Chinese New Year 2014; Cookie Recipes

2014, the year of the Horse for the Chinese. Chinese New Year feels the same to me every year at home, which is not a bad thing. Receiving red packets is a norm during this festive season if you're not married. One of the perks of being young and single! Although I don't consider 20 a young age anymore.. My family and I don't often visit the maternal relatives because they're all in Kuala Lumpur and Pahang which are too far away for us. Traveling will be a hassle because of the massive traffic jam. So, I had reunion lunch with only my family ( as usual ), visited 7 different temples in a day and am looking forward to go to Singapore to pay my paternal relatives a visit and also family friends' and friend's New Year parties. Besides being the perfect time to strengthen the relationships between families and extended families, have a little drinking and gambling sessions, it's also the time where people are stuffed with irresistible mouthwatering, sweet cookies and biscuits! 

And sooo, this post will be about the recipes my two sisters used for their seriously tasty and finger-licking cookies! Cookies taste so much better if you bake them yourself. I love the warm aroma of freshly baked cookies linger in the air. Mmm. 

These are really easy and uncomplicated recipes, that even a clumsy amateur like me can follow. So why not give it a try? 

1. Peanut Butter Cookies 

Ingredients : 

250g Cake Flour / Self-rising Flour

180g Peanut Butter

73ml cooking oil

70g icing sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 egg yolk added with 1 teaspoon of water

Procedure:

1. Mix the peanut butter, oil, icing sugar and salt well.

2. Add in flour and mix evenly with your hand or a spatula. No mixer is needed!

3. Get creative with the dough and arrange them above a baking paper, on a baking tray.

4. Heat up the oven for 15 - 20 minutes at 160°c. 

5. Meanwhile, brush the egg yolk on the dough before placing the tray into the oven for 10 minutes. 

6. Switch the side of the tray and bake for another 10 minutes.

And you're done! Simple right?

2. Almond Cookies

Ingredients: 

A : 450g Cake Flour / Self-rising Flour, 180g icing sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 200g Almond powder and 1 teaspoon of baking soda.

200g of corn oil

Almond 

An egg

Procedure: 

1. Mix 'A' well with a spatula or your hand ( And again, no mixer is needed! ). 

2. Add the corn oil in while mixing it, slowly.

3. Mold the dough and place them above a baking paper, on a baking tray.

4. Heat up the oven for 10 minutes at 160°c.

5. Meanwhile, brush the egg yolk and place a pinch of almond bits on each molded dough.

6. Place the baking tray into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Done!

3. Almond and Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients: 

A: 120g brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 120g butter, 30g shortening and 1 tablespoon of fresh milk

B: 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence

C: 220g self-rising flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

D: 100g Almond bits and 200g chocolate chips

Procedure: 

1. Beat 'A' till fluffy in a mixing bowl. 

2. Add 'B' in and mix well with a mixer.

3. Sieve 'C' and add it into the mixing bowl.

4. Add 'D' in and mix it evenly.

5. Heat the oven at 170°c for 10 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, mold the dough and arrange it above a baking paper, on a baking tray.

7. Place the tray into the oven for 10 minutes. Switch to the other side and bake for another 10 minutes.

Ta-da.

Last but not the least,

4. Literally melt-in-mouth Pineapple Tarts

The recipe for the homemade pineapple paste was adapted from BakeforHappyKids . My sister did not add any water or cinnamon stick into the paste. But, it still tasted good! All you need are:

2 pineapples

400g sugar

As for the crust, the recipe was adapted from NasiLemakLover . All you need for the crust are :

350g butter

100g condensed milk

510g plain flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon of milk

Easy peasy.

Personally, I really love the first two recipes as they do not require a mixer! Clean and quick procedures too. There are many other recipes out there, but there's no harm trying out these recipes right? They might actually suit your taste. 

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!