Sunday 17 February 2013

Cranberry Oat Cookies


What did I tell ya? That's right, more cookies from me! I cut out this recipe from Amy Beh's Cook's Nook which appeared in The Star on 18 December 2012 and you can find it here. That was way before I was hit by the cookie bug. There I was with a growing stack of cookie recipes and nothing much was happening except that I was stocking up on raisins, cranberries, oats, chocolate chips and what not like there is no tomorrow. And my tin of Nestum was still very much a virgin for almost one year.



It was only two weeks before Chinese New Year that I was somehow motivated to get my butt moving. My first experiment was with the Cornflakes Butter Cookies which failed initially due to my inexperience. Some of the cookies turned out gritty and some turned out raw in the middle. But I learnt a lot from that cookie which led me to the Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies which was my first successful cookie.



When I studied Amy Beh's recipe, the butter fiend in me declared that the butter content was too low. I know, I know. I should watch my fat intake but this is Chinese New Year territory and I only do this once a year. Besides, I was going to load up the cookies with extra oats which would, I hope trap the fats. Hah! Hah! What wishful thinking. Just as well I didn't make the mark to get into medical school. I would have been banned from cardiology.



By the way, Valentine's Day has come and gone. How many of you were wined and dined by your other half? Valentine schmalantine, I say. If you think that accountants are the most unromantic people on earth, you are right. My better half, the Penang accountant if you recall from here has an opinion on Valentine's Day. "It's all a highly commercialized venture.  We should not subscribe to such shenanigans", said he or something to that effect. Yes dear, I agree with you. I'm an accountant too. 



And how many of you love those sappy romantic love songs? When I was in Assunta circa 1982/1983 the girls would go wild when the school band played Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross while I was trying very hard not to throw up. Songs like When I Need You (Leo Sayer), If You're Not The One (Daniel Beddingfield) and The Power of Love (Jennifer Rush) are the sort of songs that I simply cannot tahan. Back then, I was into heavy metal (yeah!) with the likes of Kiss, AC/DC, Judas Priest and Van Halen.



My mum was very strict when I was growing up but she was quite liberal when it came to the music I listened to. It was fine with her if I saved my pocket money to buy Iron Maiden's latest cassette (back then there is no CD). Come to think of it, my mum is very sporting. One time I asked her to pick up Van Halen's latest cassette from the now defunct Kimisawa. The shop assistant told her point blank "Auntie, that one is rock you know!"



Well, that was a bit of story from Auntie Phong Hong's teenage years. And I still don't like sappy romantic songs. The closest thing to a love song that I will listen to is Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I Hate Myself for Loving You. And I used to fantasize about becoming a rock star playing bass guitar on stage.


Before I left school after the SPM exams, we were required to fill up a form and one of the questions is "What if your ambition?". We were given three options and to the amusement of my classmate Carina, I listed 1. Rock Star, 2. Accountant and 3. Doctor. Well, at least I achieved option number two. Way to go, Phong Hong!









Cranberry Oat Cookies
Recipe source : Adapted from Amy Beh

Ingredients :
- 250g butter
- 120g castor sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
- 300g self raising flour
- 120g rolled oats
- 120g dried cranberries

Method :
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla essence and mix well.
- Add oats and cranberries and mix well.
- Fold in flour and mix until mixture becomes a dough.
- Pinch a small amount of dough and roll into a small ball.
- Place on a lined baking tray, spacing the cookie dough about 1 inch apart.
- Bake in preheated oven at 160C for 15-16 minutes for a softer chewy cookie or 18 minutes for a crunchy cookie (you need to adjust oven temperature and timing according to your oven)



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

59 comments:

  1. enjoyed reading your post Phong Hong. cook look perfectly baked and delicious, love to have them with a cup of coffee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Swasthi! The cookies are quite good and are not too sweet.

      Delete
  2. Hem!! your cookie. looks so yummy it must be crunchy too.can pass some to me.Just now my neighbour came over to let me try her cookies which she just baked and asked me to take some it was very nice but very pai say to take alot she came with a container of it . I tried one and and took only 2.it's a Taiwanese cookie she said if I like she will give me the recipeWell the next when I go back I will insist you make some cookies for me OK??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EE, don't worry, I will bake cookies from you. I want you to tell me whether pass or not!

      Delete
  3. Well it's good to know something about you! A rock star huh! hmmm.. an accountant is not bad but they are the most unromantic ppl i know lol! Not saying you, I do happen to have a very close friend who is one! :p Oats cookies sound healthy although they are not lol! Great to eat! Hope you are still enjoying your CNY:D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jeannie, that was my good old days story. I wasn't very happy in Assunta anyway hah! hah! Accountants also a bit kiam siap :)

      Delete
  4. Hi Phong Hong,
    A rock star! Wow! I am into sentimental songs, Cliff Richard, Elvis.....! Accountants have the most stressful job! An accountant once told me, advise your kids, do not become an accountant, be your own boss and employ the accountants to count YOUR money! All the stress and the money do not even belong to me! LOL!! I can't help but agree!
    Your cookies looks great! Crunch..crunch..I love butter and oats and cranberries..!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joyce, I will agree that it is stressful! That's why this blog was set up to help me de-stress. Come to think of it, a rock star's life is stressful too. I would not have survived all the nightly performances and touring. Hah! Hah!

      Delete
  5. Hi PH! Thank you for the interesting little story and "revealing" your age (haha)...

    I like cranberries and we usually have it with cheese and nuts during our wine session... great idea to have it in the cookies... Thanks for this recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alvin, so now you know a bit of Auntie PH's younger days! I was so naive, rock star indeed!

      Delete
    2. Haha.. Auntie! I do not think you are very much older than me... I'm Uncle too... :D

      Delete
    3. Eh, you are still a young man lah! :)

      Delete
  6. Phong Hong, you are so funny with the say hit by the cookie bug! This is also my fav cookie choice! Yum yum crunchy cookies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jessie, I love this cookie and I think I am addicted to baking cookies!

      Delete
  7. Wow, a rock star. Still not too late to become one now :) Love your cookies...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mich, hah! hah! can't imagine me auntie-auntie as a rock star. The audience will run away!

      Delete
  8. Need some cookies please!!! Fabulous one ;)

    I'm also drooling at your pineapple fried rice and pineapple salad...huwaaaa! Cannot tahan... ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By the way, may I have your email address Ms PH? ^_^

      Delete
    2. Hah! Hah! I also cannot tahan and whack so many after they came out of the oven. Diet starts today! Ah, I know you want to send me saman....phong.hong8@gmail.com.

      Delete
    3. Hihi thanks for your mail add. Saman coming your way!!! Please pay before due date ya....haha :)

      Have a rocking day!!!

      Delete
  9. Hi Phong Hong, wah... rock star, you sure rock! But at least you achieved your second dream job. Not bad... but you sure sound like a very fun lady. Glad to know you.

    Nice cookies, very addictive! Great to go with coffee. I go make coffee now, you want less sugar or extra sugar? LOL

    Have a nice day ahead,regards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amelia, my coffee less sugar and must put lots of ice!

      Delete
  10. yum yum...mana aku punya share :p

    ReplyDelete
  11. mmmm....these sound and look delicious, for sure! Everyone learns from cookie-failure experiences. Look now, you have got some wonderful cookies here, isn't it? Keep on trying new kind of cookies and let us know how you do it. I would love to learn from you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Purabi for your kind words and encouragement! I will be trying out more cookies and sharing it with all of you.

      Delete
  12. Wow, these are some lovely bakes! It's like mission impossible for me, dear! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Shirley! I quite enjoyed baking the cookies.

      Delete
  13. wait phong hong, dont throw up...i like sentimental songs when i was schooling...so did you have a hair like joan jett or bonnie tyler when you were a schoolgirl? 'i hate myself for loving you'..those were the days of discotheque flooding with people in town! i think you and me about the same era ! you know something, did i tell you that i wanted to make pineapple rice earlier? so fast i forgot oredi! yeah, i think i told you that cos i said mine is a diff version and i also wanted to make cranberry oats cookies too! then i bought cranberries but it never happened!! i had alredy baked a few cookies then ..and i got tired and it was already new year and have stopped baking since then...now still enjoying the break. anyway, hope you had a good valentine's day! cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lena, hah! hah! I was wearing 1960's style thick specs then. Forced to wear old fashion frames by my dad. So sad! No lah, I was not the cool type. But still waters run deep, eh? Still not too late to make your pineapple fried rice and cranberry cookies. Waiting to see them :)

      Delete
  14. I guess these would be similar to the ones my missus made - using the cranberry crunch we brought back from New Zealand. Wah!!! Rocker you eh? I'm a sentimental old fool...but I do rock sometimes. Hehehehehe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hah! Hah! I still rock but there are some sentimental songs that I like. But not those lovey dovey types.

      Delete
  15. This post made me giggle! I'm not huge on mushy cards and songs, either :) But your cookies I DO love! YUMMY!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Haha, I think you would have made a fantastic rock star! I would prefer metal to sappy songs too :p
    These cookies look too good! I would eat them up in a second

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathleen, I can't sing let alone play any musical instruments. Hah! Hah!

      Delete
  17. Heheheh not too old to be a rock star now you know! ;) A rock star who can count and cook!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no, the audience will run away seeing an auntie trying to rawk!!!

      Delete
  18. wahh dah semakin syok mengukis nampak.. bila nak meroti pulak hehe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Syok tersangat sangat mengukis! Meroti akan datang tak lama lagi :)

      Delete
  19. Hahaha, Phong Hong wanted to become Rock star huh. Accountant also not bad lar, pandai counting..we feel the same , our Valentine day is like a normal day for us..I packed Yee sang when go back my mom place , it was so expensive with RM 45 per pack, only few slices of salmon. I think next year I better make again my old Yee sang recipe to save some money..
    Oh ya, this cookie look not bad thought !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sonia, lucky did not become rock star. If not where got time to cook and bake? Forever jumping jumping on stage. Hee..hee...

      Delete
  20. Hahahaha when I used to write about my ambition I usually would have 1 Doctor, 2 Singer on the list. Not sure if there were any other but I'm doing both, not bad at predicting my future eh? I think having dried cranberries in cookies is quite interesting, I,d personally munch a few at once!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kelly, you are one of the lucky few people who can live their dream. I always think that singers and dancers are the people who really love their job! I hope to see your performance some day :)

      Delete
  21. haha I love your teenage stories, it is so funny. The cookies look very delicious;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there Jehanne! A cooking doctor, eh? That is very interesting. Shall visit you soon. Thanks for dropping by!

      Delete
  22. i have been having loads of cookies recently, and yes cranberry oat is one of my favourite on the list :)

    Latest: Dine in the Garden

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I have had too many cookies hah! hah! Yeah, cranberry is now a favourite ingredient of mine.

      Delete
  23. They look delicious my dear! One leads to another.... I'll bookmark the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks you, Francesca! I could not stop eating them, oh dear!

      Delete
  24. PhongHong,
    i'm back.miss you a lot! hahaha...
    wah!so many nice recipe post up!
    and you have so many interesting ways to make cookies nowaday.
    mmm...yum,yum,yum....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome back, my friend! Yes, I love cookies and will be baking more and more and more!

      Delete
  25. such a beautiful post you have

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, cquek! Hope you like cookies :)

      Delete
  26. Phong Hong,

    I love cranberry, i bet these cookies must be really delish with a glass of cold milk..:p

    I am giggling reading your post. You are so humorous...a rock star!!!
    How about a song named 'WE wil, we willl rock you' have you heard of that??
    You really rock, you are a accountant , a wife, a cook and a wonderful mum i bet..:D
    mui

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mui mui, the cookies are delicious! Hee..hee...Yah, I know that song by Queen. I like that one too. Aiyah, no lah, no lah....so shy you praise me sky high hee..hee....

      Delete
  27. LOL... love this post & I think that there's no age to be a rock star. You'll be a wonderful rock star that can cook & bake so well. How awesome is that ! These cranberry oat cookies rock! I like to use oat for scones or cookies which I think it's healthier !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hah! Hah! Thanks, Kit! These cookies were good. I was a bit apprehensive at first on the oats but they were yummy!

      Delete