetable shortening – if your fondant becomes too hard or dry, working a little vegetable shortening helps it to become soft and pliable again
10. Tylo ‘glue’ – an edible glue which is marvellous for sticking fondant pieces together. If you can’t get access to any, you can use natural vanilla extract in a bind (do not, however, use water as I find it doesn’t really wor and just gives you sticky fondant)
11. Gum Tragacanth  – a very fine powder which can be kneaded into fondant to thicken it and make it more stable and pliable to work with. 
12. Icing sugar or corn starch – the natural heat from your hands will make the fondant sticky, so having this on hand to dust your working surface and your hands will help make the whole task more manageable!
13. Fondant! Whether self-made or store-bought, it’s up to you

So have fun and HAPPY TRYING.

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE GANACHE AND FROST A CAKE WITH GANACHE

Every time when I passed a cake shop, I couldn't help myself looking at those beautiful cakes especially chocolate cake. I always tell myself that one of these days I will try to bake a perfect chocolate cake with a smooth ganache. I kept that dream. Though I have baked a few chocolate cakes but I still couldn't get the smooth finishing. Last night while I was browsing the net to look for some fondant techniques I found this article on chocolate ganache from - http://www.killerchocolate.com/articles/chocolate_ganache.php and a video showing the techniques of chocolate ganache. Wow..never that I realize that it was so helpful and I am really excited to try it in this coming Eid Mubarak...my target is is to get something close to Secret recipe Chocolate Cake....and I am going to try the techniques that I learned from this video. 

Here's  the excerption from killerchocolate.com

There are two ways of making the chocolate ganache. One involves melting the chocolate and then blending cream into it. The second technique involves heating the cream to a boil, removing it from the heat source and then blending in the chocolate. With this method, you need to make sure your chocolate has been grated or finely chopped so that the heat from the cream is ample to melt all of the chocolate.

If more chocolate than cream is used, the ganache will be quite thick and fudgy. This thick type of ganache is used to make truffles, which are then usually rolled in cocoa powder or powdered sugar.  If more cream than chocolate is used, the ganache will be on the thinner side. This type of thin ganache is often used to glaze cakes or tortes.  Experiment to find the perfect consistency for each of your desserts.

If a very shiny texture is desired on the ganache, sometimes a small amount of butter or vegetable oil is added to the mixture.

The best chocolate makes the best ganache, I believe that is rules No:1...Getting the best chocolate. Here's the video that I mentioned earlier, you can get more from youtube. As for me I got what I want...and just excited to experiment it. I hope this helps especially for novice baker like me.

Rasanya kalau sebab aje chocolate kek atau pun kalau ada aje kawan-kawan yang sudah test resipi chocolate yang baru..pasti saya akan menyusuli selepas itu, saya memang tidak mahu ketinggalan kerana anak-anak di rumah memang suka sangat dengan chocolate kek. Chocolate kek kalau sudah pasti kena dihiaskan baru menarik, tapi sayang bab-bab menhias chocolate kek ni saya selalu gagal...selalu tidak dapat menepati apa yang saya hajati, dan selalunya bila tenguk hiasan chocolate kek yang cantik dan lincin di kedai-kedai kek saya jadi tension. 

Semalam secara tidak sengaja saya terjumpa article tentang chocolate ganache..tentang teknik dan caranya...alamak excited habis...rasanya sudah tak sabar hendak mencubanya...tapi disebabkan kita tengah berpuasa maka kenalah tangguh sehingga penghjung puasa. Rupa-rupanya bermacam cara ada...hendak yang kilat...yang keras dan yang lincin semuanya menggunakan tekniknya tersendiri...ha dulu main radah aje sekarang sudah tahu alhamdulillah harap-harap chocolate cake saya yang akan datang akan ada peningkatanya. Paling penting bab-bab chocolate kek ini...kenalah cari chocolate yang baik...hasilnya memang berbeza antara chocolate yang baik mutunya dengan yang kurang...wow....dan untuk kawan-kawan yang seangkatan dengan saya...yang baru hendak bertatih saya sertakan di sini tips tentang chocolate ganache dan cara-cara menggunakan chocolate ganache dalam menghasilkan kek chocolate yang cantik. Harap ini dapat membantu dan anda boleh mendapatkan lebih banyak lagi kalau anda rajin melayari YouTube. Selamat Mencuba.