jessiefoodinthekitchen

  Chinese New Year baking is always extra special in my kitchen. Besides the usual pineapple tarts and butter cookies, I love adding something that looks elegant and tastes irresistible. This Florence Almond Cookie is slightly different from the classic thin Florentine. It has a rich buttery shortbread base at the bottom, topped with crunchy caramelized almond flakes. The combination of crisp shortbread and crunchy nutty topping is simply too good to resist. It looks delicate and bakery-style, but it’s actually quite manageable to make at home. I love this version of cookies. The bottom layer is rich, buttery, and slightly crumbly, like a classic melt-in-the-mouth shortbread. The top layer is crunchy, nutty, and lightly caramelized with a beautiful golden color. The cornflakes add an extra crisp texture that makes every bite interesting and addictive. You get two textures in one bite. Soft, buttery base and crisp, caramelized topping. It’s sweet, but not overly heavy. Perfect...

  If you’ve ever visited Hong Kong, chances are you’ve seen (or queued for) the famous Jenny Bakery flower butter cookies. Packed in iconic red tins and piped into delicate swirls, these cookies are known for one thing: an unbelievably buttery, melt ‑ in ‑ the ‑ mouth texture. They ’ re rich without being greasy, crumbly yet tender, and dangerously addictive. Today, I’m sharing a homemade version inspired by the popular Hong Kong Jenny flower cookies, made in three classic flavors: - Original, green tea and chocolate. Perfect for festive gifting, afternoon tea, or simply satisfying cookie craving. What Makes Jenny Flower Cookies So Special? These cookies are not your average butter cookies. A few things set them apart: -High butter ratio → ultra ‑ rich aroma and flavor -No water or milk → keeps the texture short and crumbly -Piped flower shape → beautiful and classic -Melt ‑ in ‑ the ‑ mouth finish → the signature trait everyone loves Because the dough is quite so...

White almond cookies are one of those timeless treats that instantly bring back memories of traditional bakeries and festive cookie jars. With their pale, snowy appearance, light almond fragrance, and melt-in-the-mouth texture, these cookies are simple yet incredibly nostalgic. They may look plain, but one bite is enough to understand why they’ve remained a classic for generations. This recipe focuses on achieving that signature white color, delicate crumb, and gentle almond aroma—perfect for Chinese New Year, special occasions, or simply enjoying with a cup of tea. The making method is quick and simple using almond flour and roasted almond flakes, filling the kitchen with a delightful almond aroma. Baked at low temperature, these cookies are white instead of golden color of ordinary butter cookies and have a flaky texture with a delicious blend of roasted almond and peanut oil flavors. INGREDIENTS 100g Almond Flakes 140g All Purpose Flour 100g Corn Starch 70g Icing Sugar...

  Tambun biscuits or Tau Sah Piah ( 淡汶饼) are Malaysia delicacies. It one of Penang popular style pastry with sweet savory mung bean filling which also name as Tambun biscuit due to the fact that its origin comes from Bukit Tambun, Penang. This is not something that I am unfamiliar with even though I am not from Penang. It is a very popular gift for friends who visit Penang. In fact, it can be easily got it in other parts of Malaysia nowadays. It is famous for its savory sweet with aromatic shallot oil. Thin crispy crust from the outside and soft dense inner filling. I am using Chinese crispy pastry to make the crispy crust. Traditionally lard is used for Chinese Pastry, you can now substitute with shortening, pure ghee or butter. Chinese pastry always come with two types of dough which are water dough and oil dough. These two types of dough come together to create the lamination or layers and flaky crust after baked. During the shaping process, it is crucial to let the doug...

  Making pineapple jam is a yearly tradition in the weeks preceding the Lunar New Year. This is because pineapple tarts, a festive dessert that historically represents prosperity and good fortune, are made with the delectable filling of pineapple jam. Due to the laborious cooking process that requires a lot of elbow grease over the stove, pineapple tarts are traditionally very expensive to purchase. There are two types of pineapple tarts – open and closed. I made an open-faced pineapple tart where the pineapple pulp is exposed, that is the pulp is placed on a butter cookie which I made with a flower cutter. This cookie recipe is relatively stable. It is made using flaky buttery pastry crust as its base, wrapping within is our homemade pineapple jam. With a beautiful shape appearance, they look so cute and filled with Chinese New Year atmosphere. The flavor of pineapple jam has fully combined with flaky pastry crust, sour and sweet. Personally, I more prefer this type of flaky Pinea...

The Chinese New Year is almost here, and now I'd want to share these Gok Zai （油角） , or Cantonese sweet dumplings, with you all. They have a crispy exterior and are frequently stuffed with sugar, peanuts, and sesame seeds. People will drool just by looking at it. It's nutty, aromatic, and crispy. The traditional method of making this peanut dumpling is deep frying, but I would like to share a baking method for this recipe.   The appearance of these dumplings is like a mini curry puff. However, it looks like a little plump coin purse from a different perspective– it symbolizes the fuller, the better, for a prosperous New Year! When you make the dumpling dough, make sure do not over mix the dough. Simply work all the ingredients together until they are soft and smooth. That is why I make the dough by hand to avoid over mixing. Aside from that, I like to cut my butter into small cubes as this makes it much easier to blend it into the flour mixture.  Once the dough is made, set a...

Pineapple tart is one of the must-have cookies for Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore during Chinese New Year. Is one of the traditional cookies of Baba and Nyonya in the early days. I have made two different types of pineapple tart for this year. One is the open-faced pineapple tart where the pineapple pulp is exposed, that is the pulp is placed on a butter cookie which I made with a flower cutter. The other type is a soft and melty pineapple tart whereas the cookies were made of butter, cream cheese, whipping cream, and egg yolks. The pineapple filling is wrapped inside, and the outer layer is covered with the cookie dough which is rolled into a ball shape. What made these two varieties of cookie dough different from one another? I'll say that the first variety has a pastry crumb that is really buttery. The greatest melt-in-your-mouth pineapple tart is the second kind. The cookie dough is somewhat soft, similar to the cake batter, but it is not sticky. In contrast to the open-...