Brownie Cookies

I made some brownie cookies a while ago using Donna Hay's recipe. These are so light and delicious. 

Pao De Queijo

Still loving this. I have tested making these guys with different and easier recipe and it works wonderfully. These cheese buns are good for breakfast or anytime.

Almond Cookies

Christmas time is cookie time. I baked some almond cookies using Dorie Greenspan's recipe this year and this is a recipe to keep and remake indeed. Delicious and moreish!

Baked Oatmeal With Berries

I love baked oatmeal and berries make it even more delicious. In this, I added grated coconut and pumpkin seeds, the oats were mixed with maple syrup and that brought it to another yummy level.

Sourdough Galette With Blueberries and Peach

Time for galette. Now that I have my own sourdough starter, I made the crust using the sourdough as well. I love the flavor of the crust, it's different than the normal crust that I have. The filling is a mix of blueberries and sliced peaches and the two makes such a wonderful combination.

Cinnamon Braid

I don't think any explanation is needed here, but yum!

German Pancake (Dutch Baby Pancake)

This is one of my favorite breakfast to have, particularly now that I find making it less challenging. They key is the temperature and the timing of the oven. I can top it with anything and want and it's always delicious.

This time, I caramelized some apples and simply pour them on top of the pancake, together with some raspberries and mint leaves. Finally, some grated coconut sealed the deal. Breakfast was ready.

Biscuits/Scones

I normally called them scones. This time, however, I used a recipe from King Arthur Flour and the name of the recipe is biscuits, the way Americans call them. They are essentially the same.

Cheese Bread

Occasionally, I bake some cheese bread at home. It's one of those that everyone eats at home. I normally use Hokkaido milk bread or any soft bread recipe. Give each piece a generous amount of grated cheese and they will ooze out when you opens it. So good. 

Cheese Popovers

I always love popovers, especially with cheese on top. They are simple to make and good for breakfast. They are light and they do not take too much effort to make. 

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (sifted)

½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 tbsp. melted butter
Grated Cheese as desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Put the popover or muffin pans inside. Sift together flour and salt into a bowl.

2. Whisk together eggs, whole milk, and butter in a bowl. Then add flour, whisking until combined (some lumps may remain). You can continue to whisk again to combine. 

3. Take out the pan from the oven and butter the molds using a brush. 

4. Pour batter into popover tin or muffin pan, filling individual tins two-thirds to three-quarters full. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top if you wish. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° and continue baking until puffed and browned, about 20 minutes more.

5. Remove from the pans and put them on the rack. (You can pierce sides of popovers with a toothpick to allow steam to escape, I don't do this) Serve immediately.

Salted Egg Yolk Cookies

These salted egg yolk cookies seem to pop up more as Chinese New Year is nearing. I was very curious that I felt the urge to bake some. The cookies were really tender, I needed a little time to get used to the flavor. They were like sweet spritz cookies, but with mild flavor of salted egg yolk. 

Recipe adapted from: http://mintyskitchen.blogspot.sg/2014/01/salted-egg-yolks-cookies.html

Egg In Clouds

This baked egg loos so attractive and it was not hard nor takes too much time to prepare. The egg white needs to be beaten separately and seasoned with parmesan and black pepper.  It is not my favorite thing to eat, but it does look photogenic. 

Popovers

There were just two of us at home so I halved the recipe that I used. I made six of them, smaller ones. This batch was successful, every single popover rose really well with a beautiful hollow in the center. They were light, airy and delicious.

Recipe
Popovers

Ingredients (Makes 12 popovers)

• 1 Tsp unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing tin
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• grated cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Put the popover pan inside the oven to heat up. 
• In a bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Pour over flour mixture and continue whisking until just blended. 
• Remove the popover pan from the oven and brush with some butter 
• Fill the popover cups two-thirds to three-quarters full. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top
• Transfer tin to oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until well browned and crusty, about 20 minutes. Do not open the oven door while baking.
• Remove popovers from the oven, and unmold onto a rack. Puncture the sides with a sharp knife to let steam escape, and serve immediately. 

Babka

I bumped into chocolate babka pictures again and again and that made me want to bake one. I baked one with chocolate and pecan with crumb topping.

Cheese Twists

I had a couple of frozen pastry in the freezer that needed to be cleared up. These cheese twists are easy to make and favorites at home. 

Parmesan Puffs

I baked these favorites of ours, delicious little cheesy stuff that can be eaten anytime. They can be for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or anytime you want to have them. We could have them on their own or have them with jam or whatever you want.

There's nothing much more that can be said about them. They are simply yummy. 

2016 First Bake!

Happy New Year! We began our 2016 journey today. We had leftovers for breakfast and after attending mass in the morning, I rushed back to bake these highly requested cheese bread sticks. I had to rush, because I had a lunch reservation and wanted them baked before we left for lunch. 

I used to make lots of these breadsticks for afternoon snack, but I do not make them often anymore.  Life happens. Holiday makes people appreciate more of good old times and these bread sticks are one of those things that remind us of the joy we had in the past.

Let's make 2016 a happier, healthier and more positive time for all of us, a productive year which we fill with love and care towards one another.

Homemade Ciabatta

When I was in London, I missed home-baked bread so much. One of the first few things I did after I got back was to bake a couple of Ciabatta.

Cheese Shortbread

Cheese shortbread or known as kaastengels for Durch and Indonesian people, are so scrumptious. Originally they are shaped as cheese fingers, but these days, these cheese cookies seem to come in different sizes and shapes. I have been making these for the longest time and I did not really use particular recipe, but there's always a guidelines that I remember in terms of amount of cheese and butter used. Recipe is below.

Recipe

Ingredients:

100 gr butter

1/4 tsp salt

25 gr almond flour

1 egg yolk

125 gr flour

50 gram grated cheddar or gouda

egg wash (beat 1 egg and 1 Tbs of water)

Directions:

In a medium size bowl, beat the butter and salt until they are slightly creamy, add almond flour and the egg yolk and mix them well until they are combined.

Add the flour and mix well, mix in the grated cheese and mix further until they are combined. Tip the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead to a soft dough. Wrap the dough using a plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 170C.

Take out the dough and knead a little bit if needed and roll out to 4-5mm thickness. Using a cookie cutter or a knife, cut the dough into preferred shapes. Brush the top of the shortbread using the egg wash and sprinkle generously with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes at 170C, and further 10-15 minutes at 160C, until they are golden brown. Leave on the baking tray for a few minutes until they are firmer and transfer to wire rack to cool.