Jumbo Choc Chip Cookies

Dear All, Finally found a recipe for one of those jumbo chewie choc chip cookies - courtesy of Betty Crocker. Kids made it, or rather, quarrelled through the process but in the end... we had 1 1/2 dozen yummy cookies!

Chocolate chip cookies – Betty Crocker

¾ cup granulated sugar
3.4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 ¼ cup all purpose flour (if using self-raising flour, omit baking soda and salt)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1 bag semisweet choc chips (2 cups)

heat oven to 375 deg/ 190 deg
beat sugars, vanilla and egg in large bowl with electric mixer (medium speed) or with spoon.
stir in flour, b soda and salt (dough will be stiff)
stir in nuts and chips
drop dough by rounded tablespoons about 2 in apart onto ungreased cooking sheet.
bake 8 – 10 mins or until light brown (centres will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 mins, remove from cookie sheet to wire race.

For jumbo choc chip cookie – drop dough by ¼ cupfuls about 3 in apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12- 15 mins or until edges are set (centres will be soft) cool 1 – 2 mins, remove to wire rack.
Makes 1 ½ dozen 

ban kelapa

Yesterday made ketayap for Mira's class party, and had leftover coconut filling. So today made some buns - was quite surprised that they taste nice! Coconut filling was easy to do - dessicated coconut (well, mana ada fresh grated coconut), brown sugar, bit of water - mix all in pot and stir till sugar dissolves. I suppose if I had daun pandan it would taste nicer. Nice eaten for morning break with a cup of hot coffee... bila otak dah bengang... 

creme caramel

Tried and tested recipe (the one Ida posted). Verdict: easy to make, scrumptious to eat. 

Beef stew and Yorkshire pudding

Got inspired after watching Nigella's cooking show on tv last night. So we had beef stew (modified from her lamb stew) which had feta cheese and mint leaves sprinkled on it - lovely comfort food!!

recipe as below:

Brown meat in oil

Blend:

Celery (3 – 4 sticks)

Onion – 1 big

Garlic 4 cloves

Pour celery/onion mixture into the oil

Saute till soft

Take ½ out, put beef in, pour back the ½

Add bay leaves (about 3 – 4) + 1teaspoon oregano powder

Add carrot – chopped into ¼

2 cans chopped tomato

water

leave 2 hours

add some macaroni

serve with feta cheese / bay leaves (used mint)

Then had yorkshire pudding (as in for a sweet dessert rather than with roast beef). Ate it as soon as it came out of the oven - with cream and honey - hmmmmmmm yummmy. Oooh, dah kenyang....

recipe for Yorkshire pudding:

Heat oven 425
Put pan into oven (with about 3 mm of oil/fat in it)

4 eggs + 350 mls milk – blend and let rest for 15 min.
add flour 1 ½ cups
blend together

pour into hot pan
bake 20 – 25 min

eat when still hot (immediately out of oven!) with cream and honey

banana muffin

Found this very easy to do banana muffin recipe (betty crocker's). Imran mashed the bananas (of course when you have a 5yr old boy mash it, there was lots of imagination play going on about monsters thrashing the bananas..) and both Dina and he mixed it all up - ending up with a not so lumpy batter (read - over mixed). But - it's lovely when eaten hot!

1/3 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour (if use self-raising f, omit b powder and salt)
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe banana (2 medium)

heat oven to 400
grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups or line with paper baking cups
beat milk, oil, egg
stir flour, sugar, b powder, salt all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy)
fold in bananas
divide into cups
bake 20 to 25 minutes or till golden brown
when done, immediately remove from pan to wire rack 

Creme Caramel courtesy of Ida

For the custard:
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
3 oz (75gms) caster sugar
Pinch of salt
500 ml fresh milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
Butter for greasing (optional)
For the caramel:
100gms sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Pour about 1 inch of hot water into a roasting tin large enough to hold a custard mould. Place this tin in the oven.

Put the eggs and egg yolks into a bowl. Beat them lightly, but not to a froth. Add the sugar and salt and mix in. Heat the evaporated milk and fresh milk in a pot until it is very hot.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the bowl with the eggs, whisking vigorously, add the vanilla and mix it in.

Grease the custard mould with butter. Put the sugar for the caramel in a heavy based frying pan, spreading it over the bottom. Heat it over a medium heat. Do not stir. As the sugar melts and turns brown, tilt the pan around so that the sugar moves a little. When all the sugar has caramelized, pour it into the custard mould. Tilt the mould around so that the sides are coated. The sugar will harden. Strain the hot custard into the mould and place the mould in the roasting tin of water. Cook in the oven for 1 hour or 1 hour 10 minutes. Let the custard cool before putting it in the fridge. Invert the custard.