Cup of Jo's Best Choc Chunk Cookies

I grew up in a very biscuit-y family. With 3 snack-loving children, there would always be different varieties of biscuits to tide us over until the next meal. In addition to the usual Jacobs crackers, there would be British Bourbon biscuit that were carefully rationed due to its "heatiness"properties, Dad loves his butter cookies and Arnotts assortments.

So I was more than excited when I found this Choc Chunk Cookie recipe on Cup of Jo. 
As always, I cannot stop tweaking recipes. There are the variations I made:

• Changed the flour to pastry flour based on this recipe
• Omitted the salt flakes
• Refrigerated them for 24 hrs, because the NY Times said so 

I probably shouldn't have used 85% dark choc, the look I got from Hubs and La Petite's face when they first bit into it were hilarious! Bubs loved it though and kept wanting more "koo-kie"

When I first moved out, I instantly got a Pyrex measuring cup because it's what I've seen Mum use throughout the years

Lovely, almost fudge-y smell of the muscovado sugar

Freshly baked cookies - they look really uneven because I didn't had time to shape them out nicely. I initially used 2 spoons to shape them nicely then gave up

Recipe: Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Muscovado and Fleur de Sel
Makes 2 dozen cookies

If you don't have issues with gluten, you can use 8 ounces (230g) of all-purpose wheat flour in place of the gluten-free flours.

You'll need:
1 stick (110 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 g) packed light muscovado sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, at room temperature
1 cup (140 g) brown rice flour
1/2 cup (60 g) amaranth flour
1/4 cup (30 g) tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for topping
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (170 g) chocolate chunks or chips

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, muscovado sugar, natural cane sugar and vanilla extract. Mix with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes until light. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the egg and mix until combined.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, amaranth flour, tapioca starch, fleur de sel, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix on medium speed until the dough comes together.
3. Add the chocolate chunks and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Scoop the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. With the help of the parchment, roll the dough into a log that is approximately 2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long. Wrap the log with the parchment and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. In this time, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Cut the log into 1/2-inch disks. Place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mats leaving 2 inches in between the cookies.
6. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of fleur de sel. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until edges set and start to turn golden. They might look a bit underdone, but this is fine. They will harden as they cool and slightly under-baking them will keep them chewy and moist.
7. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before trying to lift them. Store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Fashion Friday: She-Ra

After reading this brilliant post, I was inspired to blog about my childhood heroine *blush*

As a child of the 80s, I was obsessed over She-Ra. There was nothing my friends and I loved more than to re-enact She-Ra episodes during recess. While all the boys raved non stop about He-Man, we'd snort dismissively and start describing how amazing her flying unicorn was. We all wanted to be She-Ra with her long, swishy hair, white mini dress and high heeled boots ...... errrr, that didn't quite come out right but you get the idea.

1.  Beyond Vintage V Neck Lace Batwing Dress
2.  Feather Fascinator
3. Tiffany Elsa Peretti Bone Cuff
4. Paul & Joe Sister Chenapan Red Cape
5. Prada leather boots
6. Tom Binns choker
7. Gold Feather Hair Pins

I thought these would work very well for the Princess of Power in a modern day setting. She could fight off the Horde and still look snazzy at the same time. Who were your childhood heroes?

The Gremlin and Red Choc Mint Tea

Oft late, there's a Gremlin in the house. He roams around seeking things to destroy, you can hear him from far away banging objects merrily with a spoon or flinging things out from drawers. Should you hear a sudden, prolonged silence, it is most likely that the Gremlin is up to his nefarious acts. When confronted, the Gremlin would flash a cheeky grin, fling the incriminating evidence at you and screaming while running away as fast as his two little legs will take him.

Why sit quietly with just one book when you can sweep half the contents of the book shelf out onto the floor?

The Gremlin loves chaos; the more mess, the better. Which is probably the reason why I found him in my wardrobe.

The Gremlin is known for his boundless energy. Once I failed in an attempt to lure him to sleep and re-assigned the task to Hubs, I drifted off to sleep myself hearing Hubs sing ABCD over and over again in variations of different melodies and caught shadowy glimpses of little Gremlin fists shaking in time to the song. On that night, Hubs reported the Gremlin finally passed out half an hour before midnight.

It's no wonder I needed cups and cups of tea to get through the day. If I could, I'd rub T2's Red Choc Mint tea leaves all over myself, the scent of chocolate mint tea leaves is so seductive. When no one is looking, I take sneaky sniffs from the tiny little container I use to store the tea leaves. Mmmm ...

Happy Stay Home Days

Our dining out and mall trawling has gotten to a point where each time we drive past a mall, Bubs points at it and says happily "walk walk!", even at malls where he's never been before, making me wonder how does he even know that those are malls? Is it based on some kind of shopaholic gene that I've passed down to him in his DNA blueprint?

Contrary to popular belief, yes, we are capable of spending time at home without going out ... well, sometimes, that is :)

 

The best thing to do at home is to make a hot cup of tea and slowly sip it while curling up in bed, enjoying the brief silence and peace while Bubs is asleep during his afternoon nap. It may sound like a terribly old lady habit but the British have got it right that there's nothing a nice hot cup of tea won't fix. I'm currently fixated on silver needle white tea which is supposed to have the highest amount of anti oxidants, surpassing even green tea. It has a very light and clean taste, making it an excellent cuppa to relax with.

I love chick lit but don't really want to splurge on it, though I always make an exception for my favourite chick lit author, Sophie Kinsella. Her books often have me in stitches and is the thing ever to cheer anyone up. The Shopaholic series were brilliant and I think there's a little Becky Bloomwood in all of us!

Mum gave me an old abacus but the frame broke so I kept the colourful wooden beads and it's now one of Bubs's favourite toys. I mixed the wooden beads with some clean pebbles, gave him some plastic spoons, ladles, an old loaf tin and a bunch of assorted bowls and voila! He can sit there for ages, happily pouring the beads and pebbles from small containers to big containers, scooping with the ladles and pretending to feed Teddy Bear, going "UMMM". It's funny how the best things in life are often the simplest :)

Treggings and Dinner at Yea

 

Topshop Treggings have to be one of the best inventions, thicker than your standard leggings with an almost trouser like material (hence the name treggings) but still incredibly comfy that you feel like you're wearing pyjama out. They have plenty of room to stretch, making them an ideal choice for a massive, all you can eat buffet.

Namely Yea at Penang Times Square.I know, I know, you're thinking that Penang doesn't need another BBQ slash steamboat buffet restaurant but believe me when I tell you that this place is really different to the rest.

Yea is huge with both an upstairs and downstairs dining area. The choices of food for both BBQ and steamboat are mind boggling, you get generous portions of ready prepared food like streaky bacon, fish, lamb shoulder, beef, scallops, oysters. Vegetarians, do not despair: there are still options like a variety of mushrooms, green leafy bits, corn on cob.

What really stood out for me was the level of service at Yea. The staff were polite and very attentive,  patiently giving us cooking demos and very helpful to demonstrate how you could use different sauces and dips to get more unusual pairings. Not being a fan of streaky bacon, I was blown away when the waiter grilled the bacon and wrapped it around a piece of kimchi - the flavour was amazing and something I'd never have thought of myself.

The grill was another fun bit - it's made from something they call a "crystal stone". It kinda reduced the charring of food which is good and the best part was that every time after using it, you could just clean it by squirting water over it and scraping it off very easily and hey presto! Ready for another grilling session :) 

Variety is the keyword, there were so many types of desserts from a chocolate fountain with marshmallow kebobs, freshly cut fruit slices, ice cream (from different tubs of flavours to ice cream sticks) and tiny little cakes, the green tea sponge was my personal favourite. 

Soooooo looking forward to another session at Yea!