Vegan Gluten Free Tea Cookies

January 17, 2017

I needed to make some vegan gluten free cookies for a girlfriends trip and while I RARELY ever bake vegan let alone gluten free. Thankfully for the internet because it sure did deliver! I was so very pleasantly surprised by the recipe from Minimalist Baker since it was not only delicious but all didn't miss the egg, butter or gluten whatsoever.

I did adapt the recipe since I didn't want to make loads of my own gluten free flour mix. The best substitute I found was actually from Arrowhead Mills using their Gluten Free Organic Pancake & Waffle mix. This provided a great base for the cookie then I just played with my own spice proportions for flavoring. I was also inspired by my dear fellow baker and friend from The Great American Baking Show and the spices he had in his Showstopper gingerbread cookie tree. (Thanks Jeremiah!)

Vegan Gluten Free Tea Cookies
Adapted from Minimalist Baker & spices inspired by Jeremiah Bills' Gingerbread from The Great American Baking Show
Makes about 24-30 2 to 3 inch cookies

Ingredients

1 tablespoon finely grounded flaxseed meal
2.5 tablespoons water
1/2 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 cup almond butter
3 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup vegan butter, room temp
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups gluten free pancake / waffle mix (brand: Arrowhead Mills)

1. In a small bowl, mix together flaxseed meal and water. Let it sit for 5 minutes and stir occasionally. This will get very thick almost like an egg white consistency.

2. In a medium bowl or stand mixer bowl, add brown sugar, molasses, almond butter, vegan butter, all spices, salt and baking soda. Begin to mix with a whisk attachment on medium until all ingredients are creamed together. Turn off mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn mixer back on and add flaxseed mixture. Mix until incorporated.

3. Remove bowl and add in gluten free pancake/waffle mix. Mix together with a wooden spoon. If the dough is not coming together then add another tablespoon of the flour mixture. Do not over add since it will be too dry and grainy. You want your dough to be thick enough to form a ball. Once dough is ready wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

5. Prepare one sheet of parchment paper on your countertop and lightly dust with your flour mix. Place cookie dough on the parchment paper and press down the disc a bit. Dust the top of it with a little more of the flour mix and then place another parchment paper over it. You're going to roll out dough between these two pieces of parchment paper till it's about 1/4 of an inch thick. Don't go too thin or cookies might burn in the oven.

6. At this point if your kitchen is too hot or dough is too soft, transfer the parchment papers to a cookie sheet and place into the freezer for about 5 minutes to re-chill. Or, you can go straight into cutting.

7. Transfer cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Remember, this dough is VERY SOFT so it can break easily. Use light floured spatulas to move them around or just make sure you work quickly. Place cookies about 1.5 inches apart since they will spread slightly in the oven.

8. Once cut and laid out, put them back into the freezer again for 5 minutes to harden up and reduce spreading when baked.

9. Bake in heated oven for 8-11 minutes. The edges of the cookies should look slightly browner and feel stiff. Cool on the cookie sheet for at least 3 minutes before moving since they will feel very soft.

10. Once they are a bit firmer, move them on a cooling rack to continue cooling to room temp. Enjoy now or store in an air-tight container for 5-7 days.

Chinese Green Onion Sesame Rolls

January 15, 2017

I grew up in a small suburb outside of Los Angeles called, Cerritos. It's a pretty small city and mainly known for the auto square ("605 to South Street, Cerritos Auto Square!"). In addition to the car dealers, there is an awesome Asian food scene in Cerritos where you can get great Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, etc. everywhere you turn.

I remember one of my favorite places to go as a kid was the local Chinese bakery with my mom and dad. For those who haven't been to a Chinese bakery before, they are these magical places that smell like sugary milk as soon as you walk in the door. with shelves of different types of individually wrapped sweet and savory bread buns with delicious fillings/toppings and pastry cases with fruit cakes, swiss rolls and other yummy desserts.

When we were tasked to make a dinner roll during bread week for The Great American Baking Show, I was inspired by all the Chinese bread I ate growing up. I knew I wanted to make an enriched dough (with eggs, milk and butter) because it reminded me of home. I was also inspired by Green Onion Scallion Pancakes (Chinese pronunciation: cōng yóu bǐng that is served as another source of carbs besides rice with your meal.

While I was able to complete these rolls in just about 2 hours on the show, please TAKE YOUR TIME with this. We had proofing drawers and I had to massively rush through the shaping. Bread is NOT to be rushed especially if you want a beautiful light and fluffy roll at the end of this. In total I think with two proper rises at room temperature you're looking at at least 3.5 hours. At least it's worth the wait. :)

Chinese Green Onion Sesame Rolls
Recipe featured on ABC's The Great American Baking Show, Makes 12 rolls

Bread Dough:

1 2/3 cups whole milk, slightly warmed
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 large egg, room temperature and lightly beaten
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cake flour
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Filling:

8-9 fresh green onions, chopped, cleaned and dry
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Asian toasted sesame oil

Topping:

1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk (for egg wash)
2 tablespoons of toasted white sesame seeds

1. In a small bowl, microwave milk for about 30 seconds just until it's warmed (slightly warmer than body temp) then add yeast. Stir lightly and let it sit for 5 minutes to dissolve.

2. In a stand mixer bowl, cake flour, bread flour, salt and sugar in that order. Then add the milk yeast mixture and then the beaten egg. This will be a very wet dough to begin with.

3. With the dough hook, knead everything together for 9-10 minutes on low till dough comes together. This will be a wetter dough even when it's done kneading and will be sticky to the bowl and your hands. Butter or oil your hands and pull the dough from the bottom and form it in a ball.

4. Take a separate large bowl and spray with oil. Transfer dough ball into the large oiled bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for 1 hour for the first rise. Dough should grow to at least 1.5 x it’s original size.

5. While dough is rising, work on making filling. Julian green onions on a slanted cut. Add in salt and both oils. Taste and make sure there is enough sesame and salt flavoring. Cover and set aside. (Image above)

6. Line a 9 x 13 rectangle pan with parchment paper then set aside.

7. When dough is ready, punch it down in the bowl and place on a lightly floured counter. Knead a few times lightly just to get out the air bubbles.

8. Place dough on an oiled surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Measure it on a scale to be precise. Shape each piece into a nice round ball and place into the lined pan. Cover the dough balls that you aren’t actively using with a dry and clean kitchen towel. (Image above)

9. Take each ball and lightly roll out with a wooden pin into a longer rectangle then add an even layer of green onion mixture on top of the dough. You will be adding about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling to each piece. (Image above) The key is to not get too much oil on the dough since that makes it tricky for sealing.

10. Roll up the dough with the green onion lengthwise then pinch the ends to ensure it is enclosed inside. (Image above)

11. Pull the ends of the long “cigar” dough and make a knot with the dough while tucking in each end. Place each dough into the parchment paper lined in rows of 3. Repeat till you’re done with all 12 rolls. Cover the rolls that you’ve place into the pan with a towel as you’re working.

12. Now you're reading for the second proof. Place pan with dry cloth over it back and allow to proof another hour or 1.5 hours until rolls have doubled and fill the space between them. (Image above)

13. Preheat oven to 350 F / 176 C.

14. Prepare egg wash and brush on top of the buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

15. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tops are golden brown. Make sure buns have reached an internal temp of 200 F / 93 C and tap to hear a hollow sound. Rotate the pan at least once in the oven to ensure even baking.

16. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan. Remove parchment paper and rolls and place on cooling rack until it’s cool enough to be handled.

17. After a few minutes break them apart and place in a cloth-lined basket.

Black Sesame Macarons

January 14, 2017

When I was deciding what desserts to make for my final showstopper, I knew it was one of those go big or go home type of moments. I've made macaron a few times over the course of my baking days and I gotta say I've definitely had more disasters than successes! So WHHHYY did I choose this? I believed that if I could nail one of the most difficult desserts while baking under stress and in a TENT, that it would really prove to myself that I really do deserve to win that title.

For me the last showstopper really was the culmination of me reflecting on all the people who have helped me get to where I am today. Not just baking but in life. The brief was to come up with 36 mini desserts for a winter celebration and I knew that I wanted to bake for everyone that I love. Filming in the U.K., it was extremely difficult to experience one of the most difficult things I've ever done without a single loved one near by. (Which is why the bakers end up getting so close!)

Being Chinese American, I grew up eating black sesame desserts! My favorite are Tang Yuan, which are rice balls with black sesame filling that you eat in a rice wine soup and these are typically eaten over Chinese New Year. Whenever I eat these I think of my family so it was an obvious pick to make macaron with black sesame where I could use the powder to flavor the shells. Black sesame is also one of those amazing flavors that pairs well with subtle sweet flavors that can play off it's earthiness and complexity. I always wanted to bake with champagne so made a buttercream filling that has the light, sweetness of honey but something tart to balance it being the champagne.

This macaron recipe is a bit more forgiving because it's using an Italian meringue method vs French meringue. That means you're creating a sugar syrup for the whipped egg whites vs adding in granulated sugar directly to the egg whites. I knew this was my only chance of nailing it in an environment that could have been high humidity and uncontrollable.

Hope you guys have just as much fun making these at home. I definitely look forward to making them again NOT in a tent. ;)

Recipe at ABC!

Kona Coffee White Chocolate Mac Nut Cookies

January 11, 2017

It's been a few weeks since we got back from Hawaii and I'm doing just about anything I can to hang on to the sunshine, warmth and delicious food! I was lucky enough to pick up a bag of these beautiful Hawaiian macadamia nuts from the local market before leaving. One of the hubby's favorite cookies is a white chocolate mac nut cookie so no better time than now to tear into this bad boy!

I adapted the recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookie but reductions on sugar and different drop-ins. I am in love with how crispy the outside is and chewy the centers are. They also result in a very THIN cookie. This makes it fun to eat with ice cream or on their own.

A few tips before starting... use an ice cream scooper for shaping your cookies. This is a very soft dough so don't bother using your hands to roll them. Also, keep in mind these cookies spread quite a bit in the oven so space them out properly. You can also bake two sheets at a time just make sure to rotate them (turn and switch racks) about 75% of the way through.

Pre-bake: space out 6 cookies per sheet.

Kona Coffee White Chocolate Mac Nut Cookies
Adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar, makes about 2 dozen 4 inch cookies

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp (2 sticks)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1 tablespoon light corn syrup or 2 tablespoons of glucose
1 large egg, room temp
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped into small chunks (I used 2 Ghirardelli baking bars)
1 cup of macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (to same size of white chocolate)
2 teaspoons ground coffee (do not use instant coffee)

1. In your stand mixer bowl, add butter, sugars and corn syrup. Cream sugars and butter together using the paddle attachment on medium high for about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl then add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat again on medium high for another 6 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, add your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together to ensure they are well mixed together.

3. Your egg, butter sugar mixture should be very light and pleasantly whipped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and turn your mixer to low. Start adding your flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time. Turn off mixer once the dough comes together. Shouldn't be more than a minute.

4. Now add the white chocolate, mac nuts and ground coffee to the dough. Again, only mix until all the dough comes together (about 30 seconds) and do not over mix. Scrape the dough together with a spatula.

5. Prepare 1 large baking sheet with parchment paper and grab your ice cream scooper. I like to use a 1 and 3/4 inch scooper which results in about a 4 inch cookie. Remember the larger scooper you go, the more you'll need to space out your cookies for baking. Start to scoop cookie domes to the baking sheet until all the dough is gone.

6. After all the cookies have been scooped, wet the back of your scooper and lightly press down each cookie so you flatten out the tops a bit. Next these cookies will need to chill for at least 1.5 hours or up to a week in the fridge. Wrap the baking sheet tightly in plastic wrap and go enjoy something on Netflix.

7. When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F.

8. Place the chilled cookie domes on parchment lined baking sheets spaced at least 4-5 inches apart. (See images above) You can fit about 6 cookies on each sheet and bake two sheets at a time. Keep cookies that aren't going into the oven yet in the fridge.

9. Bake for 16-18 minutes. about 13 minutes in, rotate the pans and switch levels if you're baking two sheets at a time.

10. Cookies are done when the outsides are a nice golden brown and the centers are still a bit blonde. Remove from the oven and cool cookies on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes. If you try to move them too soon they'll completely fall apart.

11. Pour a glass of milk, or if you're like me, almond milk, and enjoy! Keep remaining cookies in an airtight container up to 5 days.

TRAVEL: Christmas in Hawaii!

January 6, 2017

This year we decided on a Hawaiian getaway for our Christmas celebration. We managed to coordinate a cousin's reunion and I got to spend 10 wonderful days with my whole family including my big sis, brother-in-law and nephew who came all the way from Singapore. We rented a beautiful AirBNB in Kahala which was just down the mountain from where my Aunt and Uncle live in Honolulu so it was the perfect central location for everything!

Here are the highlights and my favorite eats from the trip! I also spent the majority of the time cooking at home so we didn't eat out as much as I would have hoped. Enjoy!

EATS:

Rainbow Drive-In - Get the mixed plate! Great for a quick, casual bite after a day at the beach. I also LOVE their chili dog rice plate. YUM.

Musubi Cafe Iyasume - This was such a surprising and awesome find in the DT Waikiki area. There's a ton of different types of Musubis (with Spam) and with fish, chicken, picked radishes, etc. Usually a line there so go during off hours.

Leonard's Bakery - Famous for Malasadas and Puffs! Try the original or I love getting the Li-hing Mui powder which is a local plum spice.

Waiola's Shaved Ice - Lots of debate on who has the BEST shaved ice on the island but let me settle it for you. It's Waiola's. :D You won't be disappointed. Love the Azuki Red Bean bowl or just the regular cones. Also have shaved ice with vanilla ice cream. DELISH!

Diamond Head Market & Grill - Another great option for mixed plates. Go for a hike at Diamond Head then post hike hit up this lunch spot.

Olive Tree Cafe - Fantastic greek food that is very unassuming from the outside. Only open for dinner and get there early if you don't want to wait for a seat. This place gets really busy but so worth it. Everything is delicious.

ACTIVITIES:

Koko Crater Trail - One word... INTENSE. This is the ultimate workout and near vertical hike up a mountain you can get. The view was GORGEOUS but I was also DYINGGG. Haha. I workout at least 4 times a week and this was so intense for me. Make sure you allow ample time to rest as you go up this mountain. It's actually scarier coming down. You'll definitely feel it the next day. :)

Diamond Head Summit Trail - This is a beautiful hike but very busy and lots of people. Perfectly paved trail to make it easier on your knees and feet. My bro-in-law carried a baby on his back the whole time so this is good for families with a hiking backpack or with kids. View at the top is gorgeous of Waikiki.

Chef's Luau - We wanted a family-friendly activity so I did a ton of research and settled on Chef's based on reviews on the food and entertainment. While Luaus can be really cheesy and really expensive, I thought this one was actually worth it if you are looking for a luau. I've gone to other ones on the island as a kid and would rank Chef's as the best. The food was actually pretty good considering it's a buffet and the dancing/MC was on point! Aside from getting rained on, it was a really fun time for the whole family.

Hanauma Bay - We wanted to go snorkeling and I honestly haven't been back to Hanauma since I was a kid. I gotta say I was pretty disappointed! I remember the water being so much more clear and more fish. There was still stuff to see but wasn't as beautiful as I remember it. If you want to go, arrive early (like 7am) if you want a parking spot. Parking fills up by 8:15am then you'll have to wait.