cheer's to the new year
Want your home to smell like heaven? Make these. Stat. If you eat peanut butter by the spoonful, inhale the tub like a druggie, have trouble deciding to pick smooth or crunchy or fall into any of said categories, then these are the cookies for you. With added crushed peanuts, dark brown sugar and the best peanut butter, the result is a perfectly crunchy and melt-in-your-mouth cookie that may find you reaching into the cookie jar more than once. Pair with a glass of ice cold milk or stay classy with a cup of coffee or tea and you, my friend are set for a peanut butter filled teatime like no other. PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES Serves: a gazillion what you'll need: 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/2 cup caster sugar 1/2 cup peanut butter 100g butter, softened 1 egg 1/2 cup crushed peanuts 1. Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars till you reach a very whipped consistency and the batter is extremely light and fluffy. 2. Add egg and vanilla, whisk to combine 3. Add flour, baking powder and peanuts. Mix until fully combined. 4. Wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. 5. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C 6. Roll out cookies into whatever size you desire, leaving two inches between each one. 7. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. 8. Transfer to a cooling rack to allow to firm up before you devour them. *crunch crunch*
Hokkaido cakes. I'm sure that's not what they're called in Japan as they apparently have stemmed from the mind of a chef in Singapore/Malaysia (can't remember right now..). The concept was to emulate the many delicate breads and cakes that could be found in Hokkaido (if I'm not mistaken...). You may now conclude that I'd make a terrible history teacher. Continuing on with the series of bakes for mum, I remember how she used to buy these 'Hokkaido cakes' by the boxes when they made their appearance at a popular Japanese hall back home. I also remember continually trying to make them a few years back just to surprise her on special occasions but due to my lack of knowledge regarding how to handle egg whites and souffle-like things, you can imagine how they (didn't) turn out. Putting the past behind, I'm happy how these light little treats turned out. Soft and cottony but still firm enough for cream to be piped into each of them. Another wonderful thing is that the ingredients needed are all pantry staples so really, you could be churning these out for days! HOKKAIDO CAKES Serves: 9 What you'll need: Cake: 3 eggs 45g sugar (separated into 20g & 25g) 35ml vegetable oil 60ml whole milk 70g cake flour (low protein) Filling: 4 Tbsp thickened/double cream 1 tsp vanilla extract 1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees C. 2.Separate the eggs into two bowls. Try not to use a plastic bowl to hold the egg whites. Instead, stick to metal, ceramic or glass as plastic tends to hold oils from any previous bakes. 3. Begin with the egg yolks. Add the 20g of sugar and whip until pale and frothy. Then, add in the oil and milk and whisk to combine. Set aside. 4. With the egg whites, begin whipping them until they begin to froth. At this point, you can pause the whisking to add the sugar but I advise to try to continue whisking whilst adding the sugar in a gradual stream. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. 5. Incorporate the egg whites in 1/4 intervals so as not to knock out too much air. Fold until just incorporated. Flecks of egg whites still visible through the batter are fine. 6. Portion out into a muffin pan or paper cases like I used. 7. Bake for 10-15 minutes. 8. Don't take them out immediately when time is up. Treat them like you would a souffle. Just turn the oven off and leave the door ajar for about 5 minutes so that the cakes can adjust to the change in temperament. 9. To make the filling, simply whip the cream until it becomes light and begins to thicken. Once you've reached a consistency thick enough, add the vanilla and whip for another minute.* 10. Using a piping bag, proceed to fill the cooled cakes with cream. *If you like sweetened cream, simply add 1 or 1/2 a tbsp of honey or granulated sugar to your cream. Here's to a great week ahead,
|
categories:
All
inspiration:
Top With Cinnamon
Smitten Kitchen Mummy, I Can Cook! Always With Butter 729 Layers Sea Salt With Food The Vanilla Bean Blog Joy The Baker Slim Palate Lady & Pups I am a food blog |