Brown Butter Banana Blueberry Muffins

I baked  banana blueberry muffins after a break from baking.... I still went to work on the first few days of the school holidays to tie up some loose ends. Then had a girls-only weekend trip to KL with my daughters, even though I'd already caught the flu bug.... I'd promised the girls we would go. We walked & ate a lot, as intended. It was only when I returned home that the flu got worst, so I spent the next few days at home, on the bed most of the time. I suppose it's God's way of making me stay at home, specifically on bed...

These  muffins are very moist & delicious. I tweaked the original recipe by browning the butter to give a more nutty flavour.... an extra step, but definitely worth the effort! 

Brown Butter Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
3 large ripe bananas (I used 4 medium pisang berangan.)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup melted browned butter (I used 100g butter & cooked it to get 1/3 cup of browned butter.)
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups plain flour

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids have turned a nutty golden brown. Set aside.
2. Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add sugar, egg & vanilla.
4. Add butter and blueberries.
5. Combine dry ingredients and gently stir into banana mixture.
6. Pour into paper cups or greased muffin pan. (I used 25 mini paper cups.)
7. Bake at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes.

Adapted from recipe by DebM @ food.com.

I'm linking this post to the event Little Thumbs Up (June 2014 Event: Butter) organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Jozelyn Ng (Spice Up My Kitchen).

Salty Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hurray!!! It's the June school holidays!! Oh boy..... I'm so relieved the school term is over.... I was so stressed, exhausted & overwhelmed, trying to meet all the deadlines, some of which, I think, were just unrealistic! There were times when I felt like a machine..... just need to press the start button & the tasks are expected to be completed.... arghh! 

So after knocking off for the day on Friday, I started to think of my baking project for the weekend. Since it was going to be a busy Saturday for the family, I thought it would be nice to start the day with a meal at home. So I decided to bake Turkish Pide for breakfast. I started preparing the dough & filling before going to bed on Friday night & baked the pide early Saturday  morning, just in time for my son to have a bite before heading to school. After breakfast, I continued with my happy baking weekend & made Salty Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies. And to end my happy baking weekend, I attended a baking class on Sunday afternoon. It was indeed a wonderful weekend....

I made these yummy Salty Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies on the recommendation of Rima of Bisousatoi. I was intrigued with the cookies as I've never tried adding pretzels to chocolate chip cookies. In this recipe, besides broken mini pretzels, ground pretzel was also added to the dough. Another great chocolate chip cookie recipe.... Thanks Rima for sharing!

Salty Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

125g plain flour (I used top flour, aka pastry flour.)

2 tbsp malted milk powder (I used Horlicks.)

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

185g mini pretzels

170g unsalted butter (room temperature)

130g caster sugar (I used 150g.)

130g dark brown sugar (I used 100g.)

1 egg (medium size)

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (I added.)

170g chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 180 deg C.
2. Whisk together flour, malted milk powder, salt & bicarbonate of soda.
3. In a food processor, grind 85g of the pretzels to a fine powder & add to flour mixture & mix to combine. Chop the remaining 100 g of pretzels into small pieces.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, vanilla paste & both sugars on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg & mix on low speed until just combined, scraping the bowl, if necessary, to incorporate the dry ingredients. 
5. Add chocolate chips & pretzel pieces & mix with spatula until evenly distributed. The dough should be smooth, dense & somewhat pliable.
6. Spoon or use ice cream scoop to drop a well rounded balls of dough onto baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes, rotating the baking trays halfway through the baking time just until the edges turn golden.
7. When cool enough to handle, transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Made 38 pieces.

Recipe by Carey Jones & Robyn Lenzi.
Source: Bisousatoi.

Notes & modifications:

1. I used a tablespoon when dropping the dough on the baking tray. I made almost 50 pieces of cookies, instead of 38, as stated in the recipe. Even then, the cookies turned up quite big. Also, the cookies spread out quite a bit when baking, so make sure you leave some space in between the dough.
2. I baked my cookies for more than 15 minutes, so the cookies turned out quite dark & crunchy. Stick to the baking time in the recipe if you want  your cookies to be chewy.

I'm linking this post to the event Little Thumbs Up (June 2014 Event: Butter) organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Jozelyn Ng (Spice Up My Kitchen).

Dadih

Dadih is a Malay-style soft milk pudding that's quite commonly served in gatherings like weddings & thanksgiving feasts. During the month of Ramadan, it's also commonly sold at the food bazaars. Honestly, I was not aware of such dessert until a few years ago. But apparently,  based on the writings of some Malaysian bloggers, this modern version of dadih  has been around for decades, at least in Malaysia...... 

I call it the modern version because the traditional dadih, which originates from the Minangkabau community in West Sumatra, Indonesia, is made by pouring fresh raw unheated buffalo milk into a bamboo tube capped with a banana leaf. It's then left to ferment in room temperature for two days.  It's basically yogurt, but the traditional method of preparation gives it a more authentic flavour than that of the commercial yogurt. (Reference: Kompasiana)

I've not tasted the authentic dadih of the Minangkabau people, but I'm pretty certain that  it doesn't taste like the one I made.  This modern dadih is smooth, sweet, rich & so delicious! Eat it when it's chilled & it will soothe your throat.....

There are many recipes of dadih shared in the internet. For this maiden attempt, I've decided to use the one shared by K. Nor of Secubit Garam. She has perfected this recipe after adjusting the original one more than 10 times! Thank you K. Nor for all your  effort & generosity in sharing this excellent recipe. Die, die, must try!

Dadih

5g agar-agar powder (not instant jelly)

600 ml air

1 litre fresh full cream milk

110g sugar

1/2 st salt

1/2 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp water
vanilla paste, strawberry paste & red colouring (Flavouring or colouring is optional.)

Method:

1. In a pot, combine & boil water & milk with agar-agar powder, . 
2. Add  in salt & sugar & continue cooking until the sugar has dissolved. (Do not overcook or the dessert will become hard.)
3. Add in cornflour mixture & stir until well blended. Turn off fire & set aside.
4. Add in flavouring & colouring, if using.
5. Leave to cool slightly, then strain mixture & pour into glasses.
6. Chill before serving.

Notes:

1. You may also use agar-agar strips instead of the powder form. Use 1/6 packet (Crescent brand). Soak until soft before cooking. 
2. Keep stirring the mixture throughout the cooking process to ensure mixture is well-blended & to prevent overflowing.
3. I divided the mixture into two parts & added vanilla & strawberry flavour to each part. You may leave the dessert plain or add any flavour that you like.

Recipe by K. Nor @ Secubit Garam.

I'm submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up May 2014 (Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids, and My Little Favourite DIY,  hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.