Not so traditional peanut cookies
When I was a small kid, I love the peanut cookies that my aunts (maternal side) made. Every Chinese New Year, my brothers will look forward to their kuih kapit, but I am waiting for the peanut cookies instead.
The traditional recipe calls for lard, but thinking of my mother who has hypertension, better not. Changed the tasty unhealthy fat to corn oil. So, it's not-so traditional already. It's not as soft, but still it's soft enough to be scarred and chipped by fingernails. So better be careful when transfering them. Many scarred ones went into my mouth and my hubby's mouth... It still melts in the mouth.
Yummy yummy! This is my first attempt..hehe.
Peanut Cookies
Ingredients:
1 kg flour
1 kg peanuts (the raw weight, then roast it, deskin and ground til fine)
1 kg of fine sugar (not icing sugar, can use caster sugar or fine granulated sugar)
400 ml corn oil (might need more depending on oil level of peanuts used)
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 cup peanut halves for deco
Method:
1. Mix flour, sugar and peanuts until well blended together.
2. Pour in the oil and knead until the oil is well incorporated. Add more oil if dough is dry.*
3. Take a small amount of peanut dough onto palm and roll into a small ball the size of a marble.
4. Place the peanut ball onto a baking tray and place a peanut half onto it. Lightly press the peanut half.
*If you reduced the sugar, you will need more oil to bind the dough together
*If you used icing sugar, the effect will be SWEETER
5. By using a chinese calligraphy brush (mopit), glaze the peanut ball with a beaten egg.
6. Bake at 180C for 12 minutes or until the egg glaze turns golden.
Tada!!! Nice and golden. Hubby can't wait to pop one into his mouth!
I made about 550 pcs of peanut cookies with this amount of ingredients. Cost? Around RM11 only not inclusive of electricity of course.. Cheap hoh!! But darn lot of work, especially preparing the peanuts:- roasting, deskinning, airing and grinding!! One afternoon for the peanuts, one for the cookie. 2 afternoons to make 550 pcs of peanut cookies. Quite time consuming actually, but if one has the time, can save a lot of money instead of buying them at RM15-20 for 100 pcs.
I'm making this again next weekend... cos I don't think what I made today is enough to be shared among my relatives.
Note: (26/12/2011)
The dough will become dry if you do these 2 things
1. Reduce the sugar
2. Use store bought roasted peanut nibs.
So, roast your own peanuts (those with skin) and do not reduce the sugar. If you do reduce the sugar you need more oil to bind the dough. So choose, oil or sugar, up to you to keep the dough intact.
Note: 24/1/2012
If you prefer floury, fine peanut cookies, mill the peanuts together with the flour, this way your peanuts will be as fine as flour. Then use icing sugar, but reduce it to about 750gm (icing sugar taste sweeter), then you will need more oil, probably, 500ml or more. Gauge it as you form the dough.
If you want a really melty peanut cookie, that doesn't need any effort to eat, use LARD (pig fat), or GHEE.
This cookie is crumbly, but not really that fragile. If you prefer yours with some mouthfeel, not too fine, then just follow the recipe exactly, use caster/fine sugar and stick to the amount. Somehow I find too fine peanut cookies stick to my throat and I prefer this version is isn't too fine, tooooooo melty. Up to you :)