COPYCAT JENNY BUTTER COOKIES - melt in the mouth

Jenny Cookies

a hit among the cookie lovers
who queue long hours for a box of this famous cookies
in Hong Kong's Jenny Bakery

I stumble on this recipe 
and 
tried baking it

Nice
fragrant
melt in the mouth

Jenny Cookies come in 2 flavours
butter cookies
&
Coffee

The creaming of butter with icing sugar gives a crumbly texture
And 
Part of the plain flour has been replaced with corn flour
To create the melt in the mouth texture

Here is the recipe if you are interested

COPYCAT JENNY BUTTER COOKIES

A) 100g salted butter, cold but softened

     25g icing sugar

B) sifted together dry ingredients:

     25g rice flour

     30g bread flour

     45g plain flour

1) cream butter & icing sugar until pale

2) fold in dry ingredients until just combined

3) put mixture into a piping bag & leave in fridge for 5 minutes

4) pipe out on lined baking sheet

5) bake in preheated oven 160'C for 15 min until brown at edges, rotating half way

COPYCAT JENNY COFFEE COOKIES

A) 100g salted butter, cold but softened

     30g icing sugar

B) sifted together dry ingredients:

     25g corn flour

     30g bread flour

     45g plain flour
     
C) 1 Tbsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 1/2 tsp boiling water

1) cream butter & icing sugar until pale

2) fold in dry ingredients until just combined

3) put mixture into a piping bag 

4) pipe out on lined baking sheet

5) bake in preheated oven 160'C for 15 min, rotating half way

Note:
1) For Coffee Variant, I have replaced the rice flour with corn flour.
2) rice flour and corn flour are interchangeable & it does not affect the texture

BAKED QI DAN KOU

Steamed Qi Dan Kou

is well known among the Chinese
because
it is easy to make
and
nice to eat

Recipe 
handed down for generations
is
1 cup egg + 1 cup sugar + 1 cup flour 

Now
sugar has been reduced for health reasons


As for me
I can never get it right
no matter how many times I tried the above recipe

Ann Low has come out with this Baked Egg Cake recipe

I find the texture to be  
light & fine 

Moreover
with added cocoa on top of the cake
it is more pleasing to the eye
and taste good too

If you are interested:

BAKED QI DAN KOU 

3 eggs, separated

1 whole egg

65g icing sugar

50g corn oil

65g self raising flour

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1) beat together whole egg & egg yolk, add corn oil, vanilla extract & mix well

2) sift in self raising flour, mix well

3) whisk egg white until bubbly, slowly add sugar & whisk to stiff peaks

4) mix 1/3 meringue into egg yolk mixture to loosen egg yolk

5) pour all egg mixture into meringue and mix well

6) pour into lined 6" square pan, leave 2 Tbsp to mix in cocoa powder

7) drizzle cocoa mixture on top of the plain batter & create a pattern

8) bake in preheated oven 170'C for 35 min

9) overturn cake once the cake is out of the oven

5 HERBAL TONIC SOUP

5 herbal tonic soup

is widely used

to increase energy level

strengthen immune system

and

stimulate appetite

It is suitable for people of all ages

young & old

healthy or weak

5 herbs are:

huang qi or Astragalus Root黃芪 (yellow-brownish slice)

Dang Shen党参 (cylindrical roots)

Huai san淮山 (thick white root sheet)

fu san 茯苓 (irregular white sheet)

and

wolf-berries or goji berries or commonly called kei chi

There is no fixed ratio

when combining these herbs

If you do not like the huang qi taste

feel free to put just 1 or 2 slices.

As for fuk san a small piece will do.

Dried longan can be added as it has the following benefits:

These are extracts are from rawforbeauty.com

1/2 chicken or pork ribs, chopped

15g wolfberry

15g huai san

15g Dang Shen

10g Fu san

8g huang qi

6 longan

salt to taste, optional

1) clean chicken, blanch in boiling water

2) rinse herbs and put into a pot

3) add enough water and bring it to a boil

4) add chicken and bring it to a boil again

5) lower heat & continue simmering for 2 hours

6) serve hot

DANG GUI CHICKEN SOUP

Dang Gui 

or 

Angelica Sinensis

is 

regarded 

as 

'female Gingsing' 

It nourishes the uterus 

and 

helps to regulate female hormones

also 

helps to correct 

mild cases of anaemia

Dang Gui

could be quite 'heaty'
so
it is advisable to start with the minimum

Black dates 
helps to introduce some sweetness to the soup

1 chicken thigh

10g Dang Gui

2-3 black dates, snipped half

1) clean chicken thigh & remove fats, blanch & drain

2) put all ingredients into a double boiler bowl 

3) add enough boiling water to cover ingredients

4) double boil for 3 hours

5) serve hot

CORDYCEPS MILITARIS CHICKEN SOUP

Cordyceps militaris

or 
虫草花

Chong Cao Hua

has become increasingly popular 

in preparing herbal soups

From its name

many thought that it is the flower from Cordyceps Sinensis

Chong Cao Hua

is  actually cultured fungus 

that has similar medicinal value &

chemical composition as

the expensive Cordyceps Sinensis
冬虫草

but its strength is far from it

Cordyceps militaris

is suitable for everybody

Besides its anti-inflammation 

and anti-aging properties

it can also 

help relieve insomnia

& 

strengthen one's lungs

1/2 chicken, chopped into chunks

12g cordyceps militaris/chong cao hua
10g  dangshen
15g wolfberries
6 longan
6 red dates, optional
salt to taste

1) blanch chicken in boiling water, drained
2) bring water to a boil, add rinsed herbs (except wolfberries)
3) bring to a boil again, add chicken & allow to simmer for 2 hours
4) add wolfberries 5min just before soup is ready
5) add salt if necessary, serve hot

YU ZHU BLACK CHICKEN TONIC

If you do not like  to drink dark colour soups
like Pak Chan
and 
Shi Chuan Da Bu

this is a good alternative
because 
this herbal soup is clear
and 
smells good too

YU ZHU

when

 boiled with chicken
makes the soup tasty and nice

I have used black chicken this time

1/2 chicken, chopped to big pieces

20g Yu Zhu
20g huai shan (chinese yam)

10 red dates

15g wolf berry

6 longan

1) blanch chicken in boiling water, drained

2) rinse herbs & put in pot, add enough water & bring it to a boil

3) reduce to medium heat & boil for 1/2 hour

4) add chicken, simmer for another 1 hour or more

5) add salt if necessary, serve hot

PRESERVED BEAN CRUNCH

No one knows the name of this dish

but 

many people cook it

and

all agree it is yummy

The first time I tasted it

was at my sister-in-law Yvonne's place

She is a good cook

I found it to be really yummy

so I asked for her recipe

and

here I am

presenting my first attempt 

and

 I name it

'Preserved Bean Crunch'

The ingredients are simple

but 

the combination of them 

make it extremely yummy

best

served with steamed rice

1/2 cup ikan bilis, fried until crispy

1/2 cup minced pork

3 green chilli, cut into chunks

2 red chilli, cut into chunks

1 medium size onion, sliced

1/2 Tbsp preserve bean (tau Cheong)

1/4 tsp dark soya sauce

1/3 cup water (adjust)

1 Tbsp oil

pepper & sugar to taste

thickener: 1/2 Tbsp corn starch +1 Tbsp water

Note:

measure of ingredients is not fixed 

as it depends on the amount available 

and own preference

1) heat up oil in a wok

2) fry onions until fragrant, add minced pork & continue frying

3) add dark soya sauce, preserved beans & water

4) when cooked through, stir in ikan nilis & cut chilli

5) add seasoning to taste, stir in thickener to adjust consistency

6) dish up & serve

Remark:

1) Amount of water to add depends on how much sauce you like.

2) if you keep the sauce thick, the ikan bilis will remain crunch longer

3) salt is not added because tau cheong is salty, may adjust accordingly

8 TREASURE TONIC - PAK CHAN

8 Treasure Tonic
八珍湯

commonly known as
Pak Chan

consists of 8 herbs
for the benefit of ladies
but 
certain herbs like Dang Shen also beneficial to man
so 
now whole family can share the same soup

I was told 
to wash eggs with shell on
and
boil together with the Bak Chang herbs

I put off the idea as I find the shell may be contaminated
so 
I prefer to hard boil the eggs
remove the shell
then only dump into the boiling 
Bak Chang

Some even suggest 
boil Bak Chang first round to extract the nutrients
for the lady of the house
then
add water, chicken & eggs to boil 2nd round
for the whole family

I tried it.
2nd round tastes good as it is not so thick
especially with added chicken
it tastes even better

1 pkt pak chan
1/2 chicken, chopped into chunks

2 eggs, hard-boiled

1) rinse Pak Chan herbs & put into a pot

2) add sufficient water to cover the herbs

3) bring to a boil, lower heat & simmer for an hour

4) drain tonic for the lady of the house

5) add chicken, eggs & water to bring to a boil

6) turn down heat & simmer for 1-2 hours

7) serve hot for the family

SWEET POTATO DESSERT

This is a simple dessert

that I like very much

and 

I usually cook it once in a week or two

This is different from the normal ones that I prepare

because I use 2 types of sweet potatoes

Japanese & local purple 

The Japanese potato

stands out in the deep purple soup

which gets its colour from the local variant

Sweet potato is said to attract 'wind'

so 

a large piece of ginger need to be 'banged' and added

to ward off the 'wind'

  Ginger 

besides its special function 

also gives its distinct taste to this dessert

while

the fragrant of pandan leaves should not be ignored

2 Japanese sweet potato

1 local purple (medium size)

1" ginger, smashed

2 pandan leaves

rock sugar to taste

1) peel sweet potatoes & cut in wedges

2) put into a pot, add enough water & ginger, bring it to a boil

3) add knotted pandan leaves & let it simmer until cooked

4) remove pandan leaves & add sugar to taste

Note:

Sago pearls may be added during the last 10-15min of cooking

if you like your dessert to be a bit thick

TANGZHONG SWEET BUNS

These little sweet buns

are 

spongy to the touch

sweet to your taste buds

and 

pleasing to your eyes

if you care to add some toppings

They can be shaped to your liking

whether round or oblong

or flower shaped

And

If you like variety

have them filled with red bean paste

shredded coconut

 lotus seed paste
or
blended peanuts

For 

savoury buns

you can stuff them with

chicken floss

ham & cheese 

or 

cheese alone

You will never stop in one only

I have adapted the recipe from Christine's

Tangzhong

50g bread flour

250ml water

1) mix flour & water and cook over medium heat, stirring

2) when you can see the bottom of pot while stirring, it is ready

3) leave to cool before using
4) can be kept in fridge for 2-3 days if not using yet

Buns

120g tangzhong

125ml milk 

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

30g butter

350g bread flour

7g milk powder

55g sugar

2 tsp yeast

1) Put all ingredients in bread machine, bread dough cycle 1:30min

2) shape, put buns on lined baking tray to rise until double

3) bake in preheated oven 175'C for 25min

THE GRACE OF GOD IS NEVER TOO FAR

Pastor Molly forwarded this message to me
I found it to be encouraging
So I am sharing with you
if you care to read on:

Heavy rains remind us of challenges in life
Never ask for a lighter rain
just pray to God 
for a better umbrella
Life is not about finding the right person
but creating the right relationship
It's not how we care in the beginning
but how much we care till the very end

Some people always throw stones in your path
It depends on what you make with them
A wall or a bridge?
Remember you are the architect of your life

Search for a good heart
but don't search for a beautiful face
coz beautiful things are not always good
but good things are always beautiful

It's not important to hold 
all the good cards in life
but it's important how well you play
with the cards you hold

Often when we lose all hope and 
think this is the end
remember God and pray
it's just a bend, not the end!

Have faith and have a successful life
One of the basic differences between God and human is
God gives, gives and forgives
But human gets, gets and forgets

If you think it is your alarm clock 
that woke you up this morning
try putting it beside a dead body and
you will realize that it is the Grace of God that woke you up 

It is the Grace of God that brought me this far
It is the Faith in God that guide me through life
Never give up as Grace of God is at your door steps
Trust and have Faith in God, He will take care of it all