Cashew Nut Cookies

 

Ah! It's just two days before Chinese New Year and all I read about on Facebook are my friends doing all they can to prepare for the reunion dinner or getting their nails ready for visiting friends and relatives. I miss such New Year Spirit, as you can guess, it's kinda of scarce here in Sweden. So the only way to warm things up is by using the oven and baking one more Chinese New Year goodie, and this is one I find it a bit hard to stop eating. So double the recipe if you have a feeling you are going to be in the same predicament as me.


The recipe is doubled from the one I used from Small Small Baker which I made about 120 cookies, using the smallest Christmas cookie cutter I can find that still can fit half a piece of cashew nut comfortably. One thing that I think I will do it next time is to increase the amount of ground cashew nuts because I really like deep, nutty taste of cashew nuts in the cookies, but for now, this is a faithful following (only doubled) of her very good recipe.

Ingredients

220g butter
140g castor sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg
80g grounded cashew nuts

360g plain flour
40g cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder 

For the egg wash, separate one egg and prepare enough cashew nuts halves to place on top the cookies. I find it easy if you use a butter knife and apply a light pressure on the curve of the thickest part of the the nut.

Steps

1. Roast the whole cashew nuts in a dry pan over the stove until fragrant before grinding it in the food processor as fine as you can.  I used salted cashew nuts because it's quite hard to find the natural ones, but I think it works out well too.
   
   
   
   
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until well mixed. Add in the grounded nuts first, follow by the vanilla extract and egg. Add in the flours and baking powder until incorporated and coming together as a dough. 
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it to a pliable stage. If it's too soft, you can try putting it in the fridge for half an hour before rolling it out to be about 3/4 cm thickness.
   
   
   
4. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the desire shapes and place on the baking sheet, spacing them equally apart. Lightly beat the egg white so it's easier to brush lightly on each cookie, placing a cashew nut half on each cookie, then brushing it again with the beaten egg yolk to achieve a golden brown tinge after baking.
   
   
   
5. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool thoroughly before storing (or eating!).
   
   

Finska Pinnar / Finnish Fingers

Before you think otherwise, these Finnish Fingers are actually a traditional cookie my mother-in-law bakes every year for Christmas.  I've got a liking for buttery stuff since Christmas and thought this would be good as a Chinese New Year goodie too since it 1) is buttery and sweet 2) can keep well 3) can be offered to guests like other goodies during Chinese New Year 4) it's very easy to make! The recipe is catered for 50 fingers, but I only produced half the amount because I've cut it too thick. However, I think they will be equally good if you cut them into small, bite-size squares, that way, you can eat more without 'feeling guilty'.  This recipe is from a traditional Swedish baking books called 'Sju Sorters Kakor' - 7 types of cookies/cakes, but it contains much more recipes than that.

Ingredients (makes 50 fingers)

50g sweet almonds

5 pieces of bitter almonds

4.5dl plain flour

1 dl sugar

200g butter

1/2-1 egg white

Pearl Sugar/Nib Sugar

Chopped sweet almonds

Steps

1. Soaked the almonds in hot water for a minute, drain and peel off the skins (if you didn't buy those already peeled). There is a difference between sweet and bitter almonds, the latter being dangerous if consumed in large quantity.  The bitter almonds as shown in the picture on the right side of the blade is flatter and broader than the sweet ones.
   
   
   
2. In a food processor, mix the almonds, butter, sugar and flour until it comes together in a dough.
   
   
   
3. I placed the dough in a bag before flattening it until its about finger thickness before putting it in the chiller on a flat surface to cool for at least half and hour.
   
   
   
4. Remove the dough as one single piece and place it on your baking sheet. Brush the whole surface with lightly whipped egg white before decorating it with the nib sugar and more chopped sweet almonds.
   
   
   
5. Use a cutter and divide them up into thin fingers, bearing in mind they will expand slightly. My ones in this picture was too thick so that can serve as your gauge to 'slim' them down. Bake at 175°C for around 12 minutes or golden brown.  Let it cool before storing. They should hold up quite firmly like cookies.
   
   
   
   
   

Chinese New Year - Kueh Bahulu

My first post in 2012, and on Friday 13th :) I look at the date as more of one more week to Chinese New Year, which I'm going to miss all the goodies back home :( However, at least I have time to bake again after an intense period of reading and writing.

This was taken from Rasa Malaysia's site, I have modified it by adding a few drop of pandan paste to make it pandan-flavoured.  I have seen blogs that add chocolate chip and such too, so I think its really up to your imagination what you want to tweak with it. It's a good basic recipe too, but I did not have the traditional baking mould, so I used one that I bought from Paris. It's quite a good silicon tray that produce what looks like little muffins.  There's another name for this baked goodie from France which you can buy at the bakeries along the train stations, but I can't remember it so hopefully someone will recognize and tell me.

There are other Chinese New Year goodies I've made previously, so if you are interested, here are the links:

Pineapple Tarts
Bak Kwa
First day Chinese New Year Noodles

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons butter

2 drops of pandan paste

Steps

1. Beat the eggs until frothy with an electric beater.
2. Add the sugar and beat well until slightly pale yellow.  Add in the vanilla essence.
3. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the flour and gradually add it to the egg mixture while the mixer is still on, making sure to incorporate it.
4. Add in the the butter last. If you want two flavors, divide the batter into half and add the pandan paste to half the batter while keeping the other one original.
   
   
   
5. Bake at 190°C for 15 minutes or until browned. Cool and store in airtight container.