B-b-b-baking: Year of the Monkey

Good evening...

This was a super last minute post, but the baking was a very spur of the moment thing.

Over the weekend, I was humming and hawing over what I should bake to celebrate Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, I'm also at the shorter end of the stick budget-wise at the moment, so I had to think frugally. It turned out that I had all the ingredients I needed to make pineapple tarts except pineapple, so that's what I went with.

What I learned tonight about Chinese New Year and pineapple tarts:
- Pineapple tarts are actually more Singaporean or Malaysian, but are generally eaten for Chinese New Year.
- Pineapple tarts can be made open-faced or enclosed in a rectangular shaped cookie. A couple of years ago, I made the closed kind, but failed to document it. They turned out quite well, but I don't remember how I made them or which blog(s) I was reading at the time...
- Chinese New Year celebrations last for about 2 weeks (15 days). Forget one night of fireworks, and bring out the food and dancing lions!

I sort of followed a recipe for the pastry dough, but made a thumbprint cookie instead, because I didn't have the fancy cookie cutter/stamp that's generally used for these. I opted out of chilling the dough after forming it. I also opted out of caramelizing the pineapple to the point where it is pliable. (I was tired, but wanted to consume the end product.)

Impromptu thumbprints, after the eggwash.

Overfilled with pineapple and ready for the oven!

I got too excited that they were done, and got halfway through one. Sorry.

Pineapple "Tarts" (Adapted from ZaTaYaYummy)
*Makes 20 thumbprint cookies*
Pastry dough:
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp water (optional - I did this because the air is drier here)

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp water

Pineapple filling:
1-14 oz. can pineapple chunks
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet.
2. Drain the can of pineapple chunks, and pulse in blender (or Magic Bullet!) a few times.
3. Empty pineapple into a saucepan with sugar, and stir over medium heat until a good amount of moisture has evaporated. Set aside.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, combine shortening, all purpose flour, icing sugar, tapioca starch, and salt. Stir in egg and egg yolk.
5. Knead just enough to bring the dough together. If the dough is too crumbly, add water a little bit at a time.
6. Form into 20 teaspoon-sized balls, and press down gently in the center of each with your thumb. Fill each thumbprint with pineapple (I used a teaspoon to do this).
7. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
8. Allow to cool before enjoying, because they will be hot and fragile. You have been warned.

Happy Year of the Monkey!

-M