Melting Moments

For someone who doesn't really like baking cookies, I sure do bake a lot of cookies.

Cookie in case: melting moments.

Let me rephrase. It's not that I don't like making cookies, it's just that I'm not overly fond of having to babysit them and give the sheets a turn halfway through, or pick out the ones that have browned while checking on the ones that haven't every five minutes or so. I'm lazy, see, so cakes are a better option for me. Plus, I love frosting and decorating cakes so..

I'm now back in my home and I'm getting reacquainted with my oven again. I got home yesterday after six hours in the car and the first thing I wanted to do was bake a cake. But then after unpacking and mopping the floor and doing some random bits and bobs, I was too tired to think, let alone follow a recipe. So today, armed with a grim determination to bake a cake and a surplus of egg whites from making these pineapple tarts, I stormed the internet for a recipe that would scratch both those itches. I ended up picking a recipe that was neither for a cake nor required any egg whites. In fact the recipe didn't even need eggs.

Why this recipe then, you ask ? Well I was at an aunt's house during Chinese New Year and she had laid the table with an assortment of cookies for us guests. That's a norm actually, and one that I've loved since I was a kid. I used to pick out all the candies from the box though, and I think my relatives have wisened up and replaced the sweets with cookies. Among the cookies that she set out were the typical pineapple tarts, chocolate chip cookies, nut cookies and something that looked suspiciously like German butter cookies. I had been seeing a lot of them on the internet lately and as I tentatively unscrewed the lid of the cookie jar, I found out why. The milky-buttery aroma that I loved so much hit me instantly. And they dissipated as soon as I popped them into my mouth. I couldn't get enough.

They seemed a lot easier to make too, since the original recipe needed no chilling time and I could just bake them right away. Unfortunately, I didn't have any potato starch in hand so I went hunting for another recipe similar to the little cookies and managed to unearth these melting moments. They seemed cute and buttery so I just rolled with it and boy am I glad I did. 

 

Little bite sized babies.

As is evident by my proclaimed love for all things cake and brownie, I am not a fan of anything so teeny and bite sized because it's all too easy to pop one two three five into my mouth without noticing. But then again, there was something to enthralling about these mini morsels that I just wanted to churn out tray after tray after tray if only to inhale that buttery smell all day (send help).

I made these with the intention to fill them with buttercream and jam. Sadly after rolling out four trays of dough balls, I got distracted and lazy and decided to leave them be.. Oops.

Melting Moments (recipe taken from here)

180g unsalted butter
60g icing sugar
60g custard powder
1 tsp baking powder
180g plain flour

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Or use a silicon mat if you have one - it makes cleanup a little easier.
2. In a mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the icing sugar and custard powder, the beat until well combined. Sift in the flour and baking powder, beat until just mixed in.
3. Measure out 10g portions of dough (about a teaspoon) and roll them into balls. Place on the baking sheet and flatten with a fork so each cookie has those distinctive ridges. Place the sheet of cookies in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes (I find that this step helps them hold their shape better).
4. Bake the cookies for 14 minutes, until lightly golden, but they shouldn't be heavily browned. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully remove to a rack to cool completely. They're especially fragile when they're slightly warm, so handle with care ! Fill and sandwich the cookies together if you want to, but they're delicious enough on their own.

P.S: I did make a chocolate cake after all. I'll post the recipe tomorrow :)