Mothers will do anything for their children. They will always put them before themselves. They will sacrifice for them and ask nothing in return. Their children’s dream is their dream too. Now, my son, Nick’s band ROSEVELT is one of the top 5 bands competing to be the opening band for the famous rock band from USA, INCUBUS. In order to get there, they need votes from people who has a facebook account and SMS votes from TUNETALK’s subscribers. TUNETALK is the organizer of the INCUBUS concert. My only way to help them attain this dream is to appeal to family members and friends to vote for them. Can I bribe those of you who have a facebook account to cast them a vote with these cookies? Please click on the picture below to go vote for them. I am sure Nick and his band mates will be very grateful to you because you can help them realise their dream with just one click. Thanks a Million!
Rosevelt came out as Rank No.1 for 1st round of voting on the top 10 bands. Now they are Rank No.2 on this round Top 5 bands voting. This time is very crucial that they get to be rank no.1 to receive 6 points and the other 4 points will come from INCUBUS. Voting close at 12 mid-night on 16th July 2011.
Linzer dough cookies
Dough recipe adapted from Chef Lejuene of The Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia
The first time I ever tasted tarts with a linzer dough crust is at the tart class in The Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia. Thanks to Chef Lejuenne for the introduction. I have made cookies with this dough and it taste as awesome as the tarts. They truly taste as good as they look! This will be the second recipe from The Academy Pastry Arts of Malaysia I am sharing with you. They are more to come so check back when you have the time.
Ingredients:
500 g all purpose flour
334 g butter
250 g icing sugar
84 g almond powder
17 g cinnamon powder
2 g baking powder
2 g vanilla essense
25 g milk
37 g whole egg
Method for dough:
Combine all the dry ingredients and sift. Put sifted mixture into the mixer and add butter. Mix at medium speed till sandy in texture. Add eggs and knead for 1 minute. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour and up to several days).
Mehtod of making the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cookie cutter of any shape to cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch) (2.5 cm) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. Later you will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window ' in the top cookie to expose the jam underneath.
Reroll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12 - 14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
While the cookies are cooling place the raspberry jam in a small saucepan and heat gently until it has thickened slightly. Strain if there are any lumps in the jam. Let cool.
To Assemble Cookies:
Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the icing sugar.
On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioners' sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.
Note: You can store the unassembled cookies in the refrigerator for several days in an airtight container. It is best, though, to assemble the cookies the same day as serving in order to keep the cookies crisp.
