CHINESE PEANUT COOKIES

We used to go home to Malaysia for the Chinese new year every year until the children started school. I just enjoyed the festive atmosphere everywhere but most of all in the shops. I feasted my eyes on the beautifully packaged munch-able goodies. Red and gold trays of assorted lucky foods were piled high on display tables. 

My favourite were the very popular peanut cookies or sometimes called peanut dainties. The texure of these cookies are like shortbread but with a crispier crust. The taste is of intense peanutty goodness. Most recipes use peanut oil as the binder but I used butter and peanut butter. I also used castor sugar instead of icing sugar because I like sweet specks of sugar rather than the uniform sweet powdery sweetness that icing sugar gives.

Peanuts are eaten in the Chinese new year because it symbolizes a long list of good wishes: longevity, fertility, health, multiplication of wealth and good fortune. Peanut cookies are usually shaped into a ball but I molded mine in a flower shaped silicone ice tray. Luckily the recipe makes quite a lot (56 flower shaped ones) because it is just one of those things that you can't stop eating.

Adapted from Rasa Malaysia's recipe for Peanut Cookies.

Ingredients:


2 1/2 c. ground roasted peanuts
1 c. flour
1 c. castor sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
2 tbsps. peanut butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg yolk plus 1 tbsp. of milk for glazing


Pe-heat the oven to 350° F/ 180° C.


Dry roast raw peanuts in a frying pan until golden brown and fragrant. Peel the skin off by rubbing the peanuts between your palms and and swirling in a colander with big holes. The skins will fall through the holes leaving you with peeled peanut kernels. 


Grind these in a food processor until fine. Measure 2 1/2 c. and mix with the rest of the ingredients, except for the glaze.  You can do this in the processor. Shape into firmly packed balls or press into molds. Line a baking tray with baking paper and arrange the formed cookies in a single layer. Glaze with the egg yolk and milk mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

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