Saturday, January 17, 2009

Chinese New Year Goodies Recipe 2 - Almond Cream Cheese Cookies 玉仁酥

Chinese New Year is closing in soon and as usual I am making New Year Goodies as well. Ever since the melamine scare that we had last year, it is safer to make your own cookies and biscuits for we will know best what goes into it.

The following is my new recipe - Almond Cream Cheese Cookies. Cream cheese is not often used in cookies, but it added a special touch of creamy flavour to the ordinary cookies. Also, I had purposely chosen almond to keep the cookies "white". As with all cookies, they only required M&M skill (Measure and Mix), thus it is very easy make. Do try it at home !

Ps: They are suitable for vegetarians too. No eggs required!


Almond Cream Cheese Cookies - 玉仁酥
Ingredients:
Group A - Should be at room temperature
  • 100 g of cream cheese
  • 180g of butter
  • 100 g of icing sugar
  • pinch of salt
Group B - For stiffing
  • 300 g of plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Group C - Almonds Chopped

  • 50 g of Almonds

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius

Cream ingredient Group A of butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. It is easier to loosen up the ingredients using a wooden spoon first followed by the use of the flimsy egg whisk. Also, I had creamed the mixture by hand this time round, but go ahead to use a machine if you want to.

The mixture is ready when turned pale in colour and turned fluffier.

Before adding the Group B dry ingredients, I added the almond into the batter first to ensure that it will be mixed it thoroughly. After that, stiffed in the flour and baking powder.


The final cookies dough looked crumby, but should hold its shape well when pressed lightly together.

Using hand, I used a heaped teaspoonful of mixture and shaped it to a ball. Then using the thumb, I dented the ball shaped dough to make it flat like the above.

The dough above is enough to make about 70 pieces of cookies.

Into the over, the cookies will take about 20 to 23 minutes to cook. However depending on over, the level of browning might differs. Thus do check back at about the 18 minutes mark.

When done, the cookies will be in a pale golden brown colour at the side. The centre should still remained white. Do take care not to leave them for too long in the oven as it might be over-baked and became brown.

Amidst every mouthful of cookies eludes subtle almond fragrance which complimentd very well with the unique cream cheese flavour. I especially like the crumbier texture which is almost like a saltier version of butter cookies!

Why is it called 玉仁酥? 因为它是皎如白玉的杏仁酥。 :)

Other Chinese New Year's Reads:

More Photosophize's Recipes can be found under My Kitchen label.

7 comments:

miss chye said...

hi, would like to know if the butter u used is salted or unsalted?

Photosophize [ 影.像.物语 ] said...

Hi chYe,

I used normal salted butter.

I supposed you could use the salted butter but omit the salt which the recipe called for. However, if you like it to be healthier, then use the unsalted butter.

In whatever case, one should use good butter if you want to make delicious cookies. If you have no budget, try using "President" or those higher price tier butter.

I tried using it once for pie crust... Goodness, it stealed the show from the filling. It was then that I understand why the butter is so bloody expensive...

:)

ps: I brought the cream cheese from Red Man which cost $2.90 for 500 g. Much cheaper than branded one from supermarket.

foral said...

Hi there, can replaced almond with peanuts?

Photosophize [ 影.像.物语 ] said...

Hi Foral,

Of course! It can be replaced with whatever nuts that you prefer - for example, hazenuts or even macademia! :)

@nt said...

Hi,

Instead of using plain flour and baking powder, can i substitute with self raising flour?

Photosophize [ 影.像.物语 ] said...

Hi NT,

I do not recommend that. Self-raising flour is for making cakes. It has different ratio for making cookies. Suggest you stick to plain flour and baking power seperately.

:)

Anonymous said...

Where to get the cream cheese? Red Man is a brand or a place?