The ol' non-working momma has been mucking about her kitchen and tinkering with her recipe books and other whatnots for a week now. Huhu.. Maybe she needs a change of scenery and take some time off with her lil' tot and hubby.
Some people have been telling me, again and again, that Hari Raya is still a loong way to go. Yeah, I got that. But don't forget I'll be going a week before Raya so I need to asah my cookie-skills before that. For what? Kuih raya laaa. Asik beli je tiap tahun tapi tak reti-reti nak buat sendiri? So sad....... Sob sob.. Tapi kek boleh lak buat ek? Huhu... Pelik pelik...
Anyway, so far the new things I learned about biscuit-baking are:
*They are unlike making cakes. Cakes, if God-willing, don't turn hard-rock. Unless you have itchy fingers and open the oven door which will give you a flat cake.
*Biscuits and cookies don't like to be over-knead. They get hard when baked because you over-worked your gluten! (Or so I've read)
*They are more aggravating@leceh to do because you have to terap them first. If you're making 200 cookies, then be sure to have a pail of water nearby in case you doze off during the process of menerap, membakar, and menyejukkan biskut pada suhu bilik and also if you're lucky, mendeko.
*They're a lot more fun to eat especially chocolatey ones like Almond Londons because you don't have to slice 'em up first. All you need is a balang-full of cookies and you'll be as happy as Larry!
So last night was my first attempt of making Almond Londons. And I'm happy to say...Kita Berjaya Wonderpets! Huhuhu.. Before making them I had serious doubts. I mean, I never had much experience and probably will ruin all those almonds (mahal tuuu!). But dear hubby had faith in me. So I gritted my teeth and berserah sepenuhnya pada Allah dan alhamdulillah...jadi juga ya. Sooo.. Here they are:
A tray-full of yummy Almond Londons
Choc rice and gula manik for deco
Chopped almonds for deco
A balang-full of Almond Londons (50 pieces inside)
A sneak peek inside
Wanna sample? Sure, as long as I don't gobble 'em up first la :P Seriously, if you want a taste, contact me (if you live nearby la). And sementara stock masih ada la. Tengok gaya ada tangan yang asik mencelup dalam balang je :P
For 50 pieces, I'll give you RM19 sebalang. Nak masukkan lebih tak muat so for 100 pieces (2 balang)s for the price of Rm35. Huhu.. Yeke orang berminat nak beli ni? Macam ye jek ek.. Haha.. Kalau leh tempah awal sikit sebab 13 Sept nak terbanggg sudah. Hehe... (Yeke orang nak beli ni? Haha..)
Anyway, for those who are interested, here's the recipe, got from nizamadey@myresepi.com.
Thanks Nizam!
Bahan-bahan (-+150 biji)
250g mentega
125g gula halus
1 biji telur
1 sk esen vanila
50g serbuk badam (optional)
200g tepung jagung
300g tepung gandum
2 sb tepung beras
1 sk baking powder
200g kacang badam (digoreng tanpa minyak) (I just put in the oven for 5min, 160 degrees celcius)
50g badam cincang (hiasan)
-+ 700g coklat masakan + 1/2 sb shortening
Cara-cara:
- Pukul mentega dengan gula hingga kembang.
- Masukkan telur, esen vanila, dan pukul lagi.
- Masukkan serbuk badam, kacau.
- Ayak bersama tepung jagung, tepung beras, baking powder dan gaulkab bersama adunan tadi.
- Masukkan tepung gandum sedikit demi sedikit, hingga jadi doh (doh agak rapuh).
- Bentukkan doh menjadi bulat-bulat kecil/lonjong dan masukkan badam di dalamnya.
- Letakkan di atas dulang pembakar yang dilengserkan sedikit mentega.
- Bakar pada suhu 200C, 20 min (I cook about 10-15 sebab taknak terlampau perang sangat guna oven tangkring).
- Cairkan coklat masakan secara double boil (bekas tahan panas di atas periuk berisi air mendidih).
- Masukkan biskut (pastikan dah betul-betul sejuk) ke dalam mangkuk kertas atau celup ke dalam coklat cair (ku sudukan guna sudu coleslaw KFC je sonang). Taburkan badam cincang diatas.
- Biarkan kering seketika dan sedia dimakan/disimpan.
