Irresistable Pineapple Tart

I've been bogged down with work, busied myself with shopping for Christmas gifts, attending cycling activities and the next thing I knew, Chinese New Year is just round the corner. If I had more time on hand, I would like to bake my chocolate chip cookies but unfortunately, time was what I seriously lacked.  Due to time constraint, I've decided to settle with Pineapple tarts because I just couldn't resist them and once I start to pop one into my mouth, I can't seem to stop. Hubby was saying perhaps I should reconsider my decision because popping the tarts means gaining weight and gaining weight is the last thing I needed. I don't care. I love eating my own tarts and this is a once a year affair. I just gotta bake it for myself and also for a few people whom I've promised to give.

Some like the tart to be hard and crunchy but my recipe is such that it melts in the mouth.

The entire process took a little more of 4 hours inclusive of cleaning and putting everthing back to its original place. I've got another 1kg of  pineapple jam tucking in one far corner of my fridge but I shudder to think of the entire baking process. My back hurts and so's my shoulder. My legs were aching like hell. Umm... a massage wouldn't be a bad idea....

Chocolate chips cookies

I left office today after 8pm plus. By right the first thing I should do upon reaching home is to turn on my tv, sprawl on the couch and munch some snacks. Instead, I prepared a hasty dinner, sat down to eat with hubby over a tv program and then right after that, started baking this chocolate chip cookies. It was slightly before 10pm when I started it. I told you I ain't joking about this baking frenzy I'm currently in since last week. The recipe was derived from Technicolor Kitchen again. I am supposed to try it out tomorrow but I have another agenda on mind,  which is to bake a cake. I was kinda disappointed that my cookie colour did not turn out as nice looking as the picture shown. I would give anything to obtain that color but then again, with my Fagor oven, I've been encountering this problem for cookies. If I had used the high end oven in my office lab, I've every confidence in achieving the color that I desire. Each oven is different. Though you may use the same temperature, the cooking time varies.

For this chocolate chip cookie, I did not add as many choc chips as indicated simply because there just ain't enough of them in my fridge. Anyway, I console myself that this may be a good idea afterall since I'm been lamenting on my weight. The cookie turn out crunchy but for some of them, the sides were a little over-brown, hence crunchier. Perhaps I'll bake this as one of the chinese new year cookie.

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar  ** (I reduced to 60g and used molasses)
6 tablespoons (72g) granulated sugar ** (reduced to 60g)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ** (I omitted this)
4 cups (24 oz/672g) semisweet chocolate chips – I used chips with 70% cocoa solids ** (I used 200g of Van Houten chocolate chips)

Method:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Use a tablespoon to drop heaping spoonfuls of dough  onto tray
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are golden, about 15 minutes.

Baking time... for commercial purpose

It seems that wherever I go these days, the boisterous chinese new year songs could be heard. I'm not a great fan of these 'clanking' music and I no longer look forward to this yearly festive season compared to when I was a kid. Other than the fact that my biological clock is ticking away furiously, the other reason is mainly because I used to collect angpows and now, I am distributing angpows instead. So, you can't fault me for showing less enthusiasm, can you? But there is one thing that enthuse me perfectly which is the notion of "all play and no work". There is much merriment throughout the day and sumptuous spread of food can be expected. I have been baking my own cny cookies since the very first day I own an oven. I can remember vividly it was a Pensonic brand, one that I could afford at that time. I was experimenting various cookie recipes and nothing came out right the first time. My passion in baking (and probably my reluctance to admit defeat) drove me on and my efforts did pay off. This year, I have decided to put my time into good use by selling some variety of cookies to friends or whoever are interested. I baked my first batch of pineapple tarts today, right after I got home from office. Boy, what a rush for me. By the time I completed the entire process, I felt like my back was about to split into two while my shoulder was about to crumble to thousands of pieces. Unlike baking for leisure, baking for commecial is putting some strain and stress in me as I want my tarts to not only look beautiful but to taste heavenly as well. For Christ's sake! I'm selling to no strangers but to people I know instead. No doubt I was fatigue after baking for approximately 3 hours but it was all worth it. I am not talking about monetary alone (of course monetary plays a part lah). I am talking about self satisfaction. I was filled with a sense of euphoria at the product that I made with my own bare hands. Hubby came home just in time to witness the last batch of baking and he wasted no time in taking some pictures of me in action. Okaaay... I look dishevelled and my hair is unkempt. But what do you expect from a woman who had earlier on accelerated 90kph to beat the horrendous traffic in order to rush home to bake and had been baking for nearly 3 hours? Anyway, the tarts came out nicely and I hope friends will order more of my other cookies rather than tarts coz tart is really a tedious affair. Here are some pix I am sharing. Enjoy ! (watching) Penned by Rachel