Festive Baking

It's been a while since I last posted. Well, sometimes other things in life takes priority. On a happy note, I've been approached by Marshall Cavendish end of last year  to contribute a recipe for the book Bake and Celebrate, Cookies and Treats. The book is a collection of recipes from various bloggers and Instagrammers and I am very honoured to be featured amongst some of them who are very talented. The book is already in major book stores, so do grab a copy!

As the Lunar New Year approaches, it's time for some festive baking. I've been baking almond cookies almost every years since a couple of years back and my Matcha Almond Cookies is the one featured in the cookbook. But this year I made a variation of it, because I love to experiment with different flavors  - it challenges my thinking :D. Here is my favorite variation so far - Black Sesame Almond Cookies 黑芝麻杏仁饼。Super fragrant from the black sesame powder, I hope you can give this recipe a try!

Black Sesame Almond Cookies

Makes about 50 pieces

120g plain flour

30g Top flour

½ tsp baking powder

80g pure black sesame powder
50g icing sugar
70g sliced almonds, toasted and smashed slightly

10g toasted black sesame seeds

1/4 tsp salt
100g neutral flavored oil(I used sunflower seed oil)

1 egg yolk plus 1/4 tsp water for glazing

Toasted black sesame seeds to garnish

Method

1) Sift together flours, baking powder and icing sugar, add in sesame powder, sesame seeds and sliced almonds and salt,  mix well.

2) Add oil and mix to form a soft dough

3) Shape into 9g small round balls, flatten slightly

4) Glaze with egg yolk and decorate with black sesame seed and bake in a preheated oven at 165°C for 18-20 mins or until golden brown