Cookies for Tihani's Teachers!

It is Teacher's Day tomorrow .. I was indecisive .. should I bake or should I not? but I wanna give Tihani's teachers a lil something to show my appreciation. I was afraid that if I were to bake, it wouldnt turn out well.

The clock showed 5.30 pm .. I was still undecided.

After work just now, I went to Parkway Parade (PP) to buy cookies from Famous Amos and get them packed in a nice lil package for Tihani's two teachers - Teacher Ainn and Teacher Zai.

I reached home, took out the butter from the freezer, went thru one of my cookbooks and started to whip Triple Choc Cookies, which have a combi of cooking choc, cocoa and choc chips in it.

Haha .. i must be crazy to have done this but I did .. i wanted the teachers to have something home made .. oh ya, i even made them self made cards too.

The cookies cooling on a rack.

The homemade cookies packed in a package ready to be given to the teachers.

Ingredients

125 gm butter
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs lightly beaten
11/2 cups self raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 squares cooking chocolate
1/2 cup semi sweet choc chips

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Melt butter and cooking choc in a microwave oven or using double boil method.
Gradually add eggs, mix thoroughly after each addition.
Fold in sifted self raising flour and cocoa powder gradually. (I used my hands to fold)
Then fold in choc chips.
Place teaspoonsfuls of mixture on a non stick pan. Dun forget to space out for spreading.
Bake for 13 mins until cook.
Leave in pan for a couple of minutes then turn out into a wire rack to cool.

Savoury Bread Pudding

So wat did I whip up for tea today?? I made Savoury Bread Pudding. Even though, I havent got the ingredients such as cilantro, spring onions and cheddar cheese, I still made them. I had to make do with just what I have in the kitchen .. hehe ..

The result .. perrrgh .. it was really good eaten hot/warm. I also did not put the red chilli, so my two angels also enjoyed the pudding. As for hubby and me, we ate them with mayo & cilli sauce .. really lazaaaaaaaaat!!

After assembly

Hot from the oven

My piece of the pudding


Ingredients
Filling

250 gm minced meat
1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 small onion, diced
1/2 small can mushroom, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil to fry

Spring onion, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Red chilli, chopped
Fried shallots

Bread Pudding

5 pcs of bread (cut to fit the tin - 2 layers)
1 pc of bread (cubed)
Butter
Mozarella cheese
Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

How to prepare the minced meat
1. Mix minced meat with oyster sauce and leave for 30 minutes.
2. Heal a little oil and fry the diced onions.
3. Then add the minced meat. Fry till all the water (from the meat) has evaporated.
4. Add the mushroom, curry powder then add salt and pepper. Fry for a further few minutes and set aside.

To assemble the pudding.
1. Beat eggs with milk.
2. Butter the bread and cut to fit the baking tin. I used the small square aluminuim tin.
3. Place the bread, buttered side up, in the tin.
4. Pour some of the egg and milk mixture to soak the bread.
5. Then layer with the meat mixture.
6. Next layer with mozarella and cheddar.
7. Repeat a 2nd time as above.
8. Then sprinkle chopped spring onions, cilantro, chilli and fried crispy shallots.
9. Lastly, top it off with cubed bread soaked in the balance egg and milk mixture.
10. Then pour whatever egg and milk mixture you have over the pudding.
11. Bake for 30 minutes for 180 degree celcius.

Serve with chilli sauce and mayonnaise.

Chocolate Milk Cookies

My family haven't any plan for today so I thot why not bake some cookies for the kids. I used exactly the same ABC recipe but omitted the almonds and semi sweet choc. I used chopped milk chocolate. So this I call, Chocolate Milk Cookies. Tihani wants me to bring to her kindy this coming Tuesday to share with her friends .. hehe .. ;-)
Ingredients

125 gm butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
11/2 cups self raising flour
3/4 to 1 cup chocolate, chopped (I used Cadbury's milk chocolate)

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Beat butter and sugar till creamy.
Gradually add eggs, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Fold in sifted self raising flour.
Then fold in chopped milk chocolate.
Place teaspoonsfuls of mixture on a non stick pan. Ensure room for spreading.
Bake for 15 mins until cook.
Leave in pan for a couple of minutes then turn out into a wire rack to cool.

Zaiima's Steamed Chocolate Cake

Last nite, I made Zaiima's Steamed Chocolate Cake. Why Zaiima? It is named after the originator I suppose. This cake is supposed to be steamed as the name suggests but since I do not have a big steamer that could fit my tin, I decided to bake it in the oven using a "waterbath" (i hope this is the correct term).

The cake really turned out nice, rich and chocolatey but the only minus point was that the top of the cake cracked. Hmm .. I really wonder what went wrong. I'll definitely ask around if they could help me with the answer.

Ingredients

1 cup cocoa powder (I also added 1 tbsp coffee emulco)
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
1 cup oil (I used 1/2 cup butter + 1/2 cup olive oil)
3 eggs
11/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda bicarbonate

Method

Preheat oven to 170C.
Grease a tin with softened butter.
In a saucepan, over a small fire, mix cocoa, coffee emulco, sugar, evaporated, condensed milk, butter and oil till everthing dissolves.
Turn off the fire and let it cool.
Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Beat eggs and add it to the chocolate mixture.
Then add flour to this mixture and stir well.
Pour into a baking tin, then put in over a roasting tin and pour boiling water into the roasting tin. Reduce the temperature to 160C and bake for 55 - 60 mins or until cooked.
Allow cake to cool in the tin for abt 10 mins before turning it out to cool on a wire tray.

Mini Chicken Nuggets

It was my niece's birthday last Saturday. I made Mini Chicken Nuggets to bring to her birthday party. It is really a yummy treat - different from the chicken nuggets you buy from the supermart.

Ingredients

500 g minced chicken
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and white pepper to taste
flour, seasoned, to coat
1 or 2 egg(s) to coat
japanese breadcrumbs to coat
oil, to fry

Method

Mix well minced chicken, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and chill in the fridge for a while.
Shape the mixture into small balls and flatten the balls a little.
Coat with seasoned flour.
Then coat with egg.
And lastly coat with japanese breadcrumbs.
Fry over a medium low heat till golden.

Serve with mayo and chilli sauce.