Multi Seed Crackers

中文版菜谱：杂粮小饼干multi seed crackers

We all know the health benefits of eating more whole grains and seeds.  But the thing is, although very healthy, whole grain pastry items don’t always taste as good and don’t have the smooth texture as the ones made from refined flour.  

I have been trying making healthy whole grain snacks at home for a while.  After a few tries, I finalized this recipe.  These crackers are now my go to snacks for afternoon tea/ coffee.  

They are crunchy and crispy.  Lots of nuts/ seeds like almond, flax seeds, sun flower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds are added to the crackers to make them super tasty and healthy.  

I used to buy whole grain crackers from wholefood every week.  But these are so much better!  I can cross another whole grain item from my shopping list.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

60 g rye flour
60 g oat flour
40 g almond flour
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of water
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds (both black and white ones)
1/4  cup flax seeds
1/2  teaspoon salt  

Directions：

Preheat oven to 325F/ 163C

Add rye flour, oat flour, almond flour, salt, olive oil and water to a large bowl.  Mix with a wooden spoon or a pair chopsticks.

The dough might be a little wet and sticky.  It is fine.  Cover with with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 10 to 20 minutes.

Mix all the seeds together in another bowl.

Add to the dough.  Knead with hands until everything comes together.

Line up a cookie pan with baking mat or parchment paper. 

Transfer the dough to the center of cookie pan.  Punch it down and then roll it into a even thin layer with a small rolling pin.

Use a pizza cutter or kitchen knife to cut it into small squares.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the crackers are slightly golden brown.

Allow the crackers to completely cool down before removing them from baking mat.

They can be stored in air-tight containers or zip-loc bags for up to a week.

They are very crunchy and crispy, loaded with tons of rich hearty earthy flavors.

 These crackers are so tasty that I don’t plan to buy multi seeds crackers from supermarket again.   O(∩_∩)O~

Chocolate Soufflé Cookies

中文菜谱： 巧克力舒芙蕾饼干

These chocolate soufflé cookies are pretty much my favorite cookies.  They are so simple, made with just a few ingredients and yet have such deep rich delicate flavors.  It is like eating brownies, chocolate macaroons and cookies all at the same time.  Isn’t that amazing?

A big plus benefit for these cookies is that they don’t require any flour, which means they are gluten free! 

If you frequent a coffee shop or bakery, you might have noticed there are always “flourless chocolate cookies” displayed on the shelves, which look so fancy and delicate, and of course, so expensive too. 

Yep, they are the chocolate soufflé cookies we are making here today.  Let’s get started!

The recipe is adapted from：https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/chocolate-souffle-cookies.  Many thanks and appreciation to the original author!

Ingredients ：

1 cup dark chocolate chips/ pieces
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites
a few drops of lemon juice / white vinegar
3/4 cup finely chopped walnut

****Tip：Chocolate is the most important ingredient in this recipe.  Chocolate determines the finished cookies’ flavor and texture.  The better quality the chocolate is, the better taste the cookies will be. 

I use 90% cacao chocolate.  If you prefer sweeter taste, 70% to 80% will be great too.  ****

Directions：

Preheat the oven to 350F/ 176C

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.  It might seem lumpy at first.

In a few minutes, the chocolate will become silky and smooth.

With a sharp knife, finely chop the walnut.

Add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar to the egg whites.  With a hand mixer, beat the egg whites at low speed for a couple minutes.  Add 1/3 of the sugar, continue to whisk at medium speed for a minute.  Repeat the process until all the sugar is added and egg white is stiff.

With a silicone spatula, fold the chopped walnuts into chocolate mixture.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites.

It might be a bit dry and hard at first. 

This is what it looks like after I fold in the first 1/3 egg whites.

Add another 1/3 egg whites, and fold in very gently.

Continue folding the remaining egg whites, along with vanilla extract. 

The batter should be smooth and shiny.

Transfer the batter to a large piping bag.

Pipe the cookie dough to a cookie pan lined with silicone baking mat.  Each drop of cookie dough is about 3 tablespoons and 1 1/2 inches apart from each other.

Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Wait for the cookies to cool on the cookie pan.  Carefully remove them with a spatula.

And now go make yourself a fresh pot of black coffee and enjoy these heavenly chocolate soufflé cookies!  O(∩_∩)O~

Dinner Rolls with Salted Egg Yolks and Pork Song (Dry Shredded Pork)

中文菜谱：

酥皮蛋黄肉松小面包

If you have been to an Asian bakery, you might have come across with some pork song buns.  Pork song is dry shredded pork which is made from pork that has been stewed, shredded, seasoned, slowly sautéed, and dried.   It is a long and slow process to make pork song.  That is also why it has such a nutty, delicate and rich flavor. 

Asian bakeries use pork song a lot.  If you have a chance to try it, just go ahead and have one.  You might instantly be hooked O(∩_∩)O~

Sometimes I love to bake pork song buns at home too. 

Ingredient s for the buns:

For the starter：

20 g all purpose flour
100 g water

For the dough：

380 g all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
50 g granulated sugar
120 g milk
1 large egg
4 g salt
40 g butter, diced and softened under room temperature
egg wash and white sesame seeds for topping (optional)

For crispy toppings：

15 g egg
30 g butter, melted
50 to 60 g cake flour
10 g dry milk powder
30 g confectioner sugar

For pork song and salted duck egg yolks filling：

8 salted duck egg yolks
1 package of pork song （4 盎司，约112克）
3 to 4 tablespoons syrup

*** I posted before how to make salted duck eggs from scratch: https://www.yankitchen.com/english-blog/salted-duck-eggs .  Salted duck eggs and egg yolks are both available in most Asian grocery stores if you don’t want to wait that long.  Take a look at the package when you buy them from store.  Some are already cooked; some are not.  Buy the ones that have been cooked.  Otherwise, raw egg yolks need to be baked or steamed with a drizzle of rice cooking wine before adding to the filling.  ***

Directions：

In a small bowl, add 20 g flour.  Whisk while gradually adding 100 g water to the bowl.  Microwave the batter on high for 30 seconds.  Take it out, whisk again.  And then send back to the microwave for another 20 seconds.  Take it out; whisk; and send back to microwave for 15 seconds.  Repeat the process until you get a very thick batter.

Cover with plastic wrap.  The starter can be used right away when it cools down.  Or it can also be stored in fridge to be used on second day.

Add flour, dry milk powder, sugar and salt to a stand mixer bowl.  Whisk well. 

Add the starter, egg, milk.  Sprinkle the yeast on top.  Let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes.

Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer.  Knead at speed 2.

 When everything comes together to form a dough ball, add diced butter.

Continue to knead until the dough can pass window panel test. 

Cover with lid or plastic wrap.  Wait for about 60 minutes or until the dough doubles in its size.

While waiting for the dough to rise, prepare the filling.

With a fork, crush the egg yolks.

Add pork song and syrup, mix well.

Transfer the dough to a large lightly dusted wooden board.  

Punch down and gently knead into a dough ball again.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for another 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces.

With a small rolling pin, roll out each piece thin and flat.

Add filling.

Wrap up and shape each one into small round ball. 

Add to large baking pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and let them rest for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Add all ingredients for crispy toppings to a small bowl.  Whisk until everything is well combined together.  Refrigerate until it is totally chilled and hardened.

Divide into 16 pieces too.

With a small rolling pin, roll each piece thin and flat.  And add to the top of dinner rolls.

Brush each one with egg wash and then sprinkle with white sesame seeds.

Preheat oven to 400F/205C

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.

Piping hot and fresh out of the oven！ O(∩_∩)O~

Shredded pork and salted duck egg yolks may sound like a bizarre combination.  It is sweet and savory, strange but in a good way.  Salted duck egg yolks have a rich fatty and nutty flavor.  When combined with pork song, that aroma is amplified.  No wonder this filling is a extremely hot trend in Asia countries for the last couple years O(∩_∩)O~

Coffee Cream Filling for Macarons

中文菜谱：马卡龙咖啡馅

I think this coffee cream filling for macarons is one of best fillings I have ever made so far O(∩_∩)O~

I replace 10g almond flour with super fine freshly ground coffee.  Instant French roast coffee and coffee rum are added to the filling for an enhanced coffee flavor.  Turns out to be so amazing!  The real trick here is to use real good dark chocolate.  It makes huge difference!

Ingredients：

1/4 cup dark chocolate (I use 90% cocoa.  Any dark chocolate between 60% to 100% should work just fine)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons instant French roast coffee
1 tablespoon rum and coffee liqueur

Directions：

Add dark chocolate, heavy cream and instant coffee to a small ceramic bowl.

Melt the chocolate, heavy cream and instant coffee in a double boiler.  Whisk occasionally for smooth texture.

Add coffee rum.  Remove from heat.  Set it aside to chill.

When the coffee cream cools down, this is what it’s going to look like, with a smooth and silky texture.

Meanwhile, I bake some coffee marcarons.

When macarons cool down to room temperature, remove them from silicone mat.  Add 1 to 2 teaspoons coffee cream filling between every two macaron shells.

Store in air-tight container and refrigerate overnight.  By doing so, macarons and their fillings will combine better and their flavors will be maximized. 

Of course, you can always enjoy them anytime you want without the waiting.  They go very well with a cup of coffee or tea O(∩_∩)O~

Apricot Filling for Macarons

中文菜谱：马卡龙甜杏酱

I have been baking a lot of macarons lately.  What a sweet obsession! O(∩_∩)O~ 

Different fillings bring different textures and flavors to macarons.  And I have been experimenting all sorts of different fillings.  Because macaron cookies are very sweet, I like macaron fillings to be moist, not too dry nor wet; mild, not too sweet nor greasy.   After lemon custard, I make apricot filling which is also very tasty and refreshing.

Ingredients：

1 cup of dried apricots
1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups of water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons pectin

Directions：

Add dried apricots and water to vitamix.  Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.

Add apricot puree to a small sauce pan, along with butter.  Cook over medium low heat.  Stir constantly with a wooden spoon.

Add lemon juice and pectin.  Keep cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens up to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Remove from heat and allow it to cool down.

After the sauce is cooled down, spoon a couple teaspoons of filling between every two macaron cookies.

Cover with plastic wrap or store in an air-tight container.  Refrigerate overnight to maximize their texture and flavors.