Hi, welcome back to work after a long break of Chinese New Year! To start this new season with something cheesy, isn't it great?
Cheese Cookies anyone? Cheese is kids all time favourite, perhaps adults too. We would fall in love with those pastry, bread, cookies, pizza or any items that uses cheese as one of the ingredients. Isn't it awesome? I had even added cheese in my traditional steamed egg cake that makes the steamed cake so savoury and tantalizing. Cheese is high in Calcium, but it is also fattening. Hence, we need to use it sparingly in our cooking and baking. Making cookies with cheese is simply heaven! Let's start baking!
Cookies are in my want-to-bake list. Since I had plenty of time during the one week Chinese New Year break, my sub-conscious mind told me to try it out. Thus, I kept on searching for some simple and easy to make cookie recipes. Hence, I recalled my good friend, LK (food-4tots) told me that her
Cheesy Cookie recipe is good and her son loved it so much. I began my cookie project after sending off my son to pre-school. So, I had the whole house + the kitchen to myself..... haha...... this cookies making project is so fun and satisfying. Not only the cheesy smell good cookies but also to spend some personal time myself to bake something I like... I made approximately 30 - 40 cookies. I have added some chopped hazelnut & sesame seeds on top of the cookies for topping.
While I was busy taking photographs, my son came back from pre-school, he was so excited when he saw the cookies and can't wait to gulp down all the cookies. He finished almost half of the cookies. I need to stop him from stealing my little cheesy cookies from the jar.... haha (LOL).... Hence, he demanded to bring some to school the next day. Cookie is the kids all time favourite, especially with cheese flavour! It would be a great cookies as a gift during CNY or any other occasion such as party, gathering or picnic too. Are you a cheesy cookies lover too? Try it and I am sure you will love it too.
 Recipe adapted & modified from Food-4tots Cheesy Cookies recipe
Make: 30-40 cookies (depending on the size and shape of the cookies)
Ingredients:
175g unsalted butter (chilled)
250g plain flour, plus extra for kneading
175g Cheddar cheese – grated
2 egg yolks
Dash of salt and pepper (I omitted the pepper)
Egg wash – 1 whole egg (beaten)
Some chopped nuts (hazelnut, walnuts, almond, macadamia nuts)
Some sesame seeds
Methods:
1. Preheat oven at 200°C. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the large mixing bowl with the flour and salt and pepper.
2. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
3. Combine grated cheese and egg yolks in a bowl. Mix with the fork, pour into the dough mix and mix well with hands.
4. Shape the dough into a ball with your hands. Sprinkle the work surface with a little flour & on your palms.
5. Knead the ball of dough until it is smooth, and then roll it out until it is 5mm (1/4 inch) thick with a rolling pin.
6. Cut out flowers, hearts or other shapes and put the cookies spaced slightly apart on the (ungreased) baking sheets.
7. Combine all the trimmings together, then roll out and continue stamping and kneading until all the mixture is used up.
8. Brush the cookies with egg wash using the pastry brush.
9. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or chopped nuts, I used hazelnut.
10. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool on the sheets and store in an air-tight container.
Note:
• The baking time is vary from each oven and size of the cookies, you may need to adjust the temperature or observe the colour changing on the cookies accordingly.
• If you do not have cookie cutters, you may roll the dough into cylinder shape and cut them with a sharp knife to make a round shape. Or even cut them into square or triangle shape with knife. Do your own magic! |
恭喜！恭喜！新年如意！情人節快樂！Chinese New Year & Valentine's Day fall on the same day this year. Bring us double happiness in this celebration. It is definitely makes you and your loved ones more meaningful this year. Have you done all your preparations and waiting anxiously for the New Year to come? I would enjoy admiring the Chinese New Year decorations in the shopping mall and also in most of the Chinese houses. There are indeed elegant and full of the CNY atmosphere. Red has always become the favourite colour for CNY, especially those lanterns, fans, items made from red packets (ang pow) and plenty of decorative stuffs. It brings you prosperous and happy feelings. Even though my family main celebration is Christmas but we do have re-union dinner to symbolize the festival. This year, I spend sometime making CNY lanterns, fishes & butterflies from red packets (Ang Pow) to introduce this festival to my son, my son loves it to bits, especially the butterflies. He even asked me transforms those red packets to "Transformers".... phewwwwww..... But it is real fun!
Our local radio station is promoting and advertising plenty of CNY advertisements during this season. Most of them are good advertisements, associate with the festive season, their products and also creating awareness on re-union with family and "Healthy Eating". One of the advertisement really captured my attention! It is from one of the cooking oil company. The advertisement transform the meaning of having healthy home-cooked food with their healthy cooking oil. It brought you the message of having a good year ahead with "healthy cooking" especially during this CNY. In this way, we can assure our family to have a healthy year to cherish their dreams and wishes. For me, this advertisement is the best among all to promote and to inspire healthy cooking awareness to the listeners.
Through this advertisement, it actually brings me some ideas and awareness to opt for something healthy for this coming CNY re-union dinner. One of the dishes in my list is "Simple stir fry glass noodles with eggs, shredded vegetables and chicken" adapted from my
good friend's recipe (Food-4tots), Simplified "Kwai Fa Chee" (桂花翅) This cook is a "health conscious" Mommy and she has plenty of creative, healthy yet delicious recipes, specially catered for toddlers and kids. It has become an inspiration for Mommies to cook at home with her simple, healthy and practical recipes!
Start your first day of CNY with some healthy home cooked food to have a
"Good Health" ahead. Not forgetting of having a healthy meal with your loved ones during this Valentine's Day and enjoy the beautiful moment!
Wishing all of you, a "HEALTHY" & "PROSPEROUS"
Chinese New Year!
新年健康！龍精虎猛！& Happy Valentine's Day! 情人節快樂!
Recipe adapted & modified from Food-4Tots - simplied Kwai Fa Chee
Ingredients:
200g cabbage (shredded finely)
40g carrot (shredded finely)
60g chicken fillet, cut into strips
20g glass noodle (粉丝) – soaked till softened, pressed dry and cut into 6-7cm long sections
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
Seasonings:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp sugar (I omitted)
¼ tsp salt
Dash of pepper
Methods:
1. Prepare all the ingredients before hand. Heat up wok with oil.
2. Add in chicken and stir fry for a minute. Then add in carrot and 3 tbsp water. Stir fry with high heat.
3. Add in seasoning and cabbage. Quickly mix well with a pair of long chopsticks until the cabbage shrink. (Cabbage will produce water so do not add too much water)
4. Stir in glass noodle. Keep on stirring.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add in beaten eggs. Stir-fry until cooked. Dish up and serve.
Isn't this recipe simple? Cook up for this CNY and enjoy the holiday!
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