Farah went on a hunt to see what 2015’s hottest raya cookies and biscuits. Check out what she found out and have a go at making them for your house this festive season.
” What is Raya without some lovely kuih? “
Just a couple more days before the first day of Hari Raya Puasa and you’re rushing to get everything done, you’ve picked out your outfit, set aside money for duit raya, but in the last-minute rush, you have yet to fill up your biscuit jars. Looking for inspiration? Not sure what festive biscuits and cookies to serve at your Raya Open House? Take a look at our list of most popular Kuih Raya of 2015 and make your own this year.
Rainbow Cookies
These multi-coloured cookies are everywhere this year. Buttery and colourful, they are bound to be a hit with kids and adults alike. Making them can be a bit finicky as you need to pipe the colours one by one but the extra effort is definitely worth it as you will end up with thin, crispy morsels that are simply divine!
Ingredients:
250g Butter
175g Fine Granulated Sugar
100ml Egg Whites (from about 4 large eggs)
200g Plain Flour
50g Corn Flour
1 tsp Vanilla
¼ tsp Emplex powder
Assorted colouring to create the ‘rainbow’ look
Method
1. Sift plain flour and corn flour together, then put aside. Beat eggs and butter till creamy. Add in egg whites slowly. Mix well.
2. Add in flour mixture, combine well.
3. Divide batter into 6, and add different colouring for each part.
4. Using a piping bag with a round nozzle, pipe the colours one by one to create the colourful layered effect. Bake in a preheated oven at 150°C for 15 minutes.
Hazelnut Cups
It’s no surprise that this biscuit has gained popularity in the past year, it’s made up of creamy hazelnut spread in a sweet crumbly cookie cup, what’s not to love? Bake a batch and see how fast they disappear!
Ingredients
225g Butter, room temperature
130g White Sugar
130g Packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs, room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla
350g All-Purpose Flour ( sifted )
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
13 oz. jar of Hazelnut Spread (Nutella, obviously! – ed)
Method
1. Preheat oven at 180°C. Then, whisk butter, white and brown sugar until creamy and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs, one by one. Mix in vanilla. Lastly, add in flour slowly, then, combine well.
3. Grease your mini muffin pan, form the batter in the pan to create little cups. Bake for 13 minutes.
4. Once baked, take it out of the oven, press into the cups to make the indentations deeper. Bake again for 8 minutes.
5. Leave to cool for 3 minutes, then pipe hazelnut spread into the cups.
Cotton Candy Meringue Cookies
Basic butter cookies topped with melt-in your-mouth, light as air meringues, a lovely combo that’s pretty to look at and tasty to eat. Keep it plain or add a bit of colour to the meringue to jazz it up.
Ingredients
Butter Cookie Base
250g Butter
140g Castor Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
50g Ground Almonds
250g All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Vanilla
Method
1. Preheat oven at 180°C. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add in vanilla and egg yolk. Sift in flour and ground almonds, combine well.
2. Roll out dough to about half an inch thick, cut into small circles ( about the size of a 20 sen coin ) and place on baking sheet, with a little space between each. Bake for 8 minutes. Leave to cool while you prepare the meringues.
Meringue Toppings
3 Egg Whites
170g Castor Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
½ tsp pink colouring (optional )
Method
1. Lower the temperature of the oven till 140°C. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks. Add In sugar slowly until thick and glossy. Add vanilla and colouring. Fold all the ingredients until well combined. Put mixture in piping bag and pipe a swirl of meringue on each biscuit base.
2. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or firm and crisp.
Pineapple Roll… aka Tat Nenas
The oldie but goodie, classic Pineapple Roll is still a crowd pleaser after all these years. With a heavenly pairing of yummy pastry and tangy pineapple filling, the rolls are a fail-safe choice and a wonderful addition to your Biskut Raya selection.
Ingredients
Pastry
250g Butter
50g Icing Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla
375g Plain Flour
25g Corn Flour
2 Egg Yolks
Pineapple Jam
2 kg Pineapple
600g Sugar
3 Cloves
5 Cinnamon Sticks
Egg Wash (Combine 3 Egg Yolks and ¼ tsp Condensed Milk)
Method
1. To make the jam, pulse the pineapple in an electric blender till smooth. Combine puree with sugar, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Cook over low heat for 3-4 hours until it thickens. Make sure to stir continuously while cooking so the bottom part doesn’t burn.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Sift flour and corn flour into the mixture. Combine well.
4. Rest in a cool place for 30 minutes.
5. Roll the pastry into a thin layer (put it between 2 plastic sheets so it is easier to roll), take off the top plastic sheet, then pipe or scoop some jam on top of the dough in a neat line.
6. Gently roll the dough. Make sure the roll is round and tight.
7. Cut the roll into 4cm-length pieces. Continue to do this until you’ve used up all the dough.
8. Brush on an egg wash before baking in a preheated oven at 150°C for 15-20 minutes.
Red Velvet Cookies
Red Velvet Cookie’s vibrant colour, rich cocoa flavour and crispy texture are a few of the reasons why it has such a strong following. They’re so easy to make and tastes as good as the cake, just on a much smaller scale.
Ingredients
250g Butter
30g Shortening
220g Plain Flour
20g Cocoa Powder
50g Corn Flour
¾ tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
1 tsp White Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Red Colouring
1 Egg
100g White Chocolate Chips
150g White Chocolate (melted for decoration purposes )
Method
1. Beat butter, shortening and sugar until creamy. Mix in vanilla, vinegar, colouring and egg. Combine well.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix in chocolate chips.
3. Shape dough to ½ inch balls. Place on baking tray with a little space between each.
4. Bake at 150°C for 15-20 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes before dipping them in white chocolate.
There you go folks, our Top 5 Kuih Raya picks for 2015. What’s cookin’ up in your ovens? Let us know and happy munching!