Monday, November 26, 2012

Chewy Nutty Oats Cookies

I love Oats cookies, oats are supposed to be good for you, it is rich in fiber!
 So I was on a hunt for a good recipe.
{pix: thehonestkitchen}
I've decided to adapt this recipe by Alice Medrich with a little twist of my own.

Oats cookies should be crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle. That's what I love about oats cookies. 

Cookies which are crisp and chewy at the same time, should be stored in a container, a tin or something, and not in an air-tight container. As this allows the cookies to breath, if stored in an air-tight container, your cookies will be all stale/soggy (we say 'lau-fong' in Chinese).

This recipe is certainly easy! It makes quite a large batch too! 


All you need:
{makes 40 cookies)
2 cups of rolled oats
1/4 cup of water
1 1/4 cups of plain flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of ground cinnamon *I only used about 1/2 tsp, not a huge fan of cinnamon.
1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg * I only had ground, so I used slightly less than 1/4 tsp.
453g of unsalted butter
3/4 cup of packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of salt * I used a pinch.
1 large egg 
1 cup of walnuts, chopped & 1 cup of raisins * I used 1/2 cup of slivered almonds, 1/2 cup of pecans, chopped

All you need to do: 
1) Soak oats in a small bowl with 1/4 cup of water. 
2) Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg in a bowl and set aside.
3) Melt butter in a saucepan/bowl over stove/microwave, once melted, remove from heat, add in the sugars, vanilla and salt.
4) Add egg in to butter mixture. Whisk egg briskly. Stir in all flour mixture until completely mixed.
5) Stir in all nuts and oats. Let dough stand for at least an hour, preferrably 2. *I left mine, covered overnight in the fridge, and took it out 5-10mins to thaw.
6) Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees. 
7) Use a mechanical ice cream scoop (3 1/4inch) and drop cookies onto baking sheet. Make sure to keep that at least 3 inches apart, as it will spread.
8) Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
9) Store in a tin container.
Enjoy! :)

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Christmas came EARLY!

Christmas is next month. Another 2 more weeks till December comes! 

Thanks to the lovely team at HarperCollins, they have kindly sponsored this giveaway! 
You can keep it for yourself or give this lovely gift to someone special.

I have 5 copies of Annabel Langbein: Simple Pleasures; The Free Range Cook
{worth $49.99} cookbook to giveaway to my lovely readers!
Here is how you can get your hands on them!

Tell me which is your favourite dessert/sweets cookbook, and why? 

If you haven't followed me on my social pages, here they are again.

Twitter: Passionatemae

Giveaway is now closed. 

Winners will be announced on my website and social pages. 

Please make sure to leave a valid contact, ie: your email address/website blog when you're filling up the comments box.

This giveaway is open to all Australian residents only. Five lucky readers will be chosen randomly.

You will have 24 hours to respond if you're one of the lucky 5, otherwise I would have to choose another lucky person!

p/s: To celebrate the release of this cookbook, you also have a chance to win a trip for 2 to the beautiful Lake Wanaka; where the book was set! For more details, please visit annabel-langbein.com/win. This competition closes 30th November 2012.

Good Luck! :) 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Moments

Wooooah! There are so much to do in Wedding Preparations. Yet, I am enjoying every moment of it. I believe it is important to be happy and not get overly bogged down by tiny things.

Gown are really expensive in Australia. I can't wait for December to come so that I can check out the bridal gowns in NYC. Woot woot! 
pix:realestatesnycsales
The devastation from Hurricanes Sandy.. my thoughts go out to them.

Last week was my fiance's birthday! We went to see Cirque du Soleil OVO! 

Lately, I have been cooking dinner every night. Just feeling inspired to try different recipes.
{My version of Kuey Teow Th'ng}

{Spanish recipe}

{My homemade Penang Muar Chee}

The weather has been crazy...but look at the pretty flowers blooming! 

Ooooo, my best friend is coming to Sydney next week!

p/s: don't' forget to check out my next post! there will be a giveaway! :)

Happy Sunday! :)

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Spun Fairy Floss

Advertorial
Spun gourmet all natural fairy floss
Heard of them before? Spun Fairy Floss is a handmade, all Australian product! They have over 100 flavours.

Thanks to the lovely team at Spun Fairy Floss, they have sent over a few flavours for me to review.

Maple, Strawberry Macadamia, Coconut and French Vanilla.
Who doesn't love fairy floss? The texture is pretty similar to cotton candy. You know the ones that you buy when you're at a fun-fair, those colourful sugary cloud on paper cone that melts in your mouth!

These Spun Fairy Floss comes in a see-through container, where you can also recycle it to store your other ingredients.

These Spun Fairy Floss keeps pretty fresh, when stored in these containers in cool areas. Even though it looks like it is packed pretty compact, don't let it fool you. The Fairy Floss are still very light and fluffy!

My favourite flavour would be the Maple though I really like the smell of the Coconut Flavour. The smell/aroma of these flavours are so strong, but the taste of it, isn't over the top. They have the essence of what the flavours should be. Though I would have preferred it if the taste is slightly stronger. But I guess it will go well as a topping on a dessert, where the taste would not interfere with your dessert but would rather compliment it.

Spun Fairy Floss comes in a variety of flavours such as....Almond Banana, Bubble Gum, Chocolate, Choc Almond, Choc Banana, Choc Coconut, Choc Hazelnut, Choc Macadamia, Choc Mint, Choc Pistachio, Choc Strawberry, Coconut, Coco Banana, Coco Lime, Coco Mango, Coco Pineapple, Coco Strawberry, Coco Watermelon, Coffee, Cranberry, Cranberry & Lemon, Fig, French Vanilla, Fruit Salad, Grape, Hazelnut, Kiwi Fruit, Lemon, Lime, Lime & Lemon, Macadamia, Mango, Mango & Passionfruit,  Maple, Mint, Mocha, Passionfruit, Peach, Peanut Butter, Pineapple, Pine Lime, Pine Mint, Pine Passionfruit, Pistachio, Pomegranate, Rose, Strawberry, Strawberry Banana, Strawberry Macadamia, Violet, Watermelon.



You can buy Spun Fairy Floss @ $7.95 per 60g tub; Online, at the markets or at a store near you. 
Just click here to find them.

Happy Day! :)