Happy Chinese New Year!!!

I haven't been blogging much these days... however, I am NOT late in wishing everyone celebrating Chinese New Year, a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!! As Chinese New Year goes on for 15 days --- yes, 15 days of celebrations!!! ;)

Ever since we left home to come here (Kentucky to be exact) for college in '96, we have only celebrated Chinese New Year back home once. All these years, we did whatever we could to make ourselves feels festive, wearing new clothes, decorating the house with red packets, having dinner with friends...but it's never the same, of course. So, when we went back to Malaysia during Chinese New Year in '07, I picked up some decorations so we could use them at home.

Last year when we were back, I asked my mom for the Kuih Kapek molds. Kuih Kapek is one of the snacks/cookies sort of thing we make only during Chinese New Year (cos' it's VERY time consuming). It's also called "love letters" for some reason...maybe because of its intricate motives on the mold?? I'm really not sure at all. Nonetheless, it's yummy. Very similar to the Western waffle --- but very thin...and it's mix with coconut milk. Usually the molds are handed down from one generation to another, plus it's easier to make them with a "seasoned" mold than to buy a brand new one. The older molds tend to have more intricate motives and the grooves are deeper. So guess what? One day when my mom cleaned out her stuff, she had given hers away to someone else!!! What??? She didn't keep it for me?? I don't want her diamond rings, or jewelry, my sister can have them. I just want her kitchen gadgets, and she gave it away *smacking my forehead* :P She must have done that before I discover that I like baking, I hope!

Kuih Kapek (Kapit) --- Love letter cookies

With that, I had planned to go buy new ones from the store. Then she said she'd ask among her friends if any of them still have some molds left to share. You see, not many people my generation, or younger, would make them at home like our moms use to. It's a very time consuming job, and usually requires at least 2 people working together --- one grilling, one folding, and if you make a big batch (usually to give away as gifts to friends and family) you'd need another person or two for rotation), and sitting in front of the charcoal grill for hours in a 90 degrees Fahrenheit plus weather? No wonder no one wants to make them anymore. You could buy them in tubs these days...much easier. However, that's not the case here in U.S., or at least not in Oregon! Lucky for me, one of her best friend, aunty Jecy, remembers she still have a couple left from her mom, and she didn't think any of her kids would be interested in inheriting the molds. So, I managed to inherit 5 of the Ang Family's Kuih Kapek molds!!! :D

Making the kuih kapit cookies brings back memory of the time when my sister and I were still little. We would help my mom to fold the cookies, and you HAVE to fold it while it's hot. But our assistance usually didn't last long :P This is my first time making them. Boy, did I have a lot of trouble....cos' my mom have left out some crucial instruction!! For example, mixing the flour with water to form a medium wet dough and let it rest for a while before adding other ingredients; make sure the mold is REALLY hot before pouring the batter over. *smack my forehead* So, instead of tossing away my batch of batter away, I let the batter rest in the fridge for couple of hours. I made sure the molds were HOT, and when I pour the batter over, it'd sizzle, and when you close the mold up, it makes the sound like someone is farting!!! :P The kids thought it was funny!! So from then on, it went smoothly and they all turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!!

Unfolded

Originally, Kuih Kapit is made on a special charcoal grill, check out this site for more info and pictures. I, had to make them on my stove top, and only 2 at a time....since I needed to place a tray to balance the molds!! So, you can imagine how long it took me to make the whole recipe??!! The only good thing from using the stove is that, I was able to turn it off, keep the remaining batter in the fridge for the next day.

My make shift "grill"

This mold has the motive of a Phoenix
This, a Dragon motive

Gong Xi Fa Chai - Wishing you a Happy & Prosperous New Year

It's as thought the Chinese New Year Cookie fairy has sprinkle some pixie dust on me, I craved to make Pineapple tarts or we sometimes called it Jam tarts. This is also one of the cookies I remember helping my mom...rolling these tiny strands of dough, which we pretended as WORMS, for the lattice look. So, I called my mom for the recipe (I'll post the recipes as soon as I have some extra time). We also talked about the little tiny sauce plates (the Chinese use for soy sauce/chili sauce) and the "crimper" I remember my mom used. I didn't have the little plates and I didn't have any pineapple tart molds, instead, I found a 1-1/2" fluted cookie cutter that was the perfect size. Then I used the back of my mini rolling pin to make the well, it was just perfect!

According to my mom's recipe, she uses 3 whole pineapples. I had to use 5. Apparently the pineapples we get here are smaller and rounder, while back home, the pineapples are oval and bigger. If you're lazy/or no time to cut the fresh pineapples, crushed canned pineapple can be substitute...however, it is NEVER the same as using FRESH ones.


When I was done with all the pineapple jam, I had some dough left, so I rolled them out to make the lattice for these 3 tarts.


I don't really care for the lattice, cos' I like my pineapple tart loaded with the pineapple jam. Sometimes they are also rolled into oval shapes or wrap up like a "pillow" then using a scissors, snip multiple "V" shapes to make the form to resemble a pineapple, then insert a clove on the top --- check out Angie from Sea salt with Food Blog here. I find that too much work, while these have too much dough and too little fillings! :P However, these type of open face tarts are "sticky" when it comes to storing.

Cooking down the Pineapple

To celebrate Chinese New Year, our Chinese school Yo-yo team performed in Uwajimaya. Yesmin has been in the yo-yo team for the 2nd year. And lucky for us, the lion dance performance were there too. We all enjoyed watching the 3 lions dance around, doing tricks. It was great for the kids to be able to see this here in U.S. The lions also stopped to posed with audience who wanted photos taken.

This year, she did two tricks for her yo-yo performance. She did the toss and catch and the other one, which I have forgotten the name for it, where she toss the yo-yo on to one of the sticks and lets it roll and balance on it. We're so proud of her :D

Gong Hei Fatt Choy !!!

Daring Bakers Challenge - Graham Crackers, Nanaimo Bars and Chocolate Scramble Eggs!!!

It's end of January, can you believe that?? And I'm a day late in posting my Daring Bakers challenge....so, nothing new here.

January has been especially challenging for me. It's the month after ALL the busy baking and celebrating (holidays AND birthdays in our family). Kinda feel BLAH - don't want to do anything, you know what I mean?! And having a untrustworthy oven doesn't help at all ( my oven problem still isn't fixed, if you're interested to know what's the problem, just click HERE). I was contemplating if I wanted to go on with this challenge for a longest time. I was interested to try a gluten free recipe, cos' it wasn't long ago that I have come to realized that there are many people who are allergic to wheat! Anyway, I obviously made my last minute decision.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

It wasn't a smooth sailing challenge for me this time around. Maybe it's the bad karma for being lazy! :P The graham cracker challenge was fine. I didn't have Sorghum Flour but was able to substitute it with rice flour. To my surprise, the gluten free graham cracker tasted really good...so much better than the store bought ones. They are a little too sweet though. I'd cut down the sugar in the future.


However, when it came to making the Nanaimo Bar, it was a nightmare! First, when I added the egg to the bottom layer mixture, the whole thing curdle up. I figured I must have done something wrong. Was it because I whisked it, instead of stirred it, as mentioned in the recipe? I dump the whole thing out, and start all over again. Second time around, I used a wooden spoon to stir it, still, it curdle, and worst of all, stirring wasn't enough to prevent the egg from cooking, so I end up having bits and pieces of CHOCOLATE SCRAMBLE EGGS! Yikkkeeesss!!! I didn't want to start over again, so, I did my best to scoop out whatever I can. Still the mixture didn't look right at all...there was a layer of oil (from the butter) that just would NOT bind...nothing like Lauren's. So, I dump the grind up graham crackers, finely chopped almonds and coconut flakes (I used fresh coconut cos' I have THIS cool gadget! ;) ). I pressed some into a ring mold, and the rest to a 8x8 pan. Again, there was oil sitting on top of the chocolate/graham cracker mixture. I had to use some paper towel to soak 'em up. The second layer IS indeed THICK. It was kinda difficult to spread, and tasted to me like eating a stick of butter.

So, instead of finishing the top layer, I made only a small amount of the chocolate ganache layer, just enough to cover the Nanaimo bar I had in the small ring. I knew it was something too rich...and I DO MEAN RICH! ...that we won't eat. I did take a small wedge to try. It was ok, better than I thought it would be, but NOT something I'd make again. I had my doubts about the coconut...it's really funny that I haven't been a fan of coconut in Western desserts...maybe because the ones I've tasted are all made with sweeten coconut flakes we get from the stores. There are a lot of coconut in Asian, especially Southeast Asian desserts, but we usually use freshly grated coconut. Anyway, if not for the greasy taste, I might just like it more.

Now, doesn't mean I didn't like it, it means we should toss this recipe out. I have to say that, many of the devoted DB members, have created stunning and interesting "modified"Nanaimo bars. The come up with all sorts of variations in flavors, I wished I could try theirs instead of mine! :P So, do stop by to check them out here.

Here's the recipe and some tips:

Notes for gluten-free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars:

• Glutinous rice flour does not contain any gluten, as it is made from a type of rice called glutinous (or sweet) rice.
• The graham wafer dough is very sticky. Make sure you are flouring (with sweet rice flour) well, or the dough will be difficult to remove from the surface you roll it out on. Also be sure to keep it cold. You do not want the butter to melt.
• I chose these flours because of their availability. Tapioca starch/flour and sweet rice flour can often be found in Asian grocery stores, or in the Asian section of you grocery store. Sorghum can be slightly more difficult to find, but it can be replaced with brown rice flour, millet flour or other alternatives.
• In the Nanaimo Bars, it is very important that the chocolate be cool but still a liquid, otherwise the custard layer will melt, and it will mix with the chocolate, being difficult to spread. Allow the chocolate mixture to come to room temperature but not solidify before spreading the top layer on.

Preparation time:

• Graham Wafers: 30 to 45 minutes total active prep, 2 ½ hours to overnight and 45 minutes inactive prep.
• Nanaimo Bars: 30 minutes.

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers

Ingredients

1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour (I substitute with rice flour)
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed (I'd cut down the sugar, though I'm not sure it'd alter the sturture)
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

My note: The dough IS very sticky, and the trick is to make sure the surface you roll out onto, your hands and the rolling pin is well floured.

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients:

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer

1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter (I'd cut down to maybe 1/3 C instead?)
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer (I'm not crazy over this layer, like I mentioned before, it tasted like licking a stick of butter. However, there are some DB members who made with a mascapone layer, marshmallow layer or adding/flavored with fruits..etc. which I think it's a great idea...having something light for this layer might balance out the richness of this dessert)

1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer

4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:

1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

-------------------------------
Additional Information:

These bars freeze very well, so don’t be afraid to pop some into the freezer.

The graham wafers may be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Mine lasted about that long.

If making the graham crackers with wheat, replace the gluten-free flours (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and sorghum flour) with 2 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp of all-purpose wheat flour, or wheat pastry flour. Watch the wheat-based graham wafers very closely in the oven, as they bake faster than the gluten-free ones, sometimes only 12 minutes.

For the Nanaimo Bars, if making with wheat, replace the gluten-free graham wafer crumbs with equal parts wheat graham wafer crumbs!



Nevertheless, a BIG thank you to Lauren for this challenge. I am glad to have completed this challenge!

UPDATE: Hubby and kiddos tried the bars today. I cut a small section of the one in the small ring mold for each of them. Hubby said it's the best challenge I've made by far - and ask if that was it. I told him I was gonna toss the one in the 8x8 pan out, and he says NNNNOOOO!! So, I've just finish up the last layer on the 8x8, so that he can have more and will bring some to his co-workers.

As for the kiddos, they too thought that there was just the little serving they were gonna get. Lucas told me to go "make MORE"!!! :)

Mohawk!!

Last weekend, it was time again to give the kids a haircut. Out of a sudden, I told Nd(Lee) that I'm gonna leave a Mohawk for Lucas' hair. I remembered when he was around 2 years old, I didn't cut his hair as often, for a couple of reasons...(1) it was more difficult to make him sit still than Yesmin and the same age.(2) I don't have the energy to cut his hair every 6 weeks, and too stingy to bring him to the hair salon, and pay $10 cut his hair cut! And most of all (3) we get attention no matter where we go! People always stop and comment about his crazy hair :D (cos' mommy craves for the attention! hahhahaa). My mom would go crazy when she saw his hair...always complaining how long and messy and ugly!!! The one good thing about living thousand and thousands of miles away is that, all those are through phone calls and photos sent home...so, being the rebellious child that I am (I know, I know, there WILL be pay back in the future!!! :P), I ignore her comments! :P

His hair would just stand up by itself!!! --- see all the crazy hair days??! :P

Finally when he was around 3 years old, when he sorta out grown his baby look, I started trimming his hair more often. So, back to last weekend...I figured that since his hair is so unique, and doesn't even require any hair product to make it stand up, why not let him have a mohawk?? I mean, who knows, when he's 16 or 18, the might come back home one day with a florescent blue Mohawk?? So, I convinced him that I'll let him keep the top part of his hair longer...kinda like Hurley in G-Force ...and he bought that! I just can't wait to see how long will his hair grow, before it collapse down. So stay tune, I will post the end result then. :D

Other Baked Stuff...

A friend asked if I could make a doll cake for her 2 year old back in December. Of course I would. I'd take any chance to practice my baking and cake decorating skills! So, I told her to go get a doll...that way, N can play with it after the cake has been eaten...and not freak out if she sees that the "doll" doesn't have feet when the cake is gone! She bought a Snow White doll. We dressed her up in an evening gown in PURPLE! :P The little princess was so happy, I heard. :)


These are some baby shower cookies I made for a best friend in L.A. It's a surprise gift for her and her baby shower guests. I was supposed to attend her baby shower this past weekend. However, the cost of the airfare is way above my budget. And since we do plan on bring the kids to Disney this summer, it'd be a good chance for me to catch up with her then and I'd also get to see the baby!! I made these with Elisa Strauss' Chocolate cookie recipe. It's DELICIOUS!!! Cos' she uses melted dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder. YUM!

Baby buggy

Knowing how bz my friend is going to be, I send her an e-mail telling her to make sure to open up the package 'cos she's the type who can stand NOT opening a present/box for a couple of days!! And since I had paid over $40 for the shipping (as usual, I didn't make them until last minute, hence using the express mail instead of the priority mail service), so that the cookies get there in time for her baby shower, AND not rot in the box!!! True enough, she was in such hurry, she didn't open the box even the day after she received it...however, her hubby, who should now be awarded with the title "Cookie Hero of the Year," asked if she knows what's in there, and thought they should open it that morning (the morning after they received it)...she still insist it'd be fine!! Thank goodness for his persistence, he opened the box which was sitting by the window with the sun shining in!!! :P He had figured that I might have sent some "food stuff"!!! :) LOL ....I'm so honored he has made an equation of Jenny's parcel= Food!!! ;)

Bib - the ribbons on the bib aren't very clear in the pic

Kids' Birthdays - Belated Post

Our home was invaded by these guys!!! ( a little dice on the left was the pretend All Sparks cube)

I've been really terrible at updating my blog recently. With all the year end holidays and my addiction to some new games on Facebook!!! :P So here are some very belated posts.

The kids celebrated their birthdays with some friends. Lucas had never really have a "big party," so this year, he had requested for a birthday party in McDonald's --- I convinced him to have it else where. Man, all these party places aren't cheap anymore. We were lucky that one of his friends in school has her birthday the day before his. So we did a combine party and invited the whole preschool class, and split the bill! :) It was ALL about Transformers for him this year!

Bumble Bee theme cake - got the idea from here

The Decepticons

Yesmin on the other hand, had 5 friends over for a Hello Kitty birthday party at home. I used to see Hello Kitty cookie cutter in the stores here. Back then I didn't think I'd wanna decorate cookies, so I didn't care to buy 'em. Then, when I need it, they are only sold online on ebay! Gees! So, this is what I got.

She didn't wanna have a cake, like the previous year. So, I gave her a few choices and she picked lemon meringue tartlets. I used Meyer lemons for the curd --- YUM! Kinda burnt the meringue a little! :P

Meyer lemon meringue tartlets

I also ordered each girl a headband as a favor. I e-mailed to Erika at Tottie's Pretties, to discuss about getting the "theme" ribbons for the headbands. She advised me on not using the Hello Kitty ribbons, as they don't turn up well on headbands. In the end, we went with a bright pink polka dot with pink background on the headband,with a double bow clip. When I received the box of headbands, Erika has made one extra as a gift for Yesmin. That's the one she's wearing on the picture above. It's got 9 studs for 9 years old. So sweet of her! Thanks Erika. It's now Yesmin's favorite one! :)

Merry Belated Christmas & Daring Bakers Challenge - Gingerbread House

Merry Christmas from the family! :)

Monkey 1 and Monkey 2

It's been a crazy and hectic month! Time seems to fly at HIGH SPEED when it comes to year end, doesn't it? Well, I'm once again late for posting my Christmas wishes to all of you AND for my Daring Bakers challenge (don't think THIS is ever gonna change! :P) Anyhow, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Holiday!! =)

This year, I didn't feel as excited as I usually did....I think mainly because Nd (Lee) had to travel to Taiwan for work for the first 2 weeks of December. However, I have also notice that usually by the time we get to Christmas, I am already so exhausted with the kids' and Nd's birthdays, Thanksgiving and all the school parties. However, I am glad that, at least this time I wasn't late in the holiday baking. I managed to deliver all the treats to friends and neighbors the weekend before Christmas! Woohooo!!

Before I forget...
The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

So, Gingerbread House made from scratch was the challenge, and boy, was THAT a TRUE challenge for me. We have only made gingerbread house ONCE, and from A KIT. At first, I was all excited, thinking of all the possibilities to decorate the gingerbread house, and that I would make a house for each of the kids, so they can decorate their own, and not mess with MINE! :P I started off by reserving gingerbread house books from the library. It was a little overwhelming ~ what design should I choose? Should I copy from one of the books, or should I make one of my own?? Then came the busy schedule that keeps building up, while I kept on pushing off the challenge. There was a week where we were forecast to have snow (we don't get a lot of snow fall in Portland, Oregon, some years, we don't even get ANY snow), and after last year's Arctic Blast, I was worried we were gonna get snowed-in and nothing to do. So I picked up all the candies --- but which candies to buy? How much do I need? I end up spending twenty something dollars JUST on candies itself, and we didn't even have ANY snow!!! Argghhh!

In short, I end up making the dough 3 days before Christmas ( I used Y's recipe)....thinking I could maybe have it done by Christmas. NOPE ~ THAT was just a thought! I only started rolling and cutting them out on Christmas night. I knew I was late, so I just picked a classic template from Gingerbread Houses: Baking & Building Memories by Nonnie Cargas.

I have read a lot of comments in the DB forum that the dough seems very dry. Mine seems ok, at least that's what I thought...until I started rolling them out. It cracks and tears like crazy! I added water, try to pinch them back together. Sometimes that help, but still it wasn't easy to work with.

Doesn't look too dry, right?

See how it cracks like crazy?

Anyway, I was ready to get it done...I cut out the template, planed on having one house for myself and one house for the 2 monkeys to share. As I was putting up the walls of my house, I realized I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE ROOF!!!! %$#*&#@!!!!! Talk about Challenge!! ~ No problem, no problem, I CAN be Bob Villa .I can fix THAT ~ the kids just have to sacrifice THEIR walls! ;P I trimmed the sides of my walls, and two of them cracked - no problem, just a little royal icing will fix it, and using the kiddos side walls, with 2 windows on each wall, WHICH could be the skylight for my gingerbread house! ;) Pretty proud of myself, I have to say.

See the two "holes" on the roof?? That's the skylight! ;)

However, there's still A problem. The walls weren't tall enough to fully cover the whole roof, so I had to patch the roofs with licorice. BUT before that, my other problem was...I had left the empty jar that I had used to support the walls while the royal icing dries, INSIDE the gingerbread house...and the roofs are already on!!! D-U-H!!!! So, I removed the roofs, take out the JAR, replace the roof, then patched the roof! Hmmm.... I wonder why I don't care about making gingerbread houses...especially from scratch??!!

See the jelly jar in there??? Bet you can tell which brand and what flavor huh?! :P

Anyway, that was really THE challenging parts of building a gingerbread house from scratch. The rest was the fun part, and was up to your imagination :)

Front view

Details on door

Side of house

Back of house

Top of house

Side of house

Despite all the interesting challenges I had, I was glad to have participated. Visit the Daring Kitchen for the recipes and other details in this challenge. And don't forget to stop by HERE to see how other Daring Bakers gingerbread turned out! You might get inspired and make one too! :)

Oh, by the way, there's always the question of to eat or not to eat the gingerbread house. And Nonnie Cargas has included in her book this poem for eating your gingerbread house, which I think is so funny and appropriate...

New Year's Poem for Eating Your Gingerbread House
by Nonnie Cargas

Eating this house so fair and sweet
Brings insight to the year you'll meet
For every bite has a tale to tell,
So eat for luck and wish you well.

If the front door is your choice to eat,
Far-flung visitors soon you'll greet.
But if on the pathway you choose to dine,
A trip afar will soon be thine.

Consume the roof if you want security,
For love and shelter will be a surety.
Tho' if it's adventure to which you aspire,
Devour the windows to achieve your desire.

From the warmth of the chimney true love will come;
A taste of it and a pair you'll become.
Or if, by chance, you're already a pair,
Eating the chimney will recharge the air.

Trees and buses bring money your way,
While lawn decorations bring laughter and play.
Fences bring projects at which you'll succeed,
And people bring kindness and help when there's need.

But indulge in some pieces that aren't mentioned here,
You'll have special surprises throughout the New Year!

Thanks Anna and Y for the challenge and thanks Nonnie Cargas for the great book and poem! :)

P/S Since I have LOTS of left over candies, I MIGHT, try another recipe and make up for the kids.

Newsletter Sign Up --- Ebelskivers

What happens after I sign up to receive news and deals from Williams Sonoma?? I get an e-mail saying they're having a one day deal - 50% off on the Ebelskiver (pronounced as "able-skeevers") pan (they are filled pancakes originally from Denmark) !!!! Aaaahhhhhhh!!!! What am I gonna do??? I have previously seen it on their catalog, and like always, was eying on it! But I figured we have spend so much these past few months, that I should forget about it. But, but, but.... it's 50% off!!! How the hell am I supposed to stick to my logical decision??

I told myself, I'd make Williams Sonoma my last stop, and have all the time to think if I SHOULD really get it...plus, they have mentioned that quantity is limited, so if by the time I get there, and they're out, it means I'm not meant to have it...if the pan is still available, then I can think about it.

Ebelskivers filled with Gingerbread butter

So, after doing some Christmas shopping for the kids and the hubby...I went to my last stop. The store was crowded with Christmas shoppers~ and I thought I'd be the only crazy one there! :P I looked at it, observe the other shoppers ...some of them were grabbing like 2-3 pans!!! Ahhhhh!!!! Even then, I was still pretty sure that I could stick to saving money. Then guess what?! Of course! Of course they have this lady standing there, demonstrating making these delicious Ebelskiver, and handing out samples! Now, I have NEVER had a Ebelskiver in my life...I can't even pronounce that name! Why, why oh why do they have to do this to me??? I've been sooo good, trying my best not to buy stuff for myself, cos' I do that too often, and with all the kids birthdays the past months and Christmas around the corner...so why, oh why now???

The moment I pop that sample into my mouth with my right hand, I was grabbing the pan by the counter with my left hand. However after that, I still hung around..thinking twice...looking at the recipe book Ebelskivers: Filled pancakes and other mouthwatering miniatures by Kevin Crafts...I know I probably can Google the recipe online...but, this book was filled with a whole bunch of recipes from simple to sweet to savory...and although Williams Sonoma sold the mix too...I'm all about making things from scratch, plus I LOVE collecting cookbooks.... I negotiated with myself that these will be my Christmas presents. There, I have a great excuse now ;) Later when I told Yesmin that I've already gotten my own Christmas present and that I'm gonna use the pan before Christmas, then we'll wrap it up on Christmas and put it under the tree ---- she thought I was silly! :D LOL.


Basic Ebelskiver Batter by Kevin Crafts
Makes about 21 filled pancakes

1 C All purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, separated
1C whole milk (I used fat free milk)
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (I didn't used this, cos' I missed the step of adding it to the batter)

Whisk together the dry ingredient in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.

In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites till stiff peak, but not dry. Gently fold one third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest just until no white steaks remain. Use the batter right away.

Note: I have totally missed the step on combining the melted butter to the milk/yolk mixture. I thought it was for brushing the pan! It still turned out GREAT! By the way, I didn't get the Ebelskivers turning tool. You could just use 2 wooden skewers, I used toothpicks... you have to cook your filled pancakes on medium flame to prevent from burning, so it wasn't that hot to handle :)