Chocolate chip cookies

These cookies are quite delicious the exterior is crunchy but the inside is a bit soft. They are suitable for young children.

I think using the Ghiradelli chocolate chips helped as they are large and slightly melted after baking.

I referred to Hershey's recipe and this is how I did it with a bit of adjustments 

https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/en-us/recipes/other/5368/hersheys-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies

Ingredients 

125gm unsalted butter (Emborg brand)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 caster sugar

Vanilla extract

2 eggs - use 90gms

2 & 1/4 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup Hershey's cocoa powder

1 cup Ghiradelli chocolate chips

Method 

Beat 125 gm unsalted slightly softened Emborg butter with 3/4 cup caster sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar with some vanilla extract

Then add 90g beaten egg divided into 2 portions and beat well

Sift 2 and 1/4 cup of plain flour with 1 tsp baking soda n 1/2 tsp salt n 1 cup Hershey cocoa powder

Divide the flour by 3 portions and beat in 

It will get harder by 3rd portion 

Add in 1 cup of the chocolate chips n stir in using spatula

Line your trays

Drop heaped teaspoonful onto tray

Bake at 180 c for 10 mins

Cool on wire rack. The cookies will harden upon cooling.

Before baking

After baking

See the melted chocolate chip?

Enjoy these with your hot coffee or tea :)

Chocolate Cookies

Crunchy chocolate cookies... Looks good right?

I even made 2 cookies and piped my children's names for them. They have eaten them up once the chocolate set.

I bought this recipe book from Popular bookshop yesterday and it contains 365 recipes by renowned chefs in the region. 

The cookies I just did is from a recipe inside the book by Patsie Cheong. Her cookies are covered fully with melted chocolate whereas I did mine differently.

This is how they look like.

Recipe

Ingredients A

125gm unsalted butter I used SCS

100 gm icing sugar

1 egg yolk

Ingredients B sifted

200 gm plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cocoa powder - I used Hershey's

Ingredient C

100 gm cooking chocolate double boil till melted 

Decorations - can be m & ms, sugar grains, coloured sprinkles etc

Method

1. Put ingredients A into a mixing bowl n beat till creamy. Then add in the B mix n use a spatula to slowly stir into a dough.

2. Weigh it. I weighed my dough n is 440 gm. I divided it into 20 gm portions.

You can divide into smaller portions if you want yours to look like the original.

3. Line baking trays with baking paper or grease.

4. Form sticks with dough n place spaced apart on the tray as they will expand slightly.

5. Preheat oven to 180 deg celcius and bake for15 minutes.

6. I also made heart shape cookies with a cookie cutter.

7. Let the cookies cool before piping with melted chocolate. Use a piping bag.

8. Decorate as desired . I popped the tray into the fridge to let the chocolate harden. 

9. Take note for the chocolate to harden completely, you need I think at least 1-2 hours chilling.

To store the cookies I lined the box n layered with baking paper between the cookies. 

Ingredients used

The dough - easy to hold but when you press into shape do it on baking paper 

Each dough 20 gm

Stick shapes

Heart shapes

After baking 

I used Van Houten baking chocolate

Weigh 100 gm

Melted chocolate in piping bag and m & ms

Heart shape cookies 

Stick cookies

Enjoy them with your tea or milk. Happy baking!

Double chocolate chip and mint cookies

L

These cookies are so delicious and so chocolatety that you can't stop at one only!

I used the recipe from this link http://adamsfarms.com/blog/recipes/sue-adams-makes-double-chocolate-chip-mint-cookies/

I added an additional 1/3 cup of flour to the dough mixture. Mades loads of cookies.

I brought them to share with my office friends n they really enjoyed them. What a wonderful recipe.

Ingredients used - not in picture vanilla essence

Dried peppermint leaves  8 teaspoon almost the whole packet used

Recipe 

1 cup SCS salted butter about 200gm softened 

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup if caster sugar 

2 eggs at room temp

8 tsp of dried peppermint leaves

2 cups flour (1/3 more than original recipe)

1/3 cup Hershey's cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda 

250g Hershey's semi sweet choc chips

1 cup toasted walnuts chopped

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Use a large bowl n cream the butter, n both sugars using a wooden spoon. 

Beat in the eggs.

Add in the vanilla n mix well.

In another bowl mix the flour, baking soda n cocoa powder.

Mix the dry mixture into the creamed mixture.

Stir in the peppermint leaves, walnut n chocolate chips

Keep in fridge to chill at least 30 mins.

Prepare lined trays.

Heat oven to 180 deg celcius.

Drop teaspoonful onto trays n spaced apart. 

Bake for about 9 minutes . 

Slide paper off tray. 

Then after a minute , slide cookies into cooling racks. 

Cookies are soft after baking n difficult to hold immediately. 

I also kept my dough in fridge between baking.

Recipe yields more than 60 pcs.

Before baking 

After baking 

They really taste good !!

Happy baking!

Butter Cookies

 

These Butter Cookies are really quite tasty n I especially like it because this is my first "rounded" cookies.

This recipe is from Lurpak butter. 

I used unsalted butter n added 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 

 

I also used maple glazed crushed cashew nuts n baking chocolate.

The dough n cashew nuts n baking chocolate used

It was a challenge to use my new oven for this new recipe.

Finally made the best batch at 160 deg cel using convection mode n upper tray for 17 mins.

I attempted again using bake mode upper tray fan mode on 150 deg cel for 19 mins.

I also added a glaze using only beaten egg white to give it a golden shine.

Top n bottom of cookies nicely browned

Recipe in the following photo

Roasted cashew nuts n Hershey semi sweet chocolate 

All mixed in

Unglazed version  of cookies

I found it difficult to cut into slices so I shaped into balls instead

Do try them out today. Happy baking

In addition I also tried heart shaped cookies

These are my latest cookies 

Recipe 

Ingredients 

350gm plain flour

125 gm icing sugar

Unsalted butter (slightly soften)1 block cut into cubes -today I used SCS butter

1 egg

About 3/4 tsp salt 

1 beaten egg for glaze

I sifted the flour, icing sugar n salt together

Added in the egg

Added in the slightly softened cubed butter

Knead into a dough by hand

Place the bowl into the fridge about 40 mins

Prepare your baking trays lined with grease proof baking paper 

Use a teaspoon to scoop n form into round

Press slightly on tray

Apply egg wash

You can decorate with toppings such as chocolate chip, almond nibs n whole almonds

Bake at preheated oven 150 degree celcius for about 19 mins at upper tray.

Please take note my temperature is much different from original temp given in recipe.

Please explore and adjust 

You can also just use egg white as glaze as in my first few batches

Happy baking :)

Banana Chocolate Muffins

I used this recipe from Joy of Baking

http://m.joyofbaking.com/cupcakes/BananaChocolateCupcakes.html

They are really moist n soft n full of chocolate taste!

I also added some sliced almonds at about 12 mins time to the muffins. Look at the nicely toasted almonds.

Do try this out!

Ingredients used

Soft n moist n rich chocolate taste


Recipe
Step 1
Dry ingredients
1 cup - 200 gm caster sugar
1 cup - 130 gm plain flour
1/3 cup - 35 gm unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all these in a large bowl - just use a hand whisk.

Step 2
Wet ingredients
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana about 1 medium sized banana
1/2 cup - 120 ml warm water
1/4 cup room temp milk - 60 ml
1/4 cup canola, corn or veg oil - 60 ml
3/4 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract

Mash the really ripe banana with a fork in a bowl.
Add the egg and beat with a whisk.
Add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk.

Step 3
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
Stir together with a spatula.

Step 4
Line the 12 hole muffin trays and put in the batter evenly.
Bake at 180 deg celcius for about 20 mins. I used a total of 22 mins.

I also added the blanch almond slices at 12 mins baking time to the muffins.

Decadent Couverture Chocolate Mini Snowskin Mooncakes with Chocolate Lotus Paste Filling

Getting adventurous, I searched the net for interesting snowskin mooncake recipes and came across this recipe.  It was originally from Phoon Huat - a baking needs supplier and baking class provider.

 

After you made them, you will need to chill them in the fridge before serving. You should enjoy them with a cup of Chinese tea.

 

 

Ingredients for the snowskin

130ml water

70gm brown sugar

40g bitter Couverture chocolate (I used Bakeway chocolate couverture strong bitter droplets 73.5% cocoa)

10gm cocoa powder

10gm chocolate emulco.

20gm Crisco shortening

60gm Kou Fien (Red Man brand glutinous rice - it is in a powder form)

 

Method

 

1. Warm the water in a saucepan and dissolve the sugar in it.
2. Add the melted chocolate, cocoa powder and emulco. Stir well to ensure there are no lumps of cocoa powder.  Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Rub shortening with kou fien first. (I did this by mixing inside a plastic sandwich bag)
4. Mix well ( I used spoon and also my hands) and then rest the dough for about 20 mins.

Pot with melted brown sugar, melted couverture chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate emulco

 

Yes it looks very messy. You need to wash your hands often.

 

After 20 minutes, weight the mixture into 21gm or 22 gm and make into balls and set aside onto a plate. You should be able to make 13 or 14 pcs.

 

 

Fillings Ingredients

 

300gm white lotus paste

60gm bitter Couverture chocolate melted

1/2 tsp chocolate Emulco

Optional 50gm roasted melon seeds or pine nuts

 

Method

Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl - I used my hands.

 

Weigh this into 18gm portions and roll into a bowl and set aside on a large plate. I made 21 pcs. 

You will have balance paste for other snowskin.

 

 

How to assemble

 

1. Take a piece of the skin dough and flatten it on a flat surface like a tabletop. You can line with plastic to lessen cleaning up.
2. Place a piece of filling on the dough and enclose it with the skin.
3. Roll the ball with some kou fien.
4. Put the ball into a small mooncake mould and press.
5. Keep inside an airtight container and chill in the fridge before serving.

 

Place them inside a mooncake box that can be bought from the baking needs store and give to your loved ones. What better gift for the Mid Autumn Festival than a gift of handmade mooncakes?

 

Enjoy making them!