London Cookies

I can't figure out why these cookies are called London cookies because I have never seen them in London. The best way to describe these cookies is that they are like a cookie-version of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Mum starts by making a biscuit dough and weighing them out small portions. She presses a piece of hazelnut into the middle of the each biscuit portion, balls the dough and puts them into a tiny paper cups. The biscuit balls are then baked and cooled. Next, she pours melted chocolate over the biscuit and sprinkles almond bits on top.

Kuih Lapis

It is about time that mum cooks up another local favourite. This is the popular kuih lapis or layered sticky cake in the making. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to cut up the kuih for a cross-section shot as the whole tray was her contribution to a temple festival.

Kuih lapis is made of flour, sugar and coconut milk. It's sweet and sticky and looks like Christmas candy as it is layered red and white. First, mum sets up a large tray over a big wok of boiling water. A measured amount of coconut milk mixture is poured into the tray. The tray is covered then with a wok hood so that steam can solidify the mix. Then it is layer after layer of alternately red and white milk until the tray is filled. You have to always plan to end with the red layer on top or your kuih lapis would look mighty strange.

Return of the Fruit Cake

Mum has really gone all out on the fruit cake this CNY. She ran a mini cottage industry slicing and wrapping candy-sized pieces and repacking them into gift boxes for friends and family. I alternated as a wrapper and packer.

Step 1: Slice

Step 2: Portion

Step 3: Wrap

Step 4: Box & Ribbon 'Em

Chocolate Chip Peanut Cookies

This is a slight variation of the Chocolate Chip Cookies in the last posting. My brother bought a bag of Reese's peanut chips from somewhere so we substituted half the chocolate chips with these. Unlike chocolate chips peanut chips tend to melt into the cookie so compared with the earlier batch, these are sweeter but definitely more fragrant.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got tired of going out of my way to buy fresh Famous Amos cookies so convince my mum to bake a few batches this year. I find out for the first time that it is actually a two day process.

Day 1: She makes the dough with chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. Then, she divides the dough into long rolls wrapped in grease paper. The rolls go into the fridge overnight.

Day 2: It's really easy for here. Just cut up little chunks with a knife and put them on a baking tray. Wait for the wonderful smells...

Cornflake Cookies

It has been a little quiet not because my mum hasn't been baking. Far from it. She has only been making a lot of things that have already been featured mostly fuit cake, muffins and cupcakes.

But seeing as it is drawing close to Chinese New Year. I managed to get her to make some of my favourite cornflake cookies. She first makes the dough with raisins, scoops out dollops into a big bowl of cornflakes, roll the dough around, scoop them up again onto an oven dish, then they go into the oven.

 This is what comes out in the end. Golden brown cookies which are light and crumbly on the inside but crunchy on the outside.