First Award : D

Thank you Beanie Kitchen Diary for this lovely award! I am beyond ecstatic!
Thank you thank you thank you!

Here are rules to abide for accepting this award:

1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award.
2. Share 7 random things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs.
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.


And here's 7 random things about me!
(1) I recently learned how to ice skate! Hehe.
(2) I love carbs. Rice, noodles, bread! Big love(:
(3) I check foodgawker and tastespotting on a daily basis.
(4) I was born in Hong Kong.
(5) I can never stop munching on snacks.
(6) I love all you can eat buffets.
(7) I am a sucker for anything dipped in chocolate(;

15 blogs I recently discovered:
(1) AJ's Cooking Secrets
(2) Angie's Recipes
(3) Annie's Eats
(4) Christine's Recipes
(5) Have cake, will travel
(6) J3ss Kitch3n
(7) justJENN recipes
(8) Kirbie's Cravings
(9) Kwanster
(10) La Fuji Mama
(11) Milk and Cookies
(12) My buttery fingers
(13) My Kitchen Snippets
(14) raspberri cupcakes
(15) Sprinkle Bakes

Coffee Almond Cookies

Shortbread- like. Slight Crunch. Crumbly. Cookies-licious.

Two months ago, my mom bought home a bag of these chocolate almond cookies (handmade by her boss). Two months + 1 day ago, they disappeared (into my mouth)! Hehe. I love these cookies! They have such a reminiscing texture?

It actually took me some time to find a recipe with a picture that exactly resembles what I had. I actually found NOT ONE but TWO versions of these cookies! Coffee and chocolate! Mmm, do I really have to pick one?!

Ok. Coffee for now. But I will definitely be trying the chocolate one soon( :

Oh and recently, I also noticed many of the Asian bakeries around my neighborhood also sell them! a bag of say.. 10 cookies for 4 bucks! :X Uh-uh no. I will be making my own definitely. They are just as good as they can get :p



Coffee Almond Cookies
recipe from Bitter Sweet Flavours

200g salted butter
185g castor sugar* (I used 140g)
1 egg
2 tsp instant coffee powder* (I used 3 tsp)
1 tsp water (I used 1 tbsp)
350g plain flour
200g almond flakes* (I used 85g)



1) Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Stir in egg, mix well.
2) Dissolve coffee powder in hot water, add into butter mixture, beat till combined.
3) Sift in flour then mix in almond flakes until it forms a dough.
4) Place cling wrap over a 7 x 7 inch square pan, overflowing at the sides.
5) Drop cookie dough onto the pan with cling wrap. Spread evenly with hands/spatula.
6) Wrap cookie dough up. Using a rolling pin, roll on the top of the dough until it is even.
7) Chill the cookie dough overnight, or freeze for 2 hours.
8) Slice the dough into logs and chop into 3mm thickness.
9) Lay cookie dough onto baking sheets leaving spaces in between.
10) Bake in preheated oven at 175C for 18-20mins or until golden brown.
11) Stand cookies on the pan for 2-3mins, then let to cool completely on a wire rack before storing.

*I cut down on the almond flakes.. don't recommend! The amount of almonds in the recipe should be a well- balanced proportion.



-Taste: 3.5 stars out of 5
A little too sweet and lacking the toasty almond-ness. Can be easily fixed if I put the indicated amount of almonds.
-Texture: 4 stars out of 5
Some had the perfect texture (crunchy exterior and crumbly/ melt- in- your- mouth interior); a lot were actually under- baked and didn't brown nicely. Next time, I need to do them in 2 or 3 batches instead of placing them on multiple racks at once :X And I think I would prefer the cookies a little thinner than I had cut them. Maybe 1/4 inch thick next time.

All in all, a yummy and fun recipe! And also for the record, my first successful log cookie<3

Peanut Butter Cookies

What I have imagined a good peanut butter cookie to be is one with a nice crunch on the outside and a slight chewiness on the inside.

My peanut butter cookies= ..not so great? I am pretty sure I messed up somewhere along the rather simple process. Maybe the bad quality peanut butter? Or possibly because I didn't flatten them enough before baking.

They came out oily and fatty tasting! And it's definitely not the yummy fatty(buttery goodness) taste. It's more like you are downing a bottle of peanut oil with each bite. Simple peanut butter cookies really come down to the quality of the peanut butter you use! Get a good trusted quality brand if you can. The cookies were crumbly when you bite into it, and then each crumbles sort of melt in your mouth as an oil form. Haha. It was quite unpleasant. And not to mention, I attempted to give them a crunch on the outside after tasting one.. but ended up burning the bottoms of some of them.

Burnt bottoms + bad peanut butter + oily- ness - crunch - chew = sad face



Peanut Butter Cookies
recipe from Fuss Free Cooking
-makes about 20 cookies

1 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup*)
1/2 cup wholemeal flour (all purpose flour would also be fine)
1 egg

1) Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius / 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
2) Mix all the ingredients together.
3) Then take a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball and put it on the parchment paper lined tray. Repeat this step for the remaining dough. Then use a fork to flatten the individual ball of dough a little to the thickness of the cookies you want
4) Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until the top is slightly tan (and a bit firm to touch). Leave the cookies to cool completely before storage or consumption.

I will need to have a redo on this once I get a hold of some GOOD peanut butter. I am sure this recipe worked for many.