Japanese Azuki Butter Cookies

I have a secret love for shortbread, all that buttery melt-in-the-mouth texture and that hint of salt, which I believe makes it so addictive. If this wasn't enough, I decided to fill these little guys with japanese azuki bean paste before baking.
Perfect and incredibly addictive!

Japanese Azuki Butter Cookies

Shortbread Dough
200 g of plain flour
50 g of powdered sugar
3 pinches of baking powder
125 g of salted butter
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 tsp of ice cold water

Mix the flour, powdered sugar and baking powder. Add the vanilla and the butter (cut in small pieces).
With a spatula, work the butter into the flour, until it all looks grainy (no more visible chunks of butter). I always get better results when doing it by hand.
Add the cold water and shape a ball. Do not overwork the dough! Just work it until you can form a ball and the dough doesn't crumble. If necessary, add a bit more water (1 teaspoon at the time).
Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. You can also leave it in the fridge, but take it out 15 minutes before using, or it will be hard to work.

Azuki Paste
1 cup of dried azuki beans
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt

Soak the beans in plenty of water for 10 to 12 hours.
Put the beans in a pan, cover with water, add sugar and salt and start cooking. You will have to add water as it cooks, but just enough to keep the beans covered until they are nice and tender.
Let it cook a little more (without adding water) just until you get a thick paste (enough to shape a ball).

Shaping the cookie...
I suggest dividing the dough into little walnut size balls and shaping an equal amount of bean paste balls (should be smaller) before starting to put everything together.
Take a little ball of dough , flatten with your hands into a small disk and put a little ball of bean paste in the middle. Close the dough around the paste and shape it all into a nice ball with a flat base (very much like the final cooked cookie pictured above).
Lightly run a fork on top of each cookie before cooking.

Lay on a very lightly oiled tray and cook at 170 degrees celcius 15 to 20 minutes (don't let them brown!).
With time, you can adjust the thickness of the cookie and the amount of azuki paste you like in it.

Cheers!

Mitarashi Dango!

Curiosity got the best of me and after searching on the subject, I decided to try and make what's called "Dango", which in Japan is considered a sweet treat.
No recipe for the meantime, as this was done without following a strict recipe.
I must add, since I never tasted the real thing (ohh I wish!), that it certainly needs some improvement and if anyone out there could tell me what the taste and consistency should be, tips, the right cooking times... I would be incredibly grateful!

These where slightly chewy and reminded me of a more consistent gnocchi. I also added a couple of drops of rose water and interestingly, it gave it a kind of fruity after taste, which was nice.
I also prepared a mitarashi sauce, which was really yummy.

...to be continued.

Good Morning China!

You Tiao, known in English as Chinese cruller, is a fried bread stick. The dough is made into a long strip, deep fried and eaten for breakfast or lunch. It can be lightly salted and it is often dipped in soy milk.
I browsed through different recipes and strangely enough, all of them require powdered ammonia. Why?? I'm guessing it's used as a dough improver of some kind, anyhow, I decided I would go on, minus ammonia. These turned out delicious!

Here's my simplified version of the recipe:

You Tiao - Chinese Crullers
350 g of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of instant yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
250 ml of water

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add lukewarm water and mix until there are no more dry bits of flour. Turn into a lightly floured surface and start kneading for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If it's too sticky, sprinkle with a little flour.

Shaping the dough is a little tricky to explain, but I got a little help from this video on Youtube. As an end note, do not let the dough rise again after the final shaping (stretching), otherwise, the strip will rip.

It turned out really tasty and the kids loved it!
I served it with warm strawberry flavored soy milk.
These You Tiao also doubled as a snack in the afternoon!

<-----Here's Eitan, dunking his you tiao.

Worldly Breakfasts Part 2 - French Crêpes

A crêpe is a type of very thin, cooked pancake usually made from wheat flour. The word, like the pancake itself, is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled." While crêpes originate from Bretagne, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is nowadays widespread in France and it is considered a national dish. In Bretagne, crêpes are traditionally served with cider. Crêpes are served with a variety of fillings, from the most simple with only sugar to flambéed crêpes Suzette or elaborate savoury fillings.

This is so tasty and versatile! Tilting the pan can be a bit tricky though.
I don't usually follow a recipe for crêpes, because I have done it so many times. But here's one that's tried and true.

It's a recipe from the book "Pâtisseries Maison" by Florence Edelmann.

Crêpes - Bretagne
Serves: 4 to 6 people

250g of flour
20 g of powdered sugar
1 coffee spoon of vanilla
pinch of salt
2 whole eggs
50cl of milk

I highly recommend adding 2 tablespoons of canola oil or melted butter to the batter, otherwise, the crêpes will stick very easily to the pan (even a non-stick pan!).

For the sake of simplicity, the recipe was simplified:

1. Whisk everything together.

2. Lightly coat the pan with oil and heat to medium/hot
3. Now, pick the pan in one hand, and drop a laddle of batter with your other hand in the upper part of the pan. Start tilting the pan so that the batter thinly covers the whole bottom.
As a side note, my first crepe nevers comes out right and I usually add a bit of water to the batter to make it more spreadable. Remember, this is not pancake batter! It's supposed to be very fluid.
When it's nice and golden, flip it and cook the other side (less time).
Result: a thin, soft texture and crispy edges. Yum!

Any better way of starting the week?

English Muffin Turned Pizza?

I had way too much dough left from that last batch of English Muffins and I just had to show you all how it turned out into a great pan-style mushroom pizza.
Kids raved about it and I must say, this dough kept in the fridge for 4 days and the flavor and texture just improved. One thing though, after rolling out the dough, you should let it rise for at least 20 minutes before putting the toppings and baking.
Cook in the oven's second top rack, 230 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown (depending on how much topping are added).