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    Articles and Recipes — Cookies

    Cookies! Chinese New Year Traditions

    Cookies! Chinese New Year Traditions

    Just when you thought cookie season was over, I would like to introduce you to two traditional Chinese New Year Cookie recipes Hup Toh So and Almond Cookies.  

    Almond Cookies are created using traditional wooden molds, last year I demonstrated using husMait round cookie cutters and the bottom of husMait measuring cups. See that post here. The base of the 1/3 cup Stainless Steel Measuring Cup fits perfectly into the second smallest Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters and the 1/8 Stainless Steel Cup can be used in the smallest Stainless Steel Cookie Cutter.

       

    This year I was able to go to Shanghai Street, in Hong Kong to buy the traditional wooden molds, and I am returning to Helen Au’s A Step Full of You for her Vegan Chinese Almond Cake Biscuit recipe. I love the way the traditional molds shaped the cookies.

     

    Hup Toh So is a walnut cookie this year I am using a recipe from Daily Cooking Quest by Anita. If you are looking for a vegan version, I like this one from What To Cook Today, or simply replace the butter with vegan butter or vegetable shortening.

     

    Products used in baking these recipes: 

    Set of 3 Melamine Mixing Bowls
    Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters
    Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
    Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
    Flour Scraper Set of 2
    Essential Bakeware 5 Piece Set
    Signature Bakeware 5 Piece Set

    Chocolate Mint Wafers - Gluten-free & Vegan Version

    Chocolate Mint Wafers - Gluten-free & Vegan Version

    Today I am adapting a traditional recipe from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook, circa 1950, which I inherited from my mother-in-law. Many traditional recipes are adapted to become gluten-free & vegan easily.  

    A few things I look for when considering a recipe: Is there a 'rise' that will be affected? Is there a textural element that will be affected? Sometimes I can compensate for these changes by increasing raising agents such as baking powder, cream of tartar, or substituting aquafaba whip for egg whites. Also being aware of how each raising agent works is important, it may need to be added later, or mixed minimally. For texture, it may be adapted by adding a glutenous grain such as rice flour, xantham gum, or oat flour or molding pastry crusts rather than rolling them. 

    I have learned a few things from my recent experiences adapting traditional recipes. One is that vegan butter has a much lower melting temperature than butter. Vegan butter is almost liquid at room temperature, therefore, chilling the dough is a great solution for a too soft dough. The gluten-free dough also benefits from resting either in the refrigerator or at room temperature. The flax egg is a great substitute, so long as you do not mind the look of the flax meal in your bake.  

    This is my updated Gluten-free Vegan Chocolate - Mint Wafer recipe.

    Chocolate Wafer Ingredients 
    2/3 cups (5.3 oz) Vegan Butter
    1 cup sugar
    1 flax egg ***
    2 cups 1-1 Gluten-Free Flour 
    3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
    1 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 cup soy or almond milk

    Mint Filling Ingredients
    1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
    1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
    1/2 cup Crisco shortening 
    Crushed candy canes

    Equipment 
    Stainless Steel Measuring Cups 
    Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons 
    Melamine Mixing Bowls or Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls 
    12" Silicone Whisk with Stainless Steel Handle
    OR 10” Silicone Whisk with Wooden Handle
    Silicone Rolling Pin
    Silicone Rolling Mat
    Silicone Flour Scraper
    Silicone Baking Mat
    10"x15" Non-Stick Baking Sheet

    Cooling rack  

    Method: 
    1) In a medium bowl measure and whisk thoroughly gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

    2) In a large bowl cream the vegan butter and sugar. When fully creamed add the flax egg. Whip until light and fluffy. 

    3) Alternately add dry ingredients and vegan milk. Mixing well and scraping the bowl between additions. 

    4) Divide the dough into 4 and chill thoroughly. 

    Preheat oven to 350F

    5) Remove a quarter of the dough and roll to 1/8".  Cut into shapes. Repeat with the other quarters. Refrigerate the scraps that become too soft between rolling. 

    6) Bake for 8 - 10 minutes. Cool 

    7) Make the filling by beating together confectioners sugar, peppermint extract, and Crisco until spreading consistency.

    8) Spread a thin layer of frosting onto the bottom of a cookie, and top with another, finally roll in crushed candy canes. 

    Note:
     Double the filling ingredients if you like a lot of filling!
    ***1 Tablespoon flax meal + 3 Tablespoons warm water, stir and let stand 5 minutes

    If you would like more information on this recipe there is a process tutorial and more still photos of these cookies over on our Instagram page husMait_home 

    We would love to hear from you in the comments below if you try this or any of our recipes  

    Sending warm wishes to your home, 
    from the husMait home kitchen. 

    Versatile Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters

    Versatile Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters

    I love products that have multiple uses and our HusMait Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters are designed to do just that.  

    In the short time I have been using these cookie cutters they have cut English Scones, Sugar Cookies, wonton wrappers and have been used to mold Almond Cookies.

     

    These stainless steel cutters come in six (6) different sized cutting rings that can be nested for compact storage in a kitchen drawer or cabinet.

    They are easy to clean and are dishwasher safe. Rust-resistant, non-stick, and easy to use.

    I plan on using them to cut home made pasta for ravioli so watch this space! Do you make mini or small pies? The large cutter will fit perfectly in a standard cupcake tin. Let us know how you use cookie cutters creatively. 

    With warm wishes for your home,
    from the husMait home kitchen.

    Cookie Cutters as Cookie Molds

    We lived in Hong Kong for 30 years, longer than I lived in the United States!         In that time Chinese New Year became a traditional holiday for our family, rivaling the festivities of Christmas. This year Chinese New Year falls on Feb 12, 2021, and it begins on the evening before is celebrated for at least 3 days and often longer. It is a time of elaborate dinners, gift-giving, trips to the Victoria Park Flower Market, Dim Sum, and Lion Dances. 

    Food is central to Chinese New Year traditions in the way it is created, gifted, and consumed.  There are customs and traditions going back generations in regards to the variety, shape, and color of the food. So when I saw Helen Au’s Vegan Chinese Almond Cookies I knew I had to make them. 

    Unfortunately, I do not have traditional wooden almond cookie molds. A quick google search will show you what I am talking about. However, as I was contemplating this challenge I came up with an amazing cheat! The basic premise of a cookie mold is to compress the sandy texture dough into a solid shape that can be turned out onto a baking surface. While living in HK for 30 years I became very adept at substitution and ingenuity- So I just reverse-engineered, and used what I have to create a mold - the base of the 1/3 cup Stainless Steel Measuring Cup fits perfectly into the second smallest Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters and the 1/8 Stainless Steel Cup can be used in the smallest Stainless Steel Cookie Cutter. 

      
    I assembled my ingredients and equipment.
    I prepared the recipe according to directions and then put 1/4 cup of mixture into the second largest cookie cutter and took the 1/3 cup and pressed very hard into the dough. Turning the cookie cutter over and gently released the cookie onto the husMait baking mat. 
       
    So while I did not end up with the lovely traditional design on the top of the cookies, this method gave the cookies the lovely scalloped edges of a traditional Chinese Almond Cookie. This recipe is amazingly simple and delicious. The batch I baked yesterday is nearly finished and a good friend said “They taste very authentic. Yummy.  They go well with coffee.”

    恭喜發財  Kung Hei Fat Choi!

    With warm wishes for your home,
    from the husMait home kitchen.

    husMait products used:

    Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters - Set of 6Stainless Steel Measuring Cups,

    Essential Bakeware Set 5 Piece Set - also available individually: Silicone Baking Mat, Silicone Rolling Mat, Set of 2 Flour ScraperStainless Steel Measuring Spoons, Set of 3 Melamine Mixing Bowl

    almond cookies

    Almond Joy Cookies

    It was not like usual chocolate cookies that I thought of always as non-nutritional as a harm to health. A sudden curve appears unintentionally on my face, and I said: “It has almonds?” She replied, smiling: “Yes, almonds with no flour, no butter, and no eggs!" I didn’t believe my ears how you could bake cookies without any flour, butter, and sugar? So, for confirmation, I asked her again, and she repeated the same. I also asked her about other ingredients.

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