Wednesday, March 17, 2010

No Fail Cut-Out cookies

This is the best and easiest recipe that I have done so far for cut-out cookies. I am not sure is it also because experience counts, hee. Cos it is so easy and effortless, at least in my opinion. The taste wise, it is quite good too, considering the usual cut-out cookies that doesn't crumble easily will usually be hard like stone. This still has a crunchy texture and good for icing decorations. Do note that the cookies do puff up a little bit.

I forget to credit the recipe creater, its taken off from Cookie Madness. I reduced the sugar amount.

It's a keeper for me.

380g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
230g butter, room temperature
170g sugar
1/2tsp salt (omit salt if you are using salted butter)
1tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

1. Combined flour and baking powder together.
2. Beat butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy
3. Add in salt and vanilla. Follow by egg, beat till just combined.
4. Add in the flour gradually and stir until incorporated, dought is formed.
5. This is what I would usually do. Scoop the dough onto parchment paper, cover with another layer of parchment paper on top. Use a rolling pin to roll to 1cm thickness, with the dough in between the parchment paper.Then put in fridge for about 1/2 hour.
(you can separate into 2-3 batches, so when you are cutting out the dough, it will not turn soft so fast.)
6. Remove from fridge, take out the top layer of parchment and cut out desired shapes.
7. Lay the cut-out dough on baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in preheat oven 180 degree, for 10 mins or till the sides are turning golden brown.
8. Remove from oven, leave it in the tray for 5-10mins before transfering to rack to cool completely.

Lavendar Tea Cake

Been busy with baking orders this couple of weeks.

Baked this quite some time ago. Sharing with you the recipe here. It is nice when it is fresh from the oven but gotten a little dry after half a day. It could be that original recipe calls for drizzling of sugar syrup but I didn't. I adpated the recipe from the book Okashi - Earl grey tea cake. Mine is lavendar tea cake

150g hong kong flour
1/8tsp baking powder
150g butter, room temperature
130g icing sugar
15g glucose
3 eggs
1tsp lavendar flower, grinded
1tbsp milk

Sugar syrup for drizzling
100g water + 50g sugar (Warm it till sugar totally dissolves)

Makes 24 mini cakes

1. Preheat oven to 170 degree.
2. Sift flour and baking powder twice.
3. Beat butter, icing sugar and glucose together till light and fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs one at a time till well mixed, follow by the lavendar flower and milk. Fold in well.
5. Add the flour mixture and fold in well. The batter should be glossy and smooth.
6. Scoop batter into the cupcakes liner till about 3/4 gull and bake for about 15 mins.
7. When it cools, use a toothpick and poke a few holes, drizzle 1tsp of sugar syrup over to keep it moist or you may just chose to brush over the cakes.