Kue Nastar // Pineapple cookies

Nastar is a kind of pastry dough from flour, butter and eggs, filled with pineapple jam.It is said that the name of the cookies came from the Dutch language ie. Ananas Taart. This cake shape is round with a diameter of about 2 cm, on top of it is often decorated with small pieces of raisins or cloves.

In addition nastar now also made with other fruit jam, such as strawberries, blueberries, and others. Nastar is usually served on holidays, from Christmas, Idul Fitri, until the Lunar New Year. Nastar is usually sold in plastic packaging jars in the bakery, patisserie, and supermarkets. (source: wikipedia).

I've posted the recipe before.. have a look at my Pineapple cookies // Nastar.

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Banana Chocolate Cookies

It's been snowing very hard today. Some roads are closed, some places are unreachable due to long queue. In the weather like this I prefer to stay home. I did some cleaning here and there, played some games in facebook, hmmm couldn't go out.. terrible & boring. Then I decided to start baking in the afternoon.

Today we bake Banana Chocolate Cookies. I found the recipe from children cooking book just to make sure I won't make any mistake of baking it... *-*


Banana Chocolate Cookies
(source: book- Lekker koken voor kids)

Ingredients:
125 gr butter
125 gr yellow brown sugar
1 large egg
1 ripe banana, mashed
175 gr selfraising flour
1 theespoon speculas spices
2 eatspoons milk
100 gr chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 190°c. Stir butter and sugar thoroughly with a mixer to a light and creamy blend.

2. Add the egg and mix well. Add the mashed banana and blend until the mixture is smooth.

3. Sift the flour and speculas spices. Add the milk in so that the mixture is becoming soft. Fold through the chocolate chips.

4. Create with a dessert spoon mounds of dough on baking sheets. Ensure that sufficient space between the cookies is.

5. Bake the cookies for about 15-20 minutes or until golden bruin.

6. Take the baking sheet from oven and let cookies stand. Place the biscuits very carefully with a knife on the roster, so they can cool down.

Meringue

I don't know what is the best recipe for meringue. I've made it from few different recipes and the result wasn't so bad. Only the shape was not as good as from the store. But after reading some reviews about this, I make my conclusion (I think) this is the best recipe of meringue which I found from Allrecipes.com.

The meringue as shown on image was not made by me. It was bought from the store in purpose to compare the taste between fresh meringue I will make and from the store. I can't compare the taste yet since I still don't have time to bake it myself but to photograph this cute meringue from the shop who can resist.. ^_*


Meringue

Ingrendient

• 4 egg whites
• 270 g confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Butter and flour a baking sheet.
2. In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.
3. Place the meringues in the oven and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it from closing all the way. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

Mini Millefeuilles

Mille-feuilles "thousand sheets" is a pastry made of several layers of puff pastry alternating with a sweet filling, typically pastry cream, but sometimes whipped cream, or jam. It is usually glazed with icing or fondant in alternating white and brown (chocolate) strips, and combed. The name is also written as "millefeuille" and "mille feuille".(text: wikipedia)

I never try to make it myself but in fact it's very easy. I use ready-to-use puff pastry and ready-to-use vanilla custard powder. They are very difficult to be sliced so I make them in separate portions and in mini versions in the shape of stars. They look so pretty after all. I like the combination to be eaten with strawberries.

This is also my entry for Jugalbandi photo event for the month june 2009 with theme "Stacks".


Mini Millefeuilles

Ready-to-use puff pastry:
Prepare and bake the pastry according to pastry's directions in the packaging.
Put aside and let it to cool down.

Ready-to-use vanilla custard powder:
Prepare and cook thick custard according to directions in the packaging.
Put aside and let it to cool down.
Pour 1 teaspoon rhum in the custard, mix well.

Take a slice of pastry, spread the custard on top of it. Do the same for the rest of the pastry's. Arrange the cream pastry's on top of each other. Dust with icing sugar if you like it.

Crunchy Coffee Cookies

Cookies are very popular everywhere. All cookies can be combined with all kinds of flavours and tastes. As a coffee lover, I want to try to create cookies with sense of coffee. The result is very satisfactory, they are very crunchy, not too sweet and have strong coffee flavour in it. They are truly only for coffee lovers. When a friend of mine came to my house, I served her these cookies, and she was very pleased and liked them.... and she took some for home.. ^_^

This is also my entry for Jugalbandy Click Photo Event for the month May 2009.

Crunchy Coffee Cookies

Ingredients:
100 gr butter / margarine
50 gr icing sugar
1 yellow eggs
1 eatspoon instant coffee
25 gr almond powder
100 gr flour


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and coffee. Beat in the egg, flour, and almond powder. Mix until well blended. Make figures as you like using cookies cutters or decorating tubes.

3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Let cool on wire racks.

Sagon Cake // Kue Sagon

Sagon cake made from grated coconut and glutinous rice flour. This type of cake has a typical taste and aroma of coconut that is not found on other cookies. Confectionary made from primary raw materials coconut grater, able to taste sweet, natural and unique.

Sagon cake is also one of (almost) forgotten Indonesian culinary heritage. I have no idea from which island this cake originally came from, but it's quite populer in Java especially in the period of national big feast in Indonesia such as Ied Fitr. I remember when I was little I used to eat this cake given by our neighbour.

My friend Rurie has an event for (almost) forgotten Indonesian culinary heritage. If you're interested to participate you can see her link here. In order to participate this event I made especially for her this Kue Sagon.

The ingredients are very easy to find and to mix the ingredients is also very easy. When it comes to shape the cakes, it requires patience. I have to struggle in order to keep the coconut stay compact in the mold. I use heart-shape cutter to make another form of this cake.

The recipe is borrowed from here and I only make half of the original recipe.

Ingredients:

250 gr desiccated coconut

75 gr glutinous rice flour

50 gr sugar

25 g butter

30 ml water (I use 40 ml)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Stir fry (without oil) the glutinous rice flour for about 10 minutes with low fire. In another pan, stir fry without oil the desiccated coconut until light brown.

2. In a bowl mix the glutinous flour, desiccated coconut, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla and water together.

3. Take a shape cutter/perforator and fill with the mixture, press until the mixture compact then lift the cutter. Do the same way with the rest of the mixture.

4. Bake the cakes in the oven at temperature 160°c for about 15-20 minutes, until the cakes dry and golden-brown. When the cakes done, remove from the oven and leave on the baking tray until the sagon cakes cool down.

Chocolate Cookies Filled With Marzipan

Still don't find any perfect season cookies? Try this one. Recipe taken from a book titled "Chocola" from Christine McFadden and Christine France. They are very easy to make, filled with marzipan which is loved by the children and the appearance looks really good for any occasions especially forthcoming christmas.


Ingredients:
200 gr soft unsalted butter
200 gr light brownsugar
1 egg
300 gr flour, sifted
4 tablespoons cacao powder, sifted
200 gr white marzipan

Topping:
White sugar glaze or
melting white chocolate

Methods:
1. Pre-heat the oven at 190°C.
2. Whisk the butter and sugar, add the egg in the mixture. Whisk all thoroughly.
3. Add the flour and cacao powder. Mix well using the wooden-spoon until the dough can be kneaded.
4. On a floured surface roll half of the dough until 5 mm thick by using rolling-pin.
5. Cut the cookies using cookies cutter, filled with small balls of marzipan then cover with another layer of flower-shapes dough.
6. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Leave them to cool on the wire rack.
7. Decorate with melting white chocolate or white sugar glaze.

ooooooOOOoooooo

I'm sending over this to Susan at Food Blogga for her Christmas Cookie event. Just click on the logo below that will take you to her round-up.

Chocolate Almond Cookies

Cookies are the most eaten things in my house. My children can't live without them. As snacks for school, as snacks for after school, as snacks in front of TV, as snacks when they're reading or studying. In results I must have them always available in cupboard otherwise they become mad. But with my pleasure I always put them in my shopping lists or sometimes I just make them myself. Like this time, as weekend baking, I made for them chocolate almond cookies. These cookies are very light, no need eggs, good for the line and the most important my daughter loves them.
The recipe is taken from book "De Bak Encyclopedie".


Ingredients:

300 gr flour, sifted
20 gr cacao powder, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
75 gr sugar
1 package vanilla sugar (8 - 10 gr)
3 drops almond essence
3 tablespoons milk
175 gr cold butter

Finishing:
Milk
50 gr sugar
200 gr almond flakes


Methods:

1. Mix the flour, cacao and baking powder in the mixing bowl.
2. Add with sugar, vanilla, almond essence and milk. Mix the mixture through then add with butter.
3. Knead the dough until smooth and not sticky. If it's too sticky, put the dough in the fridge for a while.
4. Make a big roll then flat it. Make the cookies into the shapes you prefer.
5. Brush the cookies with milk, then sprankle with sugar and almond flakes.
6. Put them in pre-heated oven on 175°c and bake for about 15-25 minutes.

ooooooOOOoooooo

I'm sending my cookies over to Susan at Food Blogga for her Christmas Cookie event. Just click on the logo below that will take you to her round-up.

Choco Orange Cookies

Weekend time, baking time. As usual my baking is based on "Easy, Simple but Delicious". This time I took recipe from book "De Bak Encyclopedie", where there are many delicious recipes to be tried out. My choice went to Choco Orange Cookies (Sinaasappel Chocoladekoekjes, dutch translated). These cookies were very easy to make and they are absolutely delicioius, so crunchy... so fragrant... and have incredible taste. The combinations of the sweetness from orange and chocolate chips are just perfect. I will certainly make these cookies again... again.. and again.

Ingredients:
200 gr flour
60 gr maizena
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
100 gr sugar
1 package vanilla sugar/vanilla powder
Grated peel of 1 orange
1 egg
125 soft butter
100 gr chocolate bar, cut in small pieces

Directions:
1. Put in the bowl the flour, maizena, sifted baking powder, egg, sugar, vanilla sugar, grated peel and butter. Mix together, first using low speed afterwards using highest speed.
2. Add the chocolate pieces, and mix using medium speed. Knead the dough and make 3 rolls. Flatten the dough and create an oval form with circa 5 cm width and 1 cm thick. Leave it to rest in the fridge until the dough becomes hard.
3. Cut the dough per 1/2 cm thick and lay them on the baking pan. Make sure enough spaces between the dough because the cookies will expand.
4. Bake in the pre-heated oven with temperature between 175 - 200°c for about 15 minutes (depends on the thickness).

**I was using 175°c and baked it for about 25 minutes until the colour became brown. Don't be surprised when you remove the cookies from the oven they are still soft. This is the trick, as soon as you take the baking pan out of the oven, remove all the cookies on to other surface, the cookies will become harder straight away.

**You can make any shapes you like if you want to. You don't have to refrigerate it in advance. Just make sure you give enough spaces between the cookies before you bake it.

**If you don't have chocolate bars, you can use choco chips or chocolate sprinkles. I think it's easier and less work.

Pineapple Cookies / Nastar

Idul Fitri cookies are not complete without these pineapple cookies. It got to be there, available on every table of every people houses. When I was little, I used to help my mother to make these cookies. It was hard labour because my mother always made thecookies so much, more than you could imagine. Not for selling, but for people who would visit us and also for ourself (my mother has five children, and we all loved cookies...). I still miss that moment sometimes, especially since I become a mother myself... My children are not so interested to help me in the kitchen. My son is 12 years-old, a boy who prefers to live in his own world now and my daughter, she's just 3,5 years-old, still too small to help. But they're lovely kids, they help me by tasting the cookies and if it's good, they'll appove it. And I love it!!!

Well, these are my final cookies I make within 2 weeks period. Tiring? Yes.. but I'm happy it's done. So until next year, to the next Ramadhan.. then I'll make these cookies again..:D


Ingredients:
120 gr butter/margarine
120 gr icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
225 gr flour, sifted
2 egg yolks

Pineapple jam:
400 gr pineapple, blended
50 gr castor sugar

Directions:
1. Make first the pineapple jam:
Put the blended pineapple in a sauce pan with sugar. Cook and stir occasionally the pineapple until thick and the liquid gone. Leave to cool.
2. In a big bowl beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg until soft and light.
3. Add flour and then mix it with spatula.
4. Take a bit dough, make it flat. Fill it with pineapple jam, then make a shape of a small ball. Do the same with the rest of the dough until finished.
5. Bake them in the oven at temperature of 150°C for about 35 minutes.

Coconut Cheese Cookies/Kue Keju Kelapa

Yes, it's about cookies again. Well, Ramadhan is almost finished, means we're going to celebrate wih a big feast. It will be lots of people visiting, food, drinks and all kinds of sweets including cookies.

For these cookies, it's the first time I'm baking it. They look almost the same as Cheese Cookies, only added with dried grated-coconuts. I found this recipe from Sedap Pemula.

Ingredients:
150 gr margarine
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp icing sugar
1 egg yolk
75 gr grated cheese
25 gr dried grated-coconuts
150 gr flour
dried grated-coconut

Directions:
1. Beat margarine, salt and sugar until light and soft.
2. Add egg yolk, beat thoroughly.
3. Put in the cheese and coconuts, mix well.
4. Sift the flour on top of the mixture, mix all together until the mixture easy to knead.
5. Make figures or shapes you like, roll over the coconut grated, bake in the oven at temperature 140°C for about 40 minutes.

Tapioca Cheese Cookies/Kue Kering Sagu Keju

It's a little bit strange to name these cookies in English. We always call it Sagu Keju. It's made from tapioca or sago powder and added with grated cheese.

These are another kinds of cookies where you can easily find at every houses in Indonesia during the end of Ramadhan feast. I can say that these are my favorite cookies. I just love it when I take a bite of these cookies.... the crunch, the softness and the sweetness, the cheese taste... all these tastes are melted in the tongue. It's difficult to describe it in words, you just have to experience it yourself.

This is also my entry for Jugalbandi Click Event which this month theme is Crust.

Ingredients:
120 gr margarine
100 gr butter
125 gr icing sugar
3 egg yolks
150 gr edam cheese, grated
300 gr sago/tapioka powder, sifted
50 gr maizena, sifted
50 gr flour, sifted


Directions:
1. Whisk margarine, butter and sugar until soft.
2. Add egg yolks, stir well.
3. Put tapioca, maizena and flour terigu in the butter mixture. Stir well.
4. Make figures or shapes using decorating tubes.
5. Bake in the oven at 150°C for about 30 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies / Kue Kering Kacang

Kue Kering Kacang or peanut butter cookies, is one kind of cookies especially made for celebrating end of Ramadhan. There are many ways to make these kind of cookies, but they are all tasty and delicious. Sometimes they're added with chopped peanuts, cashew nuts or almonds.

This is my version adapted from book "Kreasi Kue Nastar":


Ingredients:
100 gr butter / margarine
50 gr icing sugar
30 gr peanut butter
1 egg yolk
125 gr flour, sifted

Directions:
1. Beat the butter and sugar until soft.
2. Add the egg yolk, keep beating, then add the peanut butter. Beat well.
3. Add the flour and mix it well with spatula.
4. Make figures as you like it using cookies cutters or decorating tubes.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes on 150°c.

Orange Wafels

I made this wafel specially for Monthly Foodie Multipliers event with a theme flour. This wafel is really easy to make and also has a special taste too, with orange. Who would have thought about orange in wafels. But it works !!


Ingredients:
250 gr selfraising flour, sifted
175 gr fine sugar
1 sack vanilasugar
175 gr butter, melted
2 eggs
2 oranges
Directions:
1. Put the flour into a bowl and make a hole in the middle of the flour.
2. Add sugar and vanilasugar in.
3. Leave a melted butter a little bit cool, then add eggs and juice from 1 orange. Whisk together.
4. Pour butter mixture into flour. Stir the mixture well using a wooden spoon.
5. Peel and cut the other orange in small pieces. Add and spoon carefully into the mixture.
6. Leave the mixture for about 15 minutes before you bake it in the wafel machine.
7. Serve with whipped cream if you like it.