Deepavali 2015 Treats - Pandan Melon Seed Cookies

I have started baking cookies for this year's Deepavali festival.  I made my first batch of cookies today and this is my husband's favorite cookie.  My husband has his favorite cookie, each of kids have their favorite cookies and I try to make all their favorites each year.  I will be posting each cookie recipe as I bake them for this year's celebration.

Ingredients

250 gms salted butter, at room temperature
120 gms icing or confectioners sugar
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pandan* paste
450 gms all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup melon or kuaci seeds, roasted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup red cherries (for baking), roughly chopped

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 °F 180 °C.
2.  Sift all purpose flour with baking powder and set it aside
3.  In a bowl, whisk butter and icing sugar until the butter is light and fluffy.
4.  Next add in the egg yolk and the pandan paste and beat well.
5.  Fold in the sifted flour into the butter mixture.
6.  Place the cookie dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
7.  Roll out the cookie dough to about 5mm thickness and cut out the cookie with your favorite
     cookie cutter.
8.  Place the cookies in a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the middle rack for
    about 20 minutes.

Note:
* You can find pandan paste at any asian grocery store

My Daughter's Chocolate Brownie Crackle Cookie ala Cookie Connection

Last weekend, my daughter said that she wanted to check out the Cookie Connection, cookies and ice-cream shop. When we got there we did not know what to get or how to order since this was our first time at Cookie Connection. The sales girl was so nice to explain to us the types of cookies and ice-creams they had and she waited patiently for us to make up our minds. We finally got out of the store with a Crackle Cookie with vanilla ice-cream. This cookie was warm and fudgy and was somewhat in between a cookie and brownie. The ice cream was pretty good too but I found it a bit pricey.  The next day my daughter was mixing something in the kitchen and she told me that she was making some cookies. My daughter never had any interest in what goes on in the kitchen until she went to college. And when these cookies came out of the oven I was just so impressed. These cookies tasted so much better than the ones we had and it looked exactly like the Crackle Cookie at CC. I'm just so proud of her..I never imagined that she could bake so well.  I just hope that her interest does not change from doing med to being a chef ;). This is the recipe for the soft and fudgy inside and slightly crunchy on the outside Crackle Cookie. The recipe taken from homecooking.about.com 

 Best tasting and best looking crackle cookie made by my daughter.

Crackle cookies just out of the oven.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups (6-1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups (10-1/2 ounces) sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick, 3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
3/4 cup (2-1/4 ounces) cocoa powder, Ghiradelli preferred
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (may use miniature chips)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners' sugar, for coating cookies

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly mixed. Set 
    aside.
2. Scrape the melted butter into a smaller bowl with a spatula and add the cocoa powder. 
    Stir until combined and no lumps remain. Mix vanilla extract with eggs, then whisk into 
    cocoa butter mixture.
3. Add wet mixture to dry flour mixture and mix thoroughly by hand with a rubber spatula. 
     It may seem as if you need more liquid, but do not add any.
4. Just keep folding and pressing until the mixture comes together. It will eventually reach 
     the consistency of stiff brownie batter. Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 30 
     minutes to firm up.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silpat baking liners or 
     parchment paper. (If you do not line the baking sheets, be sure to lightly grease them.)
6. Pour confectioners' powdered sugar into a small bowl. Scoop dough by teaspoons, roll 
     into balls, and drop into powdered sugar, rolling around to cover completely. Place on       
     prepared baking sheets 1-1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will spread, puff a bit, and form cracks. The      longer you cook them, the more crispy they will become. Let cool 10 minutes on the      
     cookie sheets before using a spatula to remove to racks and cool completely. Store in a 
     covered container.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Peanut Cookies

This cookie is simply delicious and is everyone's favorite. What make this cookie different from other peanut cookies is that I add some rose essence to the cookie and this is what makes it stand out.

Ingredients

200g roasted peanuts - grind until fine
200g red rose flour/ all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
100g icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt (blend with some flour from the 200g of flour)
100g peanut/corn oil
1 teaspoon rose essence Egg wash:
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp of water (I didn't use this)

Directions

1. Sift flour, salt, baking powder and icing sugar together.
2. Add in the ground peanuts and mix well.
3. pour in the peanut/corn oil and essence and mix until well. If mixture is too crumbly, add a
    little more oil. Dough should be soft enough to form a ball when rolled between your palms
4. Roll cookie dough into small balls and place it on a baking tray.
5. Brush cookies with egg wash and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the bottom of the cookie is slightly brown.

Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I nailed it....finally...after all these years of trying and trying I could never get the right texture for my chocolate chip cookies...it was either cakey or crunchy...and never the crunchy outside and chewy inside kinda texture that I see in chocolate chip cookies..

I finally came across this recipe and was it from Mrs Fields herself.  How kind of her to share her blue ribbon recipe. When I gave it my son, he asked Mom did you buy this?...

Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter still cold
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with wire whisk. Set aside. 
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. 
4. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended. Do not overmix. 
5. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed. (Again, do not overmix.)
6. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. 7. Bake low and slow for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. 
8. Transfer cookies immediately to a baking rack or cool surface.

Enjoy!