Feb 27, 2013

Taiwanese Pineapple Cookie

Check out my cute plate!! heehee =P I am a huge huge fan of Hello Kitty!! I am a bit of a closet HK fan because as a woman in her 30's, not living in Japan, it's a bit hard to broadcast my love (I'm sorry, HK, I know you deserve so much more!!) I spend more money than I should on HK products, but I rationalize it by buying HK home items. I stand by my $60 HK bread mold that I absolutely need for a healthy and balance diet!! =P

Anyway, on to the yummy cookies on the lovely plate. I grew up eating these Taiwanese Pineapple Cookies. They are unlike any American cookie and taste more like a flaky biscuit with a pineapple jam filling. I found this recipe from Cafe of the East. Her cookies are so pretty because she uses molds to make them, but I can't get mine to come out of my mold in one piece. I end up just shaping them with my hands. Even though they're not the prettiest, they are very tasty. I ended up using the pineapple jam recipe from Table for two or more. I love that I can control the amount of sugar in the jam to my liking. One less thing to buy from the store!! =P

Taiwanese Pineapple Cookies
from Cafe of the East and Table for two or more

Pineapple Jam
adapted from Table for two or more

1 large pineapple
1/2 cup of sugar (see note)
1 cinnamon stick

1. Cut pineapples into chunks. Do not discard the core.

2. Put half the pineapple chunks into a blender, add 1/3 cup of water and puree. Pour 80% of the blended pineapple into a pan or a wok. Use a pan with a large surface so that the pineapple puree can evaporate quicker.

3. With the remaining blended pineapple in the blender, repeat blending process with the rest of the pineapple. You should not need any additional water.

4. Pour all of the pineapple puree in a pan with the cinnamon stick. Cook on medium heat until it's very pasty, like thick oatmeal.

5. Add in sugar, it'll turn watery again. Turn to lower medium heat, and cook until it is very pasty. Stir once in a while.

6. Increase the heat to high. Don't stir and let the base take on some color. It will caramelize the jam. Stir once in a while to check on the color. Stop when it almost reaches your preferred color. Some pans will continue to caramelize even when the heat is off. It should be golden brown color. The jam will thicken after it cools, so don't overcook.

Pastry:
240g plain flour, sifted
60g vanilla custard powder, sifted
pinch salt
50g icing sugar, sifted
180g ghee
1 egg yolk

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Cream ghee and egg yolk briefly. Add sifted flour, salt, custard powder and icing sugar. Knead into a soft and pliable dough.

2. Divide dough into approximately 15 to 20g pieces and divide the Pineapple Filling into approximately 15g pieces, or adjust according to the size of your cookie cutter. Wrap each portion of the filling inside each piece of dough. Round into a ball shape. Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces and filling portions.

3. Use your cookie cutter to shape the wrapped dough pieces. Place the round dough inside the cookie cutter on an ungreased baking sheet. Press down with the heel of your palm to make the dough fit into the cookie cutter shape. Carefully remove the cookie cutter. Finish moulding the rest of the wrapped dough pieces.

4. Bake for about 18 minutes (also depending on the size of your shortbreads), or until the shortbreads are light golden brown. Cool on the tray for about 10 minutes as the shortbreads are very fragile at this stage. Then use a flat spatula to remove the shortbreads to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in airtight container.

Notes:

  • *I halved the original recipe and it was just right for the amount of dough I had. Go to Wendy's website for additional tips for a successful jam.
  • *The original recipe calls for one cup of sugar for one pineapple. I only used 1/2 cup of sugar because my pineapple was very sweet.  I made this once without adding any sugar at all. It all depends on the sweetness of your pineapple.

1 comments:

Rosita Vargas said...

Realmente exquisito me encanta tiene un aspecto perfecto y delicioso,abrazos y abrazos

 

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