Best Pineapple Tarts

After my first attempt on pineapple tarts, I stumbled into Anne's blogpost on her pineapple tarts which referred me to Wendy's blog on her "Best Melt-In-Your-Mouth" Pineapple Tarts. With her very detailed 'documentation', pictures, instructions and the rave reviews, I've decided to give pineapple tarts another try. Of course, hubby thought that I must be out of my mind. We've already 3 types of pineapple tarts!

The 3 pineapple tarts we have: (from left) made by mum, bought by mum-in-law& my first attempt.

Nevertheless,  I went on to buy another 2 big pineapples!

And made more pineapple jam... I actually halved the amount of sugar as we didn't like the pineapple jam too sweet. I just hope that the mould will stay away until we've finish eating the tarts.  According to Wendy, the sugar also acts as a preservative. I've also used cinnamon powder instead of a cinnamon stick.

Next, I made the dough and followed her recipe closely. The dough was really soft as compared to the dough from my first attempt. The additional ingredients of cream and creamed cheese made the dough really soft. I wonder how this is going to wrap up the pineapple jam. I let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 mins.

While I rolled the cooled pineapple jam into balls....

 This time, I doubled the amount of dough used. Double the amount of dough as compared to the pineapple jam.

Hubby took a bite and proclaimed that this is the best pineapple tarts he had eaten- better than the ones bought by his mum and better than the ones baked by my mum!  All of hard work paid off :) He said I can sell them. But I told him it's not worth the effort. I've spent about 6 hours just to make 3 bottles of pineapple tarts. Well, you can say it's much easier to buy. But well, I had fun and I don't think I can buy a bottle of pineapple tarts outside that's this good. :P 

Look at all the fibre in the pineapple jam. I've grated the pineapple by hand. 

Mum-in-law said this is real pineapple :P

(Is there fake pineapple?)

A bottle of pineapple tarts ready for CNY. 

Just hope it'll still be around till then :)

Pineapple Tarts

Mum gave me a bottle of her homemade pineapple tarts, like she always do every year before Chinese New Year...

When we had dinner last Saturday, My mum-in-law also gave me another homemade bottle that she bought.

So now I have 2 large bottles of pineapple tarts that Jerome & I won't be able to finish on our own... not to mention all the other goodies that I've baked and mum has baked!

But being a little crazy & 'passionate' about making my own CNY goodies, I went to buy two pineapples, determined to make my very own pineapple jam so that I can make some pineapple tarts too!  The skin of the pineapple were already cut when I bought them from the supermarket. I just had to cut out the eyes...

And gated them by hand into this pulpy looking mess... As this was my first attempt, I didn't know how this should look like but it's surely too much juice. Keeping my fingers crossed that my pineapple jam will finally appear...

Half an hour later, Hubby looked at my pineapple 'porridge', shook his head and said, "Are you sure this is pineapple jam? I don't think it's going to make it." I'm also starting to doubt it...

 Finally, 2 hours later, my pineapple jam happened!

After cooling it, I rolled the jam into balls using a teaspoon to measure the amount.

 Cloves standing by...

Pineapple tarts before baking...

Baked pineapple tarts. Looked kinda pale as I've added too much water to the egg yolk for the egg wash.

So here it is, my first attempt at pineapple tarts, from scratch! 

As I've used an equal amount of dough to pineapple jam, the crust was quite thin...

 Honestly, I'll have to say the pineapple tarts made by my mum and those bought by my mum-in-law are better than mine, Hey, but this is my first attempt! So I think I've done well :) (Give myself a pat on the shoulders.)

Not going to post the recipe here cos I've found another one much better than this which I'll write about in my next post :)

Stained Glass Cookies

This is a continuation from my pervious post on rabbit butter cookies...

After making a few batches of rabbit cookies, I decided to make some stained glass cookies.

Empty hearts?

Chopped up Fox candy

Fill up the 'emptiness' with something sweet...

Send cookies back to the oven and melt candy at low heat...

Colourful candy-centred heart-shaped butter cookies...

Stained Glass Cookie...

Stained Glass Cookies

Rabbit Butter Cookies

It's been over a year and I'm still looking for the perfect butter cookie and found a new recipe on All Recipes. I want to use my "Rabbit" cookie cutter to make some rabbit butter cookies to welcome the year of the rabbit.

The recipe was meant more for using the cookie press hence the dough turned out to be really soft. When I first tried to roll out the dough and cut out my rabbits, I had an impossible time transferring the cut out dough to the baking tray. The ears of the rabbit couldn't make it and broke off.  So I had to make small balls of dough and flatten each one directly on the baking tray and cut out each dough individually directly on the baking tray. This is a really time consuming process.

Rabbit-shaped butter cookies to welcome the year of the rabbit :)

Although they looked okay, they're still not up to my expectation for the perfect butter cookie. Find that it's kinda hard. Maybe there was something I didn't do right. According to the reviews, the cookies are supposed to be very good! Anyone know what went wrong? I want butter cookies that taste like Danish butter cookies. If you have a good recipe, please share...

Almond Cookies

Just baked my first batch of cookies for 2011! It's also my first attempt at Almond Cookies for the Chinese New Year. Within an hour of posting the pictures on my Facebook, I've got 3 requests- the first asked if I was taking orders, the second asked for the price and the third ordered 2 bottles directly :P I'm flattered :)

But I've only made 3 bottles for own and family consumption only. :)

Crunchy Almond Cookies with loads of almond flakes!

A bottle of almond cookies ready for Chinese New Year!

Yes! I finally did it! :)

Recipe is from Yochana's blog on white almond cookies.

I find the cookies a bit too sweet. So the next time I bake them, I'm going to reduce the amount of icing sugar used. 

Recipe for White Almond Cookies (Adapted from Yochana's) 

(makes about 80 cookies) 

Ingredients:

170g shortening

80m icing sugar

1/4 tsp salt

200g flour

80g cornflour

100g toasted almond flakes

a little corn oil if dough is too dry

Method:

1) Cream shortening with icing sugar till creamy.

2) Add in plain flour, cornflour, then the roasted almond flakes. 

3) Add in additional corn flour if dough is too dry. 

4) Once dough is easy to handle, chill in fridge for 30 mins.

5) Roll into 1cm thick and use round cutter to cut into rounds.

6) Transfer cookies to baking tray and bake at 180 d.c. for 25 mins. 

7) Cool cookies on cooling rack before storing in an air-tight container. 

Going to attempt pineapple tarts next! 

Preparing for Goh Family Gathering For Tea

Last Sunday, we had the Goh family gathering at our place. This was really a rare occasion when all the family members gathered. The last time was during our wedding 4 years ago. Jerome's younger brother and family returned for a 3 weeks visit from Perth, Australia. He is a lecturer at Curtin University. Jerome's elder sister ,who is an A/Professor at Ohio State University,  returned from Ohio, USA for a month visit.

The family gathering consisted of 9 adults and 5 children. Jerome felt that it would be difficult to manage a proper meal (lunch or dinner) for such a big group. So far the largest I've managed was a dinner for 8 adults during Mother's Day and another dinner for 6 adults and 2 children for my Father-In-Law's birthday.  Our dining table just can't accommodate so many people at one seating. Hence, Jerome decided that we would just have a gathering for tea. He wanted to tabao some curry puffs and other stuff from Old Chang Kee. He didn't want too much trouble and wanted to keep things easy.

But his wife was grabbing this opportunity to try some new recipes... and to do more baking... :P

On Friday afternoon, it was my most productive day.
 I made some choux pastry and baked some puffs and eclairs shells.

Puffs Shells

Eclairs Shells

After that, I baked a jar of double chocolate chips cookies. 

A jar of double chocolate chips cookies

After dinner, I went on to bake some cinnamon buns. 

This is a tested recipe and I know that the children love them.

Soft Cinnamon Rolls hot from the oven...

We spent almost the entire day out on Saturday and returned home only after dinner. I only had time to bake a sponge cake. And I had no idea on how to decorate the cake yet. I had forgotten to buy strawberries and that was the easiest way to decorate any cake...

Sunday morning, I woke up at 7.30am and it seemed mission impossible to get everything ready for tea at 3p.m. At this point in time, only the cinnamon rolls are ready to be served after some heating in the oven. 

First I whipped up some fresh cream and made some vanilla cream and filled up the eclairs. Then I melted some chocolate and covered the top. Item #2, the vanilla cream and chocolate eclairs, on the menu done!

Vanilla Cream & Chocolate Eclairs

And since I had some vanilla cream left over, I decided to use it  on the sponge cake. And in between working on the durian puffs, the logan and lychee fruit cake was born. 

Logan & Lychee Fruit Cake

And shortly after, the durian puffs were also ready.

Durian Cream Puffs

It was 10am and I had the following ready:

1) Cinnamon Rolls

2) Logan & Lychee Fruit Cake

3) Durian Puffs

4) Vanilla Cream & Chocolate Eclairs

5) Chocolate Chips Cookies

And I still had the most important thing that I needed to do... my first attempt at puff pastry for Portuguese Egg Tarts! While I was busy folding my puff pastry, Jerome was involved in a minor accident where he 'smashed' his own feet with the bench while vacuuming the floor. There was a huge swell on his foot and I almost wanted to call for an ambulance. I finally felt the importance of having a license to drive. After 2 ice packs and the swelling has gone down a bit, I finally completed my Portuguese Egg Tarts!

Portugese Egg Tart 

with Flaky Puff Pastry Skin and Caramelized Egg Custard

Everything was new except the cinnamon rolls which were tried and tested...

Anyway, I was ready to serve tea :)

My Oven

This is my humble oven that I use for baking cookies and cakes :)

Jerome bought it a couple of years back. The in-built oven in the condo kitchen was spoilt as I didn't use it often enough. The repair guy came and said that we need to change the heating element in the oven and that cost a few hundred dollars. Of course we didn't change it as I didn't use the oven often then. But I've always thought that an oven is an essential piece of equipment in the kitchen. Well, at least for me. On the other hand, I don't have a microwave at home. Had wanted to get a smaller oven, but Jerome kept saying no as I don't really use it.

Then on my birthday, when I returned home from work, Jerome said he got me a big present and led me to the guest room. There on the bed was a huge box covered by the blanket. There was a 'birthday card' right on top. It was an A4 piece of white paper with "Happy... Birthday, Babe!" written with a black marker. He was grinning and wanted me to guess what he got for me...

I looked at him, smiled and said without hesitation, "An oven." 

He said I know him so well...

I thanked him for getting me a present that I wanted...

I like my oven. It has served me well. It's still in very good condition. 

I like it... but not really as a birthday present... 

Ermm.... it's like the rice cooker is spoilt, your husband bought a new one and said it's your birthday present...

I've been telling him that I like a Cuisinart Kitchen mixer. 

Now I doubt he's gonna get me one for my next birthday. 

Life's not perfect, but it's still good...

Sheryl's Not So Famous Chocolate Chips Cookies On Sale Again...

Spent 2 days baking cookies for my colleagues in school.  Many are asking me to take orders for them. So they are once again available for sale! :)  Well, I'm definitely not going to turn into a millionaire by selling a few jars of cookies. But at least they keep me occupied :) And it does give me a sense of satisfaction when the cookies are enjoyed by others...

Here's what people said about the cookies...
"I can't stop eating them..."
" They're really addictive..."
"They're sinfully delicious..."
"I've never tasted cookies quite like this..."
"They're better than F...... A..."
"What's your secret ingredient?"
" I think about them even during this 'merlioning' period..." (from a pregnant fren who has serious morning sickness)
" You can sell them..." (which I'm trying to do now :P)
"I hope 3 large jars will last me for a week..." (Really makes me wonder how this slim & petite lady keeps her figure... if she can finish 3 large jars on her own... & in a week??? I'm jealous!)

A plate of Crispy Double Chocolate Chips Cookies...

Freshly home-baked with lots of love and chocolate chips...

Enjoy the cookies & have a great day! :)

Customised gifts tags can be made for occasions.

Kept in air tight Bormioli Rocco glass jars...
Cookies stay crispy and fresh for over a month...
But I'm sure you can finish eating them in a week :P

Currently available in 4 sizes...

Dozen pack                    12 pieces               $3

Small (500ml) Jar           about 30 pieces     $9 

Medium (1000ml) Jar     about 60 pieces     $15

Large (1500ml) Jar         about 90 pieces     $20

To sweeten the deal, I'm going to give away a dozen pack for every large jar order. :)

Great as a gift to brighten up someone's day...

Using the freshest ingredients...

Freshly baked 1 day before delivery...

For enquiries, please email to cookiss007@gmail.com. 

Cookies are baked to orders so that they are freshly baked and you'll get to enjoy them fresh :)

A friend wrote about the cookies in her blog and I've got a few more orders thanks to her :) 
See what she said here....


100 jars of cookies baked and counting...

Double Chocolate Chips Cookies

Baked some double chocolate chips cookies yesterday afternoon...

Yap, these are "Not so Famous Sheryl's Chocolate Chips Cookies"...

Have received some orders to bake more of them. Great for keeping me occupied at home :P

Hope these cookies bring some cheer to those who eat them :)

Chocolate MatchSticks

Found a recipe for chocolate fingers from "Chocolate Galore" by Caroline Barty which I borrowed from the NLB. What started out as chocolate fingers ended up being chocolate matchsticks...

Crisp, buttery Viennese fingers dipped in milk chocolate

Recipe for Chocolate Fingers

Ingredients:

120g butter, slightly softened

40g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla essence

120g plain flour

80g chocolate, broken into pieces

Method:

1) Cream butter, sugar & vanilla essence till light & fluffy.

2) Fold in the flour till you achieve a smooth dough.

3) Fill the dough into a piping bag with a 2cm fluted nozzle. Pipe out 7.5cm long fingers onto a non-stick baking sheet. Leave gap to allow for expansion.

4) Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheat oven of 180 degrees celcius.

5) Leave them on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

6) Melt chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Dip the ends of the biscuits into the melted chocolate & place on non-stick perchment until hard.

Butter Cookie III using Cookie Press

Butter Cookies In a Bottle

Borrowed " Betty Crocker Baking for Today" from the NLB 2 weeks back & found this "Classic Painbrush Cookies" recipe. With a note that says "...powdered sugar, giving the cookie a light, airy texture & yummy butter cookie flavour.", how could I resist trying out this recipe?

I did some adjustments to the recipe & the dough was not firm enough to be rolled out for me to use my cookie cutters. So I quickly change plans & took out my cookie press. I've bought it quite some time back & now finally got a chance to play with it :) The original recipe states that baking time is 7-8mins but I had to extend it, think my oven is 'cool'.

Taste wise, my hubby whose not much of a cookie eater, gobbled up 6 pieces at one go after I almost have to beg him to try the 1st piece. He only managed to mumble "Mmm... Nice..." So I guess, this recipe works.


Baked Butter Cookies (using cookie press)

Anyway, this is the adapted recipe that worked for me.

Adapted Recipe to Butter Cookie
(makes about 80 cookies)

Ingredients:
(A)
225 g butter, softened
100g icing sugar
50g caster sugar
(B)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
(C) Sift
320g top flour/all-purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Method:
1) Cream (A) till creamy & colour lightens.
2) Add in (B) & cream well.
3) Fold in (C), half at a time.
4) Cover the dough & place in the refrigerator for 2-3hrs.
5) Use cookie press & press out cookies on greased baking sheet. Leave space for expansion.
Alternatively, you can roll the dough into small balls and flatten them down using a fork.
5) Bake in preheat oven @180 degrees for 15 minutes or till the cookies have turned slightly brown.
6) Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a while before cooling them on a cooling rack.
7) Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container to keep the cookies crispy.

Still looking for a butter cookie recipe so that I can play with my cookie cutters :)