Pineapple Tarts

Finally my pineapple tarts made it debut here for this year. . I’ve been busy doing last minutes baking since I came home. For these tarts I made the jam as I find the store bought one too sweet and lack of pineapple taste. Making these is time consuming and it took me over 5 hours do 5 big containers but it is all worth it. What is Chinese New Year without pineapple tarts, right? This year I made 3 different designs. . Which one do you prefer? For the recipe you can refer here .

This is the traditional design.

For this I used a flower pineapple tarts cutter.

For this I just used a normal flower shape cookie cutter and then bake it in small paper cups.

Here wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year, Gong Xi Fatt Chai and Happy Valentine’s Day.

Egg Paratha Rolls

I always like to have roti canai or roti paratha for breakfast during weekend in Malaysia. The one that I will always order is roti telur (egg paratha) and eating it with dhal (lentil) curry. It is out of this world. Here in the US we can only get the frozen paratha and I have to improvise it to make my favorite weekend breakfast. Of course it is not as thin and crispy as the one from back home but it still taste pretty darn good with some homemade chicken curry.

Ingredients:

3 pcs of frozen paratha (I used Kawan brand)
3 eggs
½ onion – slice thinly
1 spring onion – cut small
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a bowl beat the eggs, add in salt, pepper, onion and spring onion. Mix well and set it aside.
2. In a non stick pan over medium heat cook the parathas (without oil) until lightly brown on both sides. Remove and set it aside.
3. In the same pan, heat up a bit of olive oil. Pour 1/3 of the eggs mixture into the pan, let it cook for 10 second then place the cooked paratha on top of the omelet.
4. Let the egg set before turning it over to cook through.
5. Remove and roll up the paratha like a Swiss roll. Do the same to the other two parathas.
6. Cut the paratha about 3/4 “thick and you can serve it with some curry.

Note : Do not thaw the frozen paratha.

Hup Toh Sow/Chinese Walnut Cookies

I remember eating this cookie when I was young and never thought of baking it myself until I saw it at No-Frills Recipes blog. I baked it the very next day for Carlos and Diana to munch on while I am away in Malaysia. I did very minor changes to the recipe. I can’t seem to get the dough to bind together so I added a tablespoon of vegetable oil to it. I think the cold and dry weather here play a role to the dry dough. Nevertheless the cookies turns out perfect and taste was just the way I remember it. I am in KL now and I am going to bake this again for CNY. Thanks Cheah for sharing this wonderful recipe with us.

Ingredients:

150 gm margarine (I used butter)
250 gm self-raising flour
80 gm caster sugar
2 oz coarsely chopped slightly roasted walnuts (optional)
1 egg beaten + a pinch of salt, for glazing
1 tbsp vegetable oil (optional)

1. Sift the self-raising flour into a mixing bowl.
2. Cut in the margarine; add in the sugar and the chopped walnuts.
3. Mix thoroughly till the dough does not stick onto the hands. * At this stage I add a tablespoon of vegetable of oil to it.
4. Pinch off some dough and lightly form into a ball, make a small dent in the centre. Place the biscuits onto a baking sheet, leaving some room between each biscuit.
5. Brush them with beaten egg wash.
6. Bake in preheated oven 190 degree C or 350 degree F for about 30 to 35 minutes or till golden brown.
7. Cool completely before storing in cookie jar.

Tuna Puffs

I always like to have a packet of frozen puff pastry in my freezer and it will become real handy if I want to make a quick snacks. I don’t normally cook on weekends as we will have whatever leftovers from the weekdays or I will make something simple with whatever I can find in the fridge and pantry. One of the snacks that we love is this tuna puffs. This is what you need.

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry
1 egg - beaten

Filling:

1 can of tuna
1 tomato – cut into small cubes
1 shallot – slice thinly
1 small chili – slice thinly (optional)
1 tbsp of lemon juice
3 tbsp low fat mayo
1 tsp of mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F.
2. In a bowl, mix all the filling ingredients together. Set it aside.
3. Thaw the puff pastry. Dust the work table with some flour. Unfold the pastry and roll it out thinly and cut into 6 equal rectangle.
4. Put about a table of filling on the pastry and fold it over to close the edges. Press down the edges with a fork.
5. Brush the pastry with some egg wash and bake until golden brown.