Showing posts with label Cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cookies. Show all posts

X for XIAODIANXIN – Chinese Almond Cookies – Day 24


This was one tough letter. There are only a few dishes that begin with the letter X and even fewer that are baked and native to a particular country. I had only two choices - Xiaodianxin which means Cookie in Chinese or any X-mas Cake. I chose to do the cookie and made Chinese Almond Cookies.

X for XIAODIANXIN – CHINA


Chinese Almond cookies are eaten during the Lunar New Year. They are shaped liked coins and symbolize good luck, hence people make or buy these coin-shaped cookies. Made with almond meal/flour these are crumbly rich cookies.

I made my own Almond flour with blanched almonds. I weighed the quantity of blanched almonds needed and then pulsed it with the quantity of sugar in the recipe. If you pulse almonds without the sugar it will turn to butter! So always pulse it with sugar/powdered sugar. You can use Almond meal too which is made with raw almonds and the meal is coarse with specks of brown in it.

The original recipe has egg yolk in it, I decided to leave it out and make these eggless instead. I stuck to the recipe with no other changes and these turned out absolutely melt-in-the-mouth.




You will need:
Makes: 24-26 cookies (half recipe as stated below)
Recipe adapted from here

60 gms blanched almonds (to make the almond flour)
90 gms All-purpose flour
60 gms Granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Baking soda
75 ml Vegetable oil
Unsalted almonds (to top the cookies)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low. Add the vegetable oil and continue to beat on low until the mixture forms a dough. If the mixture looks crumbly, add a teaspoon of oil at a time until it comes together.




Pinch small pieces of dough and roll into a bowl. Press an almond in the center of the ball, place this on the lined baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough. Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes. 


Cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet and then transfer to a rack carefully and cool completely. Store in air-tight container for up to a week.

BAKES FROM AROUND THE WORLD: 

A for ANZAC BISCUITS - AUSTRALIA
W for WHOLE WHEAT HERB BREAD - ITALY



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V for Viennese Fingers - Day 22


This week seems to be flying much faster than all the other weeks! We are onto Letter V of the mega blogging marathon. Excited about baking for the last few letters of  the alphabet :)


V for VIENNESE FINGERS -AUSTRIA 


These light, buttery crisp cookies dipped in chocolate are native to Vienna. They are typically piped into whirls, baked and then sandwiched with vanilla icing. The recipe for the whirls and the fingers is the same. Some recipes call for egg yolks but I chose to make these eggless. I initially thought of doing the Viennese Whirls but they would be similar to the Lemon Sandwich Cookies so I made these Fingers instead. 


These cookies are different from Vienna Fingers which strangely have no connection to Vienna and have been manufactured by the U.S. Company Keebler, a division of Kellogg's. 

You will need: 
Makes: 24 2-inch long cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
115 gms All-purpose flour
25 gms Powdered sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract 

40gms dark chocolate 
Chopped nuts/ sprinkles (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Then add in the flour and beat until combined. Transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large Rose tip - Wilton 

Pipe mixture onto the lined sheets in a tight wave. Space them about an inch or two apart. The cookies will spread while baking. 


Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Bake one sheet at a time. 

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. 


Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave in 20-second bursts until smooth and shiny. Dip one end of cookie in the chocolate and set on a parchment lined sheet and allow to harden. If you choose to use nuts or sprinkles, add them while the chocolate is still wet. I used white nonpareils. 

Store cookies in an air tight container. 
BAKES FROM AROUND THE WORLD: 

A for ANZAC BISCUITS - AUSTRALIA




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N for Nankhatai | Indian Butter cookies – Day 14


Nankhatais are buttery cookies that simply melt in the mouth. Though I had a lot of choices for the Letter N, I picked this simple delight since I haven’t made these before. After making the delicate Macs, the Nankhatais were a breeze to make!

N for NANKHATAIS - INDIA


 The word Nankhatai is derived from Persian word Naan meaning bread and Afghan word Khatai meaning Biscuit. In Afghanistan and Northeast Iran, these biscuits are called Kulcha-e-Khataye. Kulcha is a type of bread similar to Naan.


History: (Source-Wikipedia)

Nankhatai is believed to have originated in Surat, Gujarat in the 16th century,the time when Dutch and Indians were the important spice traders. A Dutch couple set up a bakery in Surat to meet the needs of local Dutch residents. When the Dutch left India, they handed over the bakery to an Iranian.The bakery biscuits were disliked by the locals.[To save his business he started selling dried bread at low prices. It became so popular that he started drying the bread before selling it. With time, his experimentation with bread ultimately gave birth to the Nankhatai.

Though these biscuits were brought into India by the Dutch, they are very popular and widely known across the country.




You will need:
Recipe adapted from here
Makes: 30 cookies

1¼ cup All-purpose flour
¼ cup Semolina (Sooji)
¾ cup Unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup plus 1 tbsp Granulated sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
½ tsp Cardamom (to sprinkle on top)
2 tsp Unsalted shelled pistachios, finely chopped

Cream butter until smooth, for about 20 seconds. Add the vanilla extract, flour, semolina and sugar. Beat for a minute until it forms a dough. Divide into two and pat into discs or logs. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

If you made logs, you can slice these cookies gently and place on the baking sheet. If you made a disc, you can roll out the dough into ¼ inch thickness and use a round cookie cutter to cut into circles.

Place the cookies on prepared baking sheet and chill for 20 minutes.

Using a sharp knife make a small criss cross on the top. Sprinkle a pinch of cardamom powder on the cross. Bake for 11-13 minutes. The cookies will still be soft when done, the edges will be golden brown. Carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack using a spatula.
Press a pinch of chopped pistachios on the cross while the cookies are still hot. Cookies will harden once cooled completely.





Enjoy these scrumptious melt-in-the-mouth Nankhatais!








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