Kueh Tat (Pineapple Jam Tarts)

These small tart cookies are superb! They pastry is soft and yummy, and it melts in your mouth. This reminds me of home - they are very popular and we have them for Raya (Eid), Chinese New Year, whenever we want, really. They are so delicious and addictive to eat that his batch I made barely lasted for 3 days. Even my naughty cat Katiki managed to pilfer one that I accidentally dropped on the floor in the kitchen.

Katiki says Gong Xi Fa Cai with a mini Chinese Paper Lion

Gong Xi Fa Cai! It'll be Chinese New Year in 2 weeks time, and these small coin-like golden treasures are apt to bring us good luck, yes?

The main ingredient in these tarts is the Pineapple Jam. Make your own, or buy them from the shops.

Ingredients: (makes about 30-40 cookies)

Pineapple jam (from 1 pineapple. You may have extra jam in the end.)

Pastry:

175g of butter, softened

50g of sweetened condensed milk

260g of all purpose flour

1 egg yolk

1 egg yolk plus 1 tsp of milk to glaze

What you will need:
A baking tray, lined with parchment

Pastry brush

A mixer: handheld or standalone. Or, a husband-shaped-whisk-wielding helper to help. (Elbow grease)

Wire rack

Preparation:

1. Make sure that the pineapple jam is thick and mold-able. If its still 'wet' and with liquid, heat it gently in the saucepan until it has thickened. When cool, shape the jam into small sized balls. Arrange them on a plate and refrigerate them while you prepare the pastry.

2. Beat the butter and condensed milk until smooth and creamy. Add in the yolk and mix well. Fold in flour and mix until the dough has stopped being sticky and is soft and easy to mold. 

3. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.

4. Roll the dough into balls which are slightly bigger than the pineapple jam balls. Flatten the dough and press the jam ball in the center of the dough and bring in the edges to cover the jam. Press lightly to seal and roll it around your palms to shape the cookie. Continue with the rest.

5. Arrange onto the baking tray. With a pastry brush lightly glaze the top of each cookie ball.

6. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack. 

8. Store them in airtight containers. 

What can you do with the leftover egg whites? 

Upcoming recipe: Coconut Macaroons.

Pineapple Jam

Its going to be Chinese New Year soon, and during this holiday season I am always reminded of these small soft melty cookies. I love them. You can find them everywhere in Malaysia - but homemade ones are usually the best. The main ingredient for the tart cookies is Pineapple Jam. You can buy them easily in the shops in Malaysia and you may find them in specialist stores, but I prefer to make my own. 

Here my jam is dark in colour because I use dark brown sugar. I love the slightly smoky molasses flavour it adds into jam, but you can use any sort of sugar you desire.How long the jam will last in the refrigerator depends on how much sugar you use. Equal the amount of pineapple to sugar ratio and the jam should last for about 6 -8 weeks in the fridge. I don't like my jam too sweet and since I plan to use the jam immediately, I reduced the amount of sugar used because I wanted the sweetness of the pineapple to shine through more than the sugar.

Ingredients: 

1 ripe pineapple, cleaned (about approx. 500g)

Sugar (if you have 2 cups of pineapple, use 2 cups of sugar. But use less if you want to.)

1 tbsp of lime juice

Preparation:

1. Grate/blend half of the pineapple and chop the other half into small and fine pieces, saving the juices.
2. Add in a small saucepan, and check if there is enough liquid to cover the pineapple pieces. There usually is, but if not, add just enough water to cover.
3. On medium heat, cover and cook until soft which is about 25-30 minutes.
4. Add in the sugar and lime juice, and stir to combine.
5. Cook uncovered on low heat until it has thickened which usually takes about 40 minutes.
6. Take it off the heat, and spoon in into a jar to store the jam for future use.

Serving suggestions:

I added some water in a saucepan, and added a tbsp of the jam. On low heat, I made a kind of syrupy sauce which I added chopped bananas. I coated the bananas with the syrup and removed from heat. I served this on top of French Toast. You can add some shredded coconut flakes on top as a garnish to make it a totally tropical-flavour extravaganza.

I also love this jam on top of some Greek Yogurt. Serve it with some almond cookies. 

Fizzy Ginger

The New Year has passed (Καλή Χρονιά everyone!), and in my recent post on Ginger Syrup, I mentioned about a fizzy ginger drink that I make with the syrup. Its refreshing, and it certainly helps if you have any leftover 'hangover' feeling after nights of partying.

All you need is:

Ginger syrup
Fresh lime/lemon
Sparkling water

Preparation: (for 1 glass.)

1. Fill the glass 1/3 way up with syrup.
2. Add a generous amount of squeezed lime/lemon juice.
3. Fill up the glass with sparkling water.
4. Gently stir to mix.
5. Add ice if you want to, and drink up!

You can mix this up in a jug, too!