Sunday 3 February 2013

Cornflakes Butter Cookies with Dried Cranberries


I'm really on a roll here. Fresh from my first cookie, now I am ready for my next one! When I saw Mich's Corn Flakes Cookies, I thought they looked golden and very beautiful. On my first attempt, I found the cookies really lovely, they were crispy but a little bit gritty. I guess I must have over baked them and I tried baking the second batch at 15 instead of 20 minutes. It was crisp on the outside but the inside was still raw. I attribute all this to my inexperience.

Cookie dough and crushed cornflakes.

And then I decided to do something evil. I had the audacity to increase the amount of butter in my next attempt. The original recipe has 175g flour to 100g butter which I believe is the healthy version. I upped the butter to 200g and it was vavavoom!! And images of Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute) flashed before my eyes. Me in the ICU with oxygen mask and hooked to machines with the ECG monitor going toot! toot! toot! All due to one extra block of butter.

I imagined the cookie dough as a small child rolling in the sand.

My partner's daughter and her colleagues loved the cookies so much that she asked me if I could bake and sell the cookies to them. Huh? Me sell cookies? Oh no, no, no. Balancing a balance sheet and computing capital allowances is a much easier way to earn a living. It is very labor intensive this cookie business and besides, her father would freak out if I started selling cookies :D


Wheee.....all covered in sand, err...cornflakes.

And armed with my recently acquired experience in cookie making, I tweaked the recipe to include dried cranberries. I must really thank all my fellow bloggers for the inspiration and motivation I got from looking at all your fabulous cookies. 

I decided to go dainty and it was very tiring.

I admit it is very tiring baking cookies. Not like a cake where you can dump the batter in a tin or at the most scoop the batter into cupcake liners. I made two batches of these cookies yesterday, spending practically the whole afternoon on my feet. These cookies are really good and so popular that I made extra for my family and as giveaways. Once a year I'm prepared to slave in the kitchen :)

Just out of the oven.

In the process of making these cookies I also discovered that they are pretty good coated with Nestum cereal. I ran out of cornflakes when it came to the last two cookies in my first batch. Luckily, I had a tin of Nestum which was hibernating in the cupboard. Yup, I had bought that much earlier with the good intention of making Nestum cookies. Hah! Hah! That project never got off the ground. My second batch of cookies were baked using raisins in place of cranberries and Nestum cereal in place of cornflakes.

Second batch with raisins and Nestum.

The recipe I am sharing today has been adapted from Piece of Cake and originally from Molly Tay of Munch Ministry. The butter and sugar can be creamed by hand like what Mich did but I prefer to use my handmixer. After the egg and vanilla extract has been mixed, I folded the rest of the ingredients using a spatula.









Cornflakes Butter Cookies with Cranberries
Recipe source : Adapted from Piece of Cake and originally from Munch Ministry

Ingredients :
- 250g unsalted butter
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 250g self raising flour
- 125g dried cranberries or raisins
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cornflakes for coating, crushed (I used slightly more than 2 cups or can use Nestum cereal)

Method :
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.
3. Fold in dried cranberries.
4. Add flour and mix until mixture forms a dough.
5. Using 2 teaspoons, shape the dough into a little ball.
6. Drop the dough into the crushed cornflakes and coat it evenly.
7. Use your hand to shape it into ball before placing the dough on a lined baking tray.
8. Bake at 160C for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Remove cookies from baking tray to cool on wire rack.

Note : My cookies were done at 18 minutes. I rotated my baking tray at halftime to get even browning.


I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

34 comments:

  1. Yummmmm!!!! How many types have you made? All ready for the New Year? Love your peony flowers. My missus got pink ones....

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    1. Arthur, so far I made 3 types. Was quite tiring, no wonder these cookies are so expensive!

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  2. look yummy and crunchy are you doing that for CNY I will come over to your place for afternoon tea on CNY .Boleh dok??

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    1. EE,next time you come back I will bake for you to try!

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  3. Actually baking cookies is fun although it is tiring! Your cookies looks so tasty !

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    1. Esther, I agree it is fun. That's why I kept doing it hah! hah!

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  4. Hi Phong Hong, I can understand what you have gone through baking these lovely cookies. It's worthwhile to bake them when you compare them with those at the stores. Now you should understand why I have to cook 1 dish meal during those baking days especially when I 2X or 3X the quantity of the cookies that I baked. Anyway, it's over for this CNY.............

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    1. Kimmy, yes I do understand now :) You must be very tired baking so many cookies. I don't have the stamina hee..hee...

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  5. Hi Phong Hong
    Your Cornflakes cookies looks very well baked. Own homemade cookies absolutely taste great than the store bought because we sweat it out making it!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mel! I have lost count how many I tasted after baking hah! hah!

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  6. This is certainly a very crunchy cookies for me, please please throw some to me now, hahaha!

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    1. Jessie, I can throw but scared pecah by the time you catch it hee..hee...

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  7. Oh, forgot to mention that this year, I know 3 of my blogger friends have started to sell cookies, very "san fu" job!

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    Replies
    1. Jessie, myself cannot do selling. I will get so stressed up, better keep it as a hobby, hor?

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  8. Hi PH! One more week to go! Go! PH, Go!

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    Replies
    1. Alvin, I'm pushing hard to the finish line!

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  9. Hi Phong Hong,
    Your cookies looks very crispy and yum! Yes, making cookies are not easy! Lots of work! I have been busy making cookies and did not have much time for blog visiting! Very tiring and in this hot weather at 35C (I checked on Friday! hahaha!), I've been drinking green tea on my cookie days! hahaha, otherwise, I'll have no voice for CNY! Just made 8 bottles today! now, got back-ache!! :)

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    1. Joyce, 8 bottles is no joke! I only made 4 bottles on Saturday and I felt very faint towards the end. And not to mention the cleaning up afterwards grrhh!!!

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  10. yeah,100% agree with you cookies are pretty good coated with Nestum cereal,hehehe...
    and i found black Black sesame seeds as well.
    but PH teather,how is dried cranberries or raisins in cookies? nice to eat or not?
    in your Recipe,if i follow,i want to omitted them,isnt ok for me to do so?
    and teach PH,if you sale cookies,i will buy from you,hahahah...
    they're really a nice cookie,Baking cookies is fun~~~hahaha...

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    1. Hello my good student hah! hah! I normally don't enjoy eating raisins or dried cranberries but in the cookie I like it a lot. You can omit and it is OK. Oh no, I won't sell to you, I will give you free!

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  11. Doing good there PH :). For an accountant - stereotypically risk averse people - you are very bold in experimenting this and that in your recipes and they turnout great ! Heehee i think you should add another description to your business card, in smaller font - bold recipe experimenter !

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    1. Thanks, Esther! I have had disasters in my previous experiments but lucky for me this cookie experiment turned out alright. And oh, I am so tired. No more cookies after this week :)

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  12. ok before I go back I will inform you one week before that so no excuse of no time to go out to buy ingredients .janji bake kasi aku makang

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  13. Hi Phong Hong, these look wonderful! I shall try your revised recipe next time. I am sure it is so lovely with the extra butter, even more buttery! It's only CNY once a year so let's not worry about cholesterol (that's what I told myself hee hee).

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    1. Mich, the evil butter does make the cookies yummier! And you are right, it's only once a year and we can indulge. Dieting can start after CNY :)

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  14. Looks great :) I really admire those ppl who can bake so much CNY goodies for their family... it's all the cleaning up later that gives me a big headache!

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    1. Ah, the cleaning up! Oily and sticky mixing bowls and spatulas. Not to mention the crumbs and other stuff that get on the table top and the floor hah! hah!

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  15. good morning phong hong, totally agree that baking cookies is not an easy job, i really salute those who make cookies for selling..i just made few containers and also like half dead and this morning i woke up , i felt my throat is starting to get a little uncomfortable too..

    BUt it's always nice to give away your own homebaked cookies, if only i have the energy to bake all! Again you did magic to these butter cookies! haha! images of IJN and yourself with mask??...choi! choi!

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    1. Lena, you really make me laugh! Ya lah, CNY must not think of bad things, hor? Next year, I will start my baking earlier. I was like rushing and also feel like half dead. Last Sunday supposed to bake some more but I really surrender already :)

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  16. Phong Hong,
    Your cookies making engine is rolling now u see....lol
    Love this cookies so much when I saw in Mich 's blog. Now I saw yours I am like 'ohhh! I must try this' :p can pass some to me? :D
    mui

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    1. mui mui, my engine is very slow hah! hah! Feel like want to pengsan after making the cookies. Oh yes, can pass some to you no problem! Hope you try the recipe and let me know if you like it.

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  17. I have too many CNY cookies to try, so next year, i will only bake my pineapple tarts then i want to bake totally new cookies which including this corn flakes cookies which i have never bake before..I like your increase butter version..i don't care the amount of butter, so long it taste good, since every year only take one time, is ok one, hahaha..

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    1. Sonia, after increase butter the taste and texture was much better for me. I know all this lemak-lemak not good but like you say satu tahun satu kali, can lah!

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