Honey Nutty Cupcakes

for a Xbox lunch party... 


my second try on this recipe.. simple and quick; great when you are time constrained...

chocochip almond nut biscotti

i have been wanting to make more biscotti since my first attempt, but the thought of the super sticky dough kinda put me off. despite so, i still bought nuts for biscotti making, because Dear mentioned he really liked biscotti. biscotti are ideal snacks for Dear cos he enjoys coffee and they can keep really well in air-tight containers, and so can be stored in his office.

i am so sure he is gonna love this one more... this batch of biscotti is more crispy than the previous ones. adding chocolate chips is an excellent idea.

ChocolateChip Almond Nut Biscotti (adapted from Good Housekeeping: Favourite Cakes, Bakes, & Cupcakes)

 Ingredients:

125 g ------------ plain flour, sifted
1/4 tsp ---------- baking powder
75 g ------------- golden caster sugar (i replaced it with 20 g brown sugar and 55 g white sugar)
pinch of salt
pinch of grounded cinnamon
1 tsp ------------ milk (i used 1 tsp milk powder)
1 ---------------- large egg, beaten with vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ---------- vanilla extract
25-30 g --------- almond nuts, chopped
25-30 g --------- chocolate chips

Method:

1. preheat oven to 200degC
2. pour plain flour into a big bowl
3. stir in baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt
4. create a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add milk, egg, almond nuts and chocolate chips in it
5. using a fork draw flour from the sides and mix until a sticky dough is formed
6. transfer sticky dough onto a flour surface and knead into a ball
7. roll ball into a 28 cm log shape dough and transfer to a non-stick baking sheet on baking tray. lightly flatten the top surface
8. bake in 200degC preheat oven for about 20-25 min, until top is browned
9. reduce oven temperature to 150degC
10. remove half baked dough from oven and transfer it onto a chopping board (dough is still very hot; you may allow it to cool for a while before transferring)
11. slice dough into 1 cm strips and place the strips (cut side up) back on the baking tray
12. bake at 150degC for another 15 mins or until slightly browned and dry

hmmm... something is missing. is it espresso? Americano? or in local context... KKOOOPPII-OOO KOOOOOSONg...

Almond biscotti - Dear's assigned task

Over the weekend, Dear challenged me to bake some biscuits, in particular, biscotti. I immediately thought of cranberry-almond but luckily he specified that he wanted a nutty one and only nutty ones. Since I had only almond nuts at home, I decided to go for conventional almond biscotti.

Biscotti are all easy to bake except for the STICKY dough. It was super sticky! I wonder if it should be that sticky. As a result, I could not roll it into the log shape that was needed and I wasted a fair bit of dough. But, according to Dear... it tasted good! He liked it! The only thing was that I could really slice them into thinner pieces... agreed!

Biscotti with coffee make an awesome tea-time snack... the Italian way.

Almond Biscotti

Ingredients

• 145 g almond nuts 
• 265 g plain flour/ all-purpose flour 
• 150 g  granulated sugar 
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1/8 tsp salt 
• 3 eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp almond extract (I omitted) 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180degC and roast almond nuts for about 5 mins. Let cool and chopped the nuts coarsely. 
2. In a small bowl, beat lightly the eggs and extracts 
3. Turn down temperature to 150degC. Line a tray with baking sheet. 
4. Using an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat and mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well-blended (about 30 secs) 
5. Gradually add the eggs-extracts mixture, and add the chopped nuts halfway, until a dough forms 
6. On a floured surface, roll the dough into an approx. 14-in by 3-in log-shaped dough. 
7. Transfer onto the baking try lined with baking sheet. Bake for about 30-40 mins until the surface of the dough feels firm to touch. 
8. Remove half-baked dough from the oven and let cool for 10 mins 
9. using a serrated knife, slice the dough into about 1/2 to 1 inch thin strips. Place them side facing up on the baking tray and return them to the oven to bake for 10 mins. 
10. after 10 mins turn the other face side up and bake for another 10 min. 
11. Let cool and store in air tight container.

Gone Nuts

Recently, work has been hectic. And so are my house renovation and wedding preparations. Weekends were burnt meeting with IDs.

Finally managed to find some time for baking this week!

In mood for cupcakes and nuts!

Honey-Nutty Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 150 g unsalted butter 
• 175 g self-raising flour 
• 50 g caster sugar (I reduced to 40 g as I used honey in this recipe) 
• 100 ml golden syrup (substituted with honey since I had no golden syrup) 
• 3 medium eggs 
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice (I used cinnamon) 
• 50 g chopped nuts (I used almond) 

For the topping

• 3 tsp double cream 
• 1 tsp milk 
• 50 g milk chocolate, finely chopped 
• 50 g dark chocolate, finely chopped 
• 75 g roasted chopped hazelnuts (I also used almonds) 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190degC. Line 12 muffin tin with paper muffin cases 
2. Put the butter, flour, sugar, syrup, eggs, baking powder, mixed spice and nuts in a large bowl. Whisk the mixture using a hand held electric whisk until pale and creamy. Divide the mixture equally among the paper cases 
3. Bake for 20 mins or until risen and golden. Leave in tin to cool for 5 mins and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. 
4. Heat the cream and milk in a small saucepan until near boiling. Put both chocolates into a bowl and pour the hot cream over them. Leave to stand for 5 mins and stir until smooth 
5. Put the hazelnuts into a shallow bowl. Dip the top of the cake into the chocolate cream, allow excess to drip off then dip into the nuts until coated all over. Stand the cakes upright on the wire rack and leave for about 1 hour to set. 

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?

I attended four meetings today, but thankfully, all were short and fruitful. Shouldn’t all meetings be like that? Yes, but often not. Sometimes the discussions get nowhere.... and whenever that happens, vague images of recipes and dessert images would flash across my mind and that is when I decide on what to bake in the evening.

But today. I had already decided what I wanted bake the moment I woke up. I was craving for cookies. I think that was subconscious because my peripheral vision had caught my brother munching on MY Famous Amos cookies the night before while I watching television. He stole my cookies!!! But more importantly..... I soon realised he is not the only cookie thief in my home! The ultimate cookie thief shall be revealed by the end of this post.

Had used this recipe for three times over the past two years. I think each bake yielded different results. I don't really know why. I suspect it is my weighing scale. I should really get a digital one to make more accurate measurements.

ChocoChip Crunchy Nut Biscuits

Ingredients A

• 165g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder, salt

Ingredients B

• 75g unsalted butter (I used salted and omitted the salt)
• 80g castor sugar
• 50g brown sugar

Ingredients C

• 1 egg
• 1tsp vanilla flavor (extract) (I used the normal vanilla essence)

Ingredient D

• 115g plain chocochips (I used Hershey's semisweet)
• 50g chopped hazelnut (I used almond, since I have already have it at home)

Method

1. Grease 2 or 3 baking sheets and set aside for further usage.
2. Use an electric mixer to beat ingredient B until light and fluffy. Then add in ingredient C and mix well. Pour in sifted ingredient A and beat well on low speed until thoroughly combined.
3. Stir in ingredient D and 2/3 chopped hazelnut. Drop teaspoonful of the mixture onto to the prepared sheets. Space the batter about 5cm to allow room for spreading (I missed this this time! and my cookies almost became a GIANT 'tray' cookie!)
4. Flatten each biscuits with a wet fork. Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts on top of the biscuits and press lightly into the surface of the dough.
5. Preheat the oven to 180degC, then bake the biscuits for 10-12 mins, or until they are golden brown
6. Leave the biscuits on the baking sheets to cool for a min or so, until they are firm and then transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

And the 'metro' cookies (metro another name for subway :p)

 

Now... revealing the cookie thief...