Chinese Cornflake Cookies

I am pleased as punch. I finally made a batch of cornflake cookies that I’m happy with after two failed attempts. Third time lucky, as they say. =)

I love cornflake cookies, and while they’re a fairly well-known Chinese New Year munchie, they aren’t as widely available as items like pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, love letters or spicy shrimp rolls (see here for a 101 on popular Chinese New Year goodies in Singapore).

I particularly love the cornflake cookies sold by Cedele Depot - quite expensive, but ridiculously good. Cedele’s cornflake cookies are very fragrant, super crunchy, and they melt in your mouth. They don’t get any better, really…

So earlier this month I thought, “I’m going to replicate Cedele’s delicious cornflake cookies.” Thus began my journey to the perfect cornflake cookie. And oh boy was it ever tiring!

Here’s a picture of my first batch of cookies. They looked kinda pasty, and they were terribly dry because I added Nestum cereal, and much too citrus because I used lemon zest. Plus they had no crunch in them at all. A complete failure!

Now see here my second batch of cookies. They were prettier, but they expanded far too much because of the baking powder I used and also because of the egg white in the batter. They were slightly crunchier than the first batch, but only on the outside.

Then came by third batch. I did away with all the unnecessary this time – the Nestum, lemon zest, baking powder and egg white – and was thrilled with the final product. The texture of the cookies was just perfect, and while the flavour wasn’t 100% identical to Cedele’s, the cookies were very good anyway. Most importantly, they passed the husband test. =) My hubs likes his cookies very crunchy, and after he bit into one of the cookies, he gave me a satisfied smile and a thumbs-up.

So here it is, my cornflake cookie recipe. A great one for next week’s festivities!

Chinese Cornflake Cookies

Click here for printable recipe.

Ingredients:

(Makes about 90 small cookies. You can make the cookies even smaller than I did and get a larger quantity.)

Directions:

1. Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl, then drop the pieces of butter into the bowl on top of the sugar. Fit your mixer with the paddle attachment, then beat the butter and icing sugar on low speed for about 10 seconds (to prevent your icing sugar from flying all over your kitchen) before increasing the speed to medium and beating for another 20 seconds or so. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add the egg yolks and vanilla essence and beat for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Sift the cake flour into the mixing bowl, add the salt, and beat for another 30 seconds.

3. Pre-heat your oven to 175 degC. Prepare your cornflakes by putting them into a ziploc bag, then using your fist to pound on the bag gently so the cornflakes are roughly crushed. Pour the cornflakes into a medium-sized bowl.

4. Use a teaspoon to scoop up half a teaspoon of batter, and use another teaspoon to release the batter into the bowl of cornflakes. Use your fingertips to roll the ball of batter around till it is covered in cornflakes. Place the coated batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and repeat with the remaining batter.

5. Bake cookies for 22-24 min.

Ta da! Fresh out of the oven:

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And while we’re on the topic of New Year goodies, what you see below are my favoritest pineapple tarts ever. They’re made by the residents of The Hiding Place, a Christian halfway house that has rescued many young men from the perils of drug addiction. The residents sell pineapple tarts every year to raise funds for the home, and the tarts are truly top quality. The pastry is buttery and crumbly, and the pineapple jam has a glorious full-bodied sweetness that isn’t excessive. I don’t think they’re taking anymore orders, but if you’re interested you can call them up to ask if they’ve made any extras.

Ooh and just before I sign off – this Magiclean duster is the bomb. It reaches all those difficult nooks and crannies and picks up crazy amounts of dust. If you haven’t done your spring cleaning, go invest in one!

And with that, here’s wishing all my Chinese readers a very happy, peaceful and joyous Chinese New Year! ??????????