CHRISTMAS!

Christmas is just around the corner and after all the dazzling goodies and log cakes, I must say I still love cookies the best! Though I haven't really been to orchard road to soak myself in the Christmas atmosphere and pretty lights these cookies sure edged me into the Christmas mood. From the dough, to the aroma when they're baking away in the oven, till the time their out and finally with that icing that makes all the difference (appearance I mean)! I'm so lovin it! =p

I'm ashamed to say that after years of baking, its my very first making a gingerbread man (though not gingerbread flavoured) but hey! it's still a milestone isn't it. haha. And the thought of those few wiggly lines, dots and ribbons making the whole gingerbread come to life, I couldn't contain that excitement and I knew I had to make a few more batches to give away as gifts. 

D was also really psyched when he saw those lying on the baking tray and immediately asked if I was free to bake some for his colleagues! Though it meant I had to spend more time baking extras (other than the order on hand), but it also meant some fun time together! Well, now I'm toying with the idea of making these for my friends. Packed nicely in a plastic pack, sealed and tied with a pretty ribbon, just how I love it!

Now, I hope I've spurred YOU (yes, you who is reading this post now) to get crackin and make some homemade goodies for your friends. Though "inexpensive", but sure packs a load of love and sincerity. No?

Recipe below!

Gingerbread cookies

Ingredients:

100g Salted butter, cubed and softened

  80g Caster sugar

    1   Egg Yolk

190g Plain Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or Vanilla bean paste if you have)

Method:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well combined. 

    *Mixture doesn't have to be light and fluffy as we do not want the cookies to expand too much 

      during baking

2. Stir in the egg yolk until well combined.

3. Add in the flour, 1/3 at a time until a dough is formed. If dough is too soft to handle, cling wrap the dough and place it in the refrigerator for about 15-30 min to allow it to firm up a little. 

    *I usually split the dough into 2 and refrigerate one portion while I start working on the other. 

4. Roll out the dough on a piece of parchement paper in between 2 chopsticks (one pair) to ensure uniform thickness.

5. Get your favorite cookie cutter and stamp away! Gather the scraps and re-roll until the dough is used up. 

6. Place the cut-out dough on the baking tray and bake at 180C for 10-15 min (longer baking time require for larger cookies) or until the edges are lightly browned.

variations: 

Chocolate cookie

*Use 20g cocoa powder + 170g Plain flour instead

Orange/Lemon cookie

*Use 1 tsp or orange/lemon oil + finely grated zest of 1 orange/lemon

Royal Icing recipe

Ingredients:

2 tsp   Meringue powder

2 tbsp Water

165 g  Icing sugar

Method:

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix together meringue powder and water. Using an electric mixer, whip will soft peaks form.

2. Add icing sugar gradually and mix on high speed until medium peaks. *This consistency is good for piping

3. To colour (or flood the icing), add water, bit by bit until you get a consistency that resembles a syrup. 

Bloggers Meet-up!......in KL!!

I can't imagine how long has it been since I last blogged. So much has happened during the time I was absent and I must say that one of the best things was that I got to meet so many wonderful people during my short short trip to KL! I got to meet so many great bloggers from Malaysia (Wendy from table for 2 or more, Swee San from  and me, being REALLY honoured to be the FIRST singaporean blogger some of them have met! *drum roll please* =ppp

photo courtesy of Swee San

Photo courtesy of Pei-Lin

They are such amazing people, it must be one of the best things that happened to me while blogging! Travelling up north and meeting a bunch of strangers isn't the wisest thing to do. But, boy, was I glad I took the "risk"!

Pei-Lin was really nice and wanted me to have some real authentic malaysian food. Well, if you know Singapore and Malaysia well enough, you'd find it hard sometimes to distinguish the local hawker fares. We have much in similarity when it comes to food (with the exception of the price ) that sometimes it's a little difficult to trace the authenticity. But I learnt one thing on my trip up north this time is that, Hokkien Mee in Singapore = White and Malaysian Hokkien Mee = Black. Hang on, while you try to say "but". I know we do serve black hokkien mee in Singapore. However, the noodles used in Malaysia to fry the hokkien mee is different and somehow, it looked like udon to me when it was first served. Now, THAT'S a difference, right? One other thing I realised is that I think we're heavier on the seasonings here in Singapore. Despite calls to healthier eating habits, I think we do add a tad too much salt into our food. 

photo courtesy of Pei-Lin

Don't be fooled by the colour appearance of this dish, if you think it packs a punch of salt, you're wrong, but it does indeed pack a punch of flavours! What's really amazing is that it actually doesn't come with that bitter noodle after-taste you often get (if you know what I mean). To top off the goodness, the tiny pieces of fried pork lard, fried to crispy perfection was the oomph! you'd get in a mouthful! Well, of course, as the cardiologist would advise, we'd better stay away from lard for the better of our hearts. But hey! it's ok to indulge once in a while isn't it? =X

After the wonderful meal and relaxing trip, I was back to busy busy life as usual, typical city people and *ah hem* of course, with a tiny lazy bug planted deep within, this post got neglected and so was my poor blog. Besides the fact that I was lazy, the conversations that revolved around blogging, baking, food and more baking, made me ponder alot about the nature of blogging. The unspoken rules, manners, must-dos, don't-dos, suddenly made blogging seem like a daunting and scary thing to do, start or continue. 

And of course, I concluded on my own that blogging has evolved over the years and what initially started out as a "online diary", "personal log book", "personal journal", "a place to keep track of fill-in-the-blank", sometimes evolved into a responsibility (not for oneself, but for others) or even as a marketing tool. 

I have to admit that at some point in time, I felt pressure to increase readership and to make it more "happening". But at the end of the day, I want to still be able to enjoy blogging as much as I did before. I did not want blogging to become a pressure, a "homework" that I had to hand in every other few days, nor did I want it to be a burden of some sort. I don't doubt the internet as a very useful, fast and efficient tool, but I still do believe in blogging with sincerity and honesty. 

Note: 

This post is purely based on my personal opinions and generalisation and no particular person, blog or organisation were intended at. Any similarities, likeness are purely conincidental.