Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Almonds

I've been blogging  for more than half a year now, and this is the second  cookie  recipe that I'm posting. It's not that I do not like cookies, I really do and I would eat them by the dozens! That is the real problem - so I try not to make cookies unless it healthier by my definition and is made of ingredients which the kids like so that I can share the calories with the little ones who can actually afford it. Here's a cookie recipe from Martha Stewart that actually fits my bill of that perfect cookie - wholemeal flour, oats, nuts and oil (no butter!) - and filled with chocolate.

This is one of those cookies that's chewy, crunchy (because of the nuts), and chocolate-y all at the same time. I made half the recipe (2 dozens) twice, and they were gone in a jiffy. Got to stop making these for now, as even healthier cookies have calories!

Can't believe 2012 is almost gone. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and I look forward to baking/cooking along side all of you next year :)

Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Almonds (4 dozens)
Recipe from Martha Steward's Whole Living

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 cup oat flour, spooned and leveled (I blended 1/2 cup rolled oats till fine)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup brown-rice syrup (I replaced with maple syrup)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I reduced to slightly more than 1/4 cup)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cacao), coarsely chopped
• 1 cup natural almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, rice syrup, sugar, egg, water, and vanilla until completely blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients; fold in the chocolate and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or as long as overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 13 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.
• Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cook's Note: Chill the dough thoroughly; overnight lends a tender texture and mellow flavor, but an hour or so will do.

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This post is linked to the blog hop event, Cook like a Star, organised Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Riceball from Riceball Eats.

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

I’m a huge fan of Thai food and this Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad is not only easy to do but is perfect as a light meal after all the feasting during Christmas.

The secret is really in the sauce which is made of readily available kitchen sauces, which most of us would already have the pantry.

The dish is salty, sweet, spicy and crunchy (raw vegetables and peanuts) all it once. It is very aromatic from the basil leaves and very refreshing. The addition of mint leaves gives additional flavour and goes well with the basil. 

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad (4 servings)

A Martha Stewart recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds (550 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced crosswise or minced
• Spicy Asian Dressing* (recipe below)
• Coarse salt
• 3 1/2 ounces (100 g) Chinese rice noodles, broken in half if long (I use Tang Hoon/Glass Noodles)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 2 carrots, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
• Bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, fresh mint leaves, red-pepper flakes, and sliced scallion greens, for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Place chicken and half of dressing in a resealable plastic bag (reserve remaining dressing). Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to overnight).
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until tender. Drain, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a platter.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken (do not crowd skillet) until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to platter on top of noodles.
4. Top with carrots, cucumber, and basil. Drizzle with reserved dressing, and sprinkle with garnishes, if desired.

Spicy Asian Dressing
Ingredients

• 4 thinly sliced scallion whites
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (I used 1/2 tsp reduced salt fish sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Method

1. In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients.

Christmas Cupcakes

My girls had a Christmas party in church last weekend, and I was tasked to make cupcakes for the event. My daughter told her teacher (without asking me first!) that I would make a log cake. I panicked when I found out because I have never made a log cake in my life and was not about to experiment at the risk of not having a cake to deliver on the day. I convinced the girls and the teacher that cupcakes would be easier for kids to eat :p I’ll get round to learning how to make the log cake making next year. 

Next came the frantic search on the web for easy cupcake ideas – a search which yielded these Christmas tree, snowman and ponsiettas cupcakes. I love how these cupcakes bring on the spirit and mood of Christmas. Here’s wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and have a great time with your family and friends!

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!
They are green when summer days are bright,
They are green when winter snow is white.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!

This Christmas tree cupcake is made of an ice cream cone sitting on a cupcake. The cone is covered with green frosting piped out using the star-shaped tip. I cut the star on top of the tree out of a gummy sweet and coated it with dessicated coconut.  View Martha Stewart’s video on how to make this cupcake here.

Snowman Cupcakes

 Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
Know how he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old silk hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around.

The snowman cupcake is made using two pieces of marshmellow cut to size and held together with frosting. I used a piece of gummy for the hat and cut the carrot nose out of the gummy. The eyes are black food colouring painted on using the tip of a paintbrush. View Martha Stewart’s video on how to make snowman cupcakes here.

Poinsietta Cupcakes

The beautiful striking red poinsiettas are a hallmark of the Christmas holiday season. I got the idea of these lovely poinsietta cupcakes from a picture posted by Cake Whiz on her facebook page. The petals are piped using a leaf tip and the green dots using a small round tip. Check out Cake Whiz’spost and video on how to pipe the leaves.

You can use any cupcake and frosting recipe. The frosting needs to be able to hold up well for the piping job not to run. This is my frosting recipe which worked very well, despite the humid weather I have here:

Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe from here

Ingredients

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese (light works fine, although it will yield a slightly softer frosting) at almost room temperature
1/2 cup salted butter at almost room temperature
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Method

Whip together the cream cheese, butter, and extract until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and whip until smooth and fully incorporated.  Refrigerate any leftovers (or anything you’ve frosted that doesn’t get eaten immediately).

Chocolate-Coated Strawberries

When I was a student studying in the US, there was this store that sold luscious and perfectly-coated chocolate strawberries for US$1 each. As students on a tight budget, we would only buy them on special occasions and a few of us would share a dozen. We savoured each bite as they would be gone within a few mouthfuls.

I’m so glad that now I know how to make my own chocolate-coated strawberries. However, there is an art to doing it right. The first time I made this, my melted chocolate turned clumpy and I could hardly coat the strawberries properly.

A little research on the Internet showed that there are several steps that will ensure you get perfectly coated fruits:

•  Choose good quality, unblemished strawberries.
• The strawberries need to be at room temperature and perfectly dry. Wash them and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
• Use chocolate droplets for melting. If you are using a block of chocolate, chop it into fine pieces. Small pieces will melt more evenly and faster.
• Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate. Place the bowl holding the chocolate into a larger bowl filled with water but do not allow the bowl on top to touch the water. Excessive heat will cause the chocolate to clump up.
• Use a rubber spatula to stir the chocolate bits gently till it melts.
• Refrigerate the dipped strawberries till the chocolate hardens but not for longer than an hour to prevent condensation droplets from forming on the strawberries.

This is a an easy-to-make dessert that is bound to impress your guests this festive season. Juicy strawberries covered with good quality chocolate provide a light and sweet ending at your parties.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries (20 servings)
A Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 ounes (227 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 pound large strawberries (about 20), washed and dried well
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios (optional) – I used macadamia

Method

• Place chocolate in a bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Stir occasionally, until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. One at a time, dip each strawberry in chocolate, twirling to coat; then sprinkle chocolate-covered portion with pistachios, if using, and place on waxed paper.
• Chill chocolate-dipped strawberries at least 15 minutes to set chocolate. (Strawberries should not be stored in refrigerator longer than 1 hour as condensation drops may collect on the chocolate.)

Green Tea Chocolate Eclairs

I came across Jo the Tart Queen’s Chocolate’s Matcha Eclairs recently and thought this would be something interesting to try out as its different from the normal chocolate eclair filled with cream. Chocolate and green tea is one a favorite combination of mine and I am always very intrigued by recipes which marries both these ingredients. 

The choux pastry crust is really good, though I think baking it for the recommended time seems rather long. When I took it out to check at the 50-minute mark, it smelled very slightly burned. Thank goodness after putting in the cream and coating it with chocolate, the smell was no longer evident. I think that the eclairs should be checked if its done after 45 minutes. 

I am not sure where I went wrong with the pastry cream. It’s supposed to be of a thick and piping consistency but mine remained liquid even after I cooled it down in the refrigerator. Nonetheless, it was a very delicious cream. Paired with the lovely chocolate coating, my family enjoyed these eclairs very much. There’s just a slight hint of green tea fragrance, so you may want to add more green tea powder if you like it stronger.

Chocolate Green Tea Eclairs (Makes about 20)
Recipe from Jo the Tart Queen

Choux pastry (eclairs)

Ingredients

• 188 ml tap water
• 65 ml full cream milk
• 100 g unsalted butter, cubed
• 8 g sugar
• 3 g salt
• 150 g plain flour
• 3 tsp matcha powder
• +/- 150g whole eggs, room temperature

Egg wash: (or use your preferred egg wash)
1 egg yolk
dash of full cream milk
pinch of salt

Method

1. Prepare trays for baking the choux by greasing it with butter so that they would not stick on the tray.
2. Place water, milk, butter, sugar and salt into a pot and bring it to a rolling boil. It should be bubbling furiously.
3. Remove the pot from the heat or turn down the heat and pour in all the flour and matcha powder at once and stir immediately and vigorously with a wooden spoon/spatula.  Ensure that there is no lumps of flour in the *panade. Cook out the mixture over low heat for another 2-3 minutes. You should have a glossy panade that can be formed into a ball that comes away from the sides of the pot easily.
4. Remove the panade and place it into your machine mixer bowl. Using a paddle attachment, put the machine on low speed in order to cool the panade down for about 5  minutes. You wouldn’t want to add in the eggs when the panade is still hot. You may end up scrambling the eggs. Remember that eggs start cooking at 60°C (140°F).
5. When the panade is not hot to touch, with the paddle attachment still on, start adding the eggs one at a time at medium speed (speed 4 on the Kitchenaid mixer). The mixture may look like it has cuddled and split at first but be patient and allow the machine to do its job to emulsify the mixture. It will come back together in a while.
6. Continue adding the eggs until you get a smooth, thick, glossy paste. When you lift up your spatula, it should fall after roughly 3 seconds. It should be able to fall from the spatula on its own but not be too wet that it can’t hold its shape. You may/may not require the entire amount of eggs as stated in the recipe, depending on the consistency of the choux paste.
7. Place choux paste into a piping bag with a plain nozzle/star shaped nozzle. Pipe them as evenly as you can and spacing them apart,  about 12-13 cm  length, about 2 cm width. Do not flick the piping bag or when it bakes, it will form ugly cracks and seams and it would not rise neatly and evenly.
8. Egg wash the choux pastry with a brush and at the same time flatten down the little tips. This is to ensure that the tips do not burn.
9. Bake immediately at 180 degrees C in a pre-heated oven for about 50 minutes to an hour. Choux pastry must be thorougly baked. if the sides of the walls are moist, when removed from the oven, steam will condense back into water and the still-wet walls will recoil. This will cause the choux pastry to collapse/ and flattened itself.
10. You can check if the choux pastry shells are properly baked by removing a shell from the oven and tear it apart to see if the entire choux is dry. Only remove the entire batch when they are dry.
11. Fill these choux pastry with the matcha crème patissière only after they have cooled completely. You can either slice off the tops with a serrated knife or using toothpick to poke a hole at the bottom of the choux pastry before piping the filling.

Matcha crème patissière (Matcha pastry cream)

Ingredients

• 500 ml whole milk
• 1/4 vanilla bean (I used 1/4 tsp vanilla essence)
• 100 g egg yolks
• 100 g caster sugar
• 60 g cornflour, sifted
• 2 tsp matcha powder, sifted
• 35 g butter, cut into cubes

Method

1. Prepare and measure all the ingredients before you start.
2. Scrap the vanilla bean into the milk and bring milk to a boil.
3. In the meantime, whisk egg yolks with sugar until well-combined before adding the cornflour and matcha powder. Whisk till mixture is uniform.
4. When the milk boils, you will see the milk in the pot bubbling furiously. Take the milk off the heat and pour it into your egg mixture. At this point, whisk quickly to incorporate the milk mixture.
5. Pour the milk and egg mixture back into pot and continue to whisk without pausing. This step is crucial to prevent lumps from forming in the crème patissière.
6. Ensure that you whisk under low to medium heat until a smooth paste. Allow the crème patissière to cook for at least 2 minutes before taking it off the heat.
7. Stir in the cubed butter until well-combined.
8. Pour the crème patissière onto a tray lined with cling wrap. Ensure that the cling wrap covers the crème patissière completely. Cool it down in the fridge before using it.

Dark chocolate ganache glaze

Ingredients

• 55 g dark chocolate,  chopped ( I use 70% valhrona chocolate)
• 65 ml cream
• 1 tbsp glucose
• 10 g butter

Method

1. Heat the cream and glucose in a small pot over medium heat. Stir occasionally  Allow the cream to come to a boil.
2. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and butter. Stir to combine until uniform.

Assembling the parts

1. Slice the cooled eclairs with a serrated knife, lengthwise. Since they are baked thoroughly, they shouldn’t be soft and should maintain its shape so that they can be sliced easily.
2. Whisk the matcha creme patisserie until smooth. Fit your piping bag with a star shaped nozzle and fill your piping bag with the creme patisserie.  Pipe neatly over the bottom of the eclairs.
3. Dip the top half of the eclair into the dark chocolate ganache glaze. Use your fingers to clean away  the sides and assemble the top and bottom halves of the eclair.

Pomegranate Roasted Chicken

It’s just three weeks to Christmas! The gorgeous red and green colours on this Pomegranate Chicken dish make me feel all Christmas-y. I really love how pretty pomegranate seeds are - they remind me of rubies sparkling in the sun. I would probably make this again for Christmas dinner as this gorgeous chicken dish serves well as a centrepiece for Christmas celebrations. 

I’ve only recently discovered how delicious pomegranates are. I love its beautiful colour and crunchy texture. It is also one of those fruits that are loaded with vitamins. The only thing that is a little trickier is to extract the pomegranate seeds without the juice splattering all over. I found this informative post on how to do this as well as extract the juice.

To extract the pomegranate seeds: slice the pomegranates into about six sections and soak them in a large bowl of water. Use your fingers to gently pull the seeds away from the skin and the white pith. Remove the skin and pith. Drain away the water.

To get fresh pomegranate juice, pulse the seeds in the blender a few times, then sieve it to remove the pulp. Press the pulp against the sieve to extract any remaining juice.

I expected the pomegranate juice to be slightly sour, and I thought I would need to add some honey to it before glazing the chicken. The juice turned out sweet naturally, so I did not use any honey. The glaze made out of the reduced pomegranate juice gave the chicken a lovely sweet covering which made it so delicious. When served with the crunchy pomegranate seeds and fresh rosemary, it was simply delicious.

Pomegranate Roasted Chicken (4 servings)
From Martha Stewart’s Whole Living

Ingredients

• 1 cup pomegranate juice* (I juiced the seeds of 3 pomegranates)
• 3-pound whole chicken
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (I used fresh rosemary)
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds* (I used the seeds of one pomegranate)

*To extract pomegranate seeds and juice, refer to this post.

Method

1. Heat pomegranate juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. (I added in some rosemary while heating the juice to bring out the rosemary flavours) Set aside. Meanwhile, let the chicken come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 450 degrees F (I baked at 200 degrees C).
2. Brush chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper (I marinated  a few hours ahead). Tie legs and transfer to a large ovenproof skillet.
3. Roast chicken, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about 50 minutes (I baked mine for about 1 hour 20 minutes. At the 1 hour and 1 hour 10 min mark, I brushed the chicken with the reduced pomegranate juice).
4. Transfer to a serving dish and brush with reduced pomegranate juice; let stand 10 minutes. De-glaze skillet over medium heat with stock, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until reduced by half. Strain fat. Add thyme and pomegranate seeds. Serve with chicken.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I try not to bake with butter (if I can help it) but when I saw this cookie recipe, that rule went right out of the window and I thought the calories here might be worth the while. This cookie recipe combines two of my favourite packs into one – chocolate chip  cookie and banana bread. Walnuts and rolled oats also additional texture into each bite of the cookie. It also uses wholemeal flour, so at least I can console myself with the fact that its healthier in some ways.

The texture of the cookie is slightly crisp on the outside but fluffy on the inside. I doubled the baking soda to achieve an even more cake-like texture, upon the recommendation of others who have tried the recipe. I love the slight hint of banana, the richness of the chocolate and crunch of walnuts and oats all in one bite – totally divine and worth the calories.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies (3 dozens)
A Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (I used 1 tsp)
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces (227 g) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

Cook’s note: Use a ripe banana, which has more concentrated flavor than an unripe one.