Pandan Jasmine Cookies

Day 10. Sweet day. I was going to take the day off, as this is hard, but know I must continue in order to complete all 29 "edible items" by the end of this month! While I watch TV, I Google and surf for recipes, and then add these to a list I have so it's easy for me to select from. Well, I had seen this recipe a while ago and had ordered the Pandan extract. And some Jasmine extract while I was at it. I had not intended to use these together. But, well, this is me, and I do tend to muddle things together. As I mentioned in the "About Me" section (unless I have changed it) that "I see cooking as a science, chemistry, an experiment to arouse the senses: sight, smell, taste..." And sure enough, this recipe does this! The green. The sweetness. The nuttyness. It also arouses the mind - in that it takes you back to Thailand! Or any Thai restaurant you may have been to. It's that scent and taste which you'll find in Thai iced tea too! And, because I *think* I added a little too much Pandan, I used the Jasmine extract to mute its smell.

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ¼ baking soda
• Pinch of salt (omit if your butter is salted)
• 1 tbsp egg replacer (such as Allergycare)
• ½ cup confectioners sugar
• 1 stick butter at room temperature
• ¼ cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp Pandan extract
• 1-2 tbsp milk (or a little more)
• Cashews, Pistachios, Chocolate M&Ms, Hershey's Kisses :*

1. Cream together the butter and ¼ cup confectioners sugar
2. Add the Pandan extract, and egg/replacer and cream really well, so that the colored extract is well incorporated
3. Sift in the flour, baking soda, confectioners sugar and salt (if your butter was unsalted)
4. Mix well, and you may need to add in a little mill to make the dough. The dough should resemble Play-Doh :)
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
6. Set the oven to 320F
7. After 30 minutes (it can be more) take the dough out, and make 1-inch balls
8. Place each ball on a baking sheet, 1-inch apart, and press a cashew, pistachio, or M&M in the center (This will also flatten the ball)
9. Bake for 20 minutes then turn the oven up to 350F and bake for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, after turning the oven up, you don't want them to go brown!
10. Allow to cool, and enjoy with a cup of Jasmine tea.

It was really fun making these, as the cookie dough has a Play-Doh type texture, and the color is much vibrant (think Incredible Hulk) uncooked! LOL

I feel as if I'm on the FoodNetwork Show and should describe how they taste! "Hmmm... Yumm... Hmmm... The outside is a little crunchier whilst the inside is softer and a little crumblier like a cake! Reminds me of Thai iced tea, and these are so aromatic too. You can just smell a hint of the jasmine. Makes me want to have a cup of Jasmine tea now!"

Cranberry Orange Blossom Cookies

Today is a sweet day for Radhika's Birthday "Something Edible" for her 29th! cooking item! YAY! I could easily make a different type of cookie, or something sweet for all the remaining days. But then, that would not be good either! So, I came across this recipe from a website called Sprinke Bakes, and I thought, "hey, I have all the ingredients!" And I have a cookie spritz machine which I haven't used for the last 3 years! :))

And these simply are the best cookies I have made so far in this collection! Seriously! I even give myself a pat on the back! And off course, they are eggless! :))

• 3 ¾ cup of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 sticks of butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg - or egg replacer
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp orange extract
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 drops of Orange food color (or 1 drop of red and 1 drop of yellow)
• Some dried dried cranberries (I used the Trader Joes Orange flavored cranberries, as they are a little moist too, so didn't dry out in the oven)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add egg, milk, orange extract, food colorings and orange zest, mix well.
4. Stir together flour and baking powder.
5. Add to mix until a smooth dough forms.
6. For flower cookies, load dough into a cookie press and place on cookie sheet about 1” apart.
7. Lightly press one dried cranberry in the centers of the flowers.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes.
9. Allow to cool and then enjoy these cookies! They will melt in your mouth!

And these simply are the best cookies I have made so far in this collection! 

Rosy-Lemon Cookies - Coming Soon!

Wedding Mehandi Sugar Cookies

So today is day 2 of Radhika's Birthday "Something Edible" for her 29th! Since she's getting married, I thought I'd make some Mehandi design cookies.

The cookie recipe is a basic "Sugar Cookie" recipe. There are many variations, but the one I used is below.  I also made half the recipe (just half all the ingredients.) You may even be able to purchase the dough ready made by Pillsbury or all the ingredients in a box in the cake/flour section.  I also purchased my hand shapes from here - Left Hand and Right Hand. Although the price of the cookie cutter is less than $1, you'll end up paying more for the shipping, so you may want to order some other cutters from them too. The shipping costs are on the middle of this page. Jo-Ann or other craft stores may sell them too. For me, ordering over the internet is the easiest!

4 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt (if your butter is salted, then don't add any salt!)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups bakers sugar (bakers suger is finer than granulated sugar, but not like powdered sugar. Safeway sells this)
2 eggs (I don't eat eggs, so used egg-replacer, and followed the instructions for these)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Orange Extract, but I guess you could use any flavor you like)
1 tablespoon water (optional, may need a little more or less at the end)

1. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl This becomes the "dry-mix"
2. Beat the Sugar and Butter together until creamy in another bowl, and add the vanilla extract. This becomes the "wet-mix"
3. If you're using eggs, then whisk these into the wet-mix
4. If you're using Ener-G egg-replacer, then add the powder to the dry-mix, and add the water to the wet-mix
5. Slowly, add the dry-mix into the wet-mix bit by bit and making it into a dough
6. If you find the dough too dry, then add the tablespoon of water, or maybe a little more.
7. Knead the dough into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 mins
8. Heat the oven to 375 degrees
9. Take dough out of the fridge, break a piece off, knead it and roll it out using a little flour
10. Dip cookie cutter in dry flour, shake off excess and cut several shapes (before having to dip into dry flour again). If you get dry flour on the cut cookie, then gently wipe/brush off using dry finger-tips
11. Place on baking sheet, about 1-inch apart (I line my baking sheet with Parchment paper, makes it easier to take the cookies off)
12. Bake in the middle of the oven for 8-10 mins, until cookies are golden brown
13. Once the cookies are cooked, take out and let them cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack (or something else) to cool down completely
14. And now the fun part! Decorate!

I just used a Wilton Edible writing pens - like the ones here to decorate. I purchased mine from Jo-Ann or was it Safeway? It was a long time ago, and I know I didn't order them from the internet! :) Anyway, you should be able to buy them from any other good grocery store.

Naan Khatai - Coming Soon!