Gingerbread cookies

Happy new year!
Sorry I am a bit retarded... holiday just makes my brain works slower... I thought I posted the recipe of gingerbread but actually not... oh no... sorry it comes late :( but I still make a batch today haha! I don't care, it's too delicious :)

I remembered the first time I made gingerbread was in Finland, we can buy ready dough in the supermarket to make the cookies, the smell of cinnamon is very good. I hated it when I was a child but now I love it.
This Christmas I wanted to make some gingerbread cookies with my niece and nephew, as we spent the Christmas together. They really enjoyed cutting the dough and they loved the taste too!

This recipe is quite good, so here you go:

Ingredients:
100g butter at room temperature
50g cane sugar
1g salt
1 egg

75g honey

300g flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
2tsp ginger powder

Instructions:
1. Mix butter, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl, then add egg and mix well

2. Add honey, mix well.
Add in baking powder, flour, cinnamon and ginger powder, mix well

3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30mins

4. Preheat the oven at 180°c
Roll out the dough to 0.5cm thickness - I prefer a bit thinner than too thick, use cookie cutter to cut out the cookie form
Place them on a tray lined with a baking sheet

5. Put the tray into the oven and bake for 15mins

Enjoy!

10mins workouts to keep you fit during Christmas time

Eat a lot during Christmas time? Do not worry! Try one of these 10mins workouts :)
Click here

Be fit always!
Merry Christmas :)

Enjoy!

Oatmeal cranberry cookies recipe

I have some oatmeal & cranberry given by a friend who leaves France back to the States, so I looked for a recipe to make some desserts with the oatmeal and dry fruits, and here you go - oatmeal cranberry cookies :)

It's real simple, you just need to mix everything together!

Ingredients (for about 32 cookies)
1/2cup or 120g butter (room temperature)
3/4cups brown sugar

1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour*
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1/2tsp cinnamon

1 1/2cups oats
1/2cup dry fruits - raisins, cranberry, coconut or even chocolate chip

*it is whole wheat flour in the recipe, I used normal flour since I don't have any whole wheat flour at home :(

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°c
Beat butter and sugar until they mix well together

2. Add in egg, mix well
Add vanilla extract

3. Add in all dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix well

4. Add in oats then dry fruits, chocolate chips, anything you want to add in

5. Line a baking sheet on a tray
Use a table spoon (preferrable measuring spoon = in half ball shape) to scoop the mixture to the tray, use a small spoon to help to scrap the mixture out of the table spoon.
Don't put them too close, or they will stick together at the end - Because the cookie mixture will be flatten & it rises (=bigger size) when it becomes cooked in the oven

6. Bake for 12 mins

Enjoy!

Butternut/squash recipe

Happy thanks giving!

I know I know, it's black Friday, I want to make pumpkin pie but it is very expensive here :(

This week I found a super big butternut but it costs cheap, so I decide to find a recipe to cook it! It's my first time to make butternut so I have no idea what kind of dish I can make.

I'm glad that I found this recipe because it's surprisingly delicious!

Ingredients:
Butternut

For each half of butternut:
1 clove garlic
1tsp lemon juice
5g butter
some vegetable/olive oil

150g cheese (grated)
1tsp herb
pepper
salt

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven at 190°c
Cut the butternut into half (vertically), remove the seeds inside

2. Put garlic, lemon juice, butter in the hole - the place you where the seeds were (see the photo), brush oil on the top of the rest of the flesh

3. Bake the butternut for 40-60mins
Let it cool down
Turn the temperature of the oven to 160°c

4. Remove the flesh out and put it in a food processor, mix with cheese, herb, salt & pepper
Pour the mixture to a dish
Put back to oven to bake for another 20-25mins or until the cheese on the top becomes golden
Note: you can keep the skin if you are careful enough, after mixing in the ingredients, you can now put the mixture back to the skin! Fill it up!

5. Ready to serve - hot hot hot!

Enjoy!

Keep fit is a life-long challenge

I read an article on the best advice to lose weight, I think I would say it is to keep fit, not only losing weight, and to keep your body stronger.

Click here to read it.

My advice is - Make your workout routine! Keep it up, Believe that you CAN do it and ENJOY doing it!

Enjoy!

Japanese cheese cake - fluffy & soft texture

The first time I tried a cheese cake, it failed, not strong flavor.... so I was afraid to make the cheese cake again, until I found a lemon cheese cake recipe, I loved it so much. Recently I found another recipe to make Japanese cheese cake, with fluffy & soft texture, that is why I want to give it a try.

Ingredients
250g milk
250g cream cheese, room temperature
60g butter, room temperature
6 egg yolks

55g cake flour
20g corn flour
1 lemon zest

6 egg whites
1/4tsp cream of tartar/powder of tartar (optional)
130g sugar

Instructions
1. Pour milk and put cream cheese in a bowl on simming water, cream cheese will melt. Try to mix well with milk. It takes some time until the cream cheese is dissolved into the milk. Add in butter, mix until totally melt into the mixture.

2. Turn off the heat, add egg yolks
Let the mixture cool down

3. Add in flour and corn flour, it is ideal to mix until no lumps, use spetula to help - press the flour towards the sides of the bowl
Add lemon zest

4. In another bowl, beat egg white until soft peak is formed
Add cream of tartar and sugar, beat until peak form

5. Pre-heat the oven at 150°c
Fold in egg white mixture in 2-3 times

6. Pour the mixture into a 8" mold, place mold on the tray and add hot water up to half of the mold*
Bake for 50-60mins
*Note: it is to help the bottom of the mixture cook well

7. Turn off the oven, open door a bit for 10mins**
Let it cool down, then put into the fridge for 3hours before serving
**Note: let some cool air in the oven can help to prevent the cake collapse completely

It is very light as texture :)

Enjoy!

Madeleine Ispahan - rose flavor

The famous French chef Pierre Herme has a great success in making madeleine Ispahan, I want to give it a try since it is famous lol

I bought the mould finally haha :)





















My husband loves it, the texture is spongy, soft & moist, he might allow me to buy a mold lol

At that time I did't have any madeleine mold at home, so I use a fancy one that I have ;)

Ingredients
125g butter
15g cream or milk (better whole fat cream or whole milk)
10g rose essence* 
0.2g red eatable colorant
120g sugar

125g egg

18g trimoline**

125g flour

4g baking powder

30g raspberries (I didn't have any at home so I didn't add it)

*If it is rose water, please multiply the quantity by 3 times
** Substitue trimoline by honey, I tried and it works well

Instruction
1. Melt the butter and put aside
Preheat the oven at 180°c

2. In a small mixing bowl, mix cream/milk, rose essence and red eatable colorant

3. In a big mixing bowl, mix egg & sugar, add in trimoline
Add in flour and baking powder little by little
Then add in cream/milk mixture of step 2

4. Add in melted butter, with fast & light motion, mix well
Add in raspberries, mix quickly until they are about evenly distributed in the mixture

Note 1: mix fast - not to form gluten in the mixture => create spongy and soft texture
Note 2: If the size of raspberries is too big, tear down into small pieces

5. Leave the mixture rest for 15mins

6. Pour the mixture to the mold until 70% filled
Note: in the recipe it says fill the mixture in a piping bag and then squeeze the mixture to the mold

7. Put the mold into the oven and bake for 12-15mins, or until the madeleine becomes golden color
Cool down and ready to serve

Enjoy!