Our Lunar New Year fever rages on and any chance we have to celebrate with food, we're right on it! Lunar New Year is full of treats and it is a challenge to narrow down our choices on what to share today!
First of all, we hope cookie lovers out there are reading this and ready with oven pre-heated and eager to roll! We came across 10 Reasons Why You Should Eat More Cookies and we just had to share it!
"If I'm going to have a little extra squish on me, I can't think of a better reason to have it than cookies." - theodysseyonline.com
1. They are good for the soul
2. They help you make friends
3. There are so many different kinds to choose from
4. They can be good for you.
5. Easy portion control
6. Quick to make
7. Your chances of finding a significant other will dramatically increase.
8. Who doesn't love an extra cushion for the pushin'?
9. Cookies have all your necessary ingredients to survive
10. They're just so good!
Some of these would resonate with the Cookie Monsters (closet or not!) among us! Our favourites are #1 and #2. At My Blue Tea, we believe in how clean, natural, healthy food can really make one feel good from the inside out. That's what My Blue Tea's Superfoods do - they are good for the soul! And we love sharing the good stuff, so whenever we meet a chef with an interesting story and passionate recipes, we can't wait to share it with our friends from all over the world.
10 Reasons Why You Should Make Pandan Ondeh Ondeh Tarts
Pandan Ondeh Ondeh Tart was born and created by one of our regular chefs, Catherine Ang. It is made with our Pandan products. This is a royal treat you can prepare not just for the Lunar New Year celebrations. In fact, even when there are no festivities, we would still be delighted to be well-stocked on this yummy treat!
And here are 10 Reasons Why You Should Make Pandan Ondeh Ondeh Tarts!
You deserve a treat. Today. Every day!
Depriving yourself of a treat as scrumptious as this tart is just plain wrong.
Pandan has tons of benefits.
Pandan smells divine.
Catherine Ang is an amazing chef who cooks to calm the senses and revive the spirit. One bite of her emerald-coloured tarts and you'd feel the oomph!
Green is a lucky colour in Chinese culture! It symbolises health, fertility, prosperity, wealth, harmony, cleanliness and purity. (Yes, go ahead, have another tart, it´s lucky to do so!)
Your guests will be bowled over. And they may not want to leave. Unless they can take a box of these gorgeous tarts with them. Here's one for the road! Perfectly safe if you're driving!
Cooking with the family is a lovely way to bond. There's something for everyone to do.
Baking is therapeutic and the smell of something baking in the oven gives any home a cosy feel.
It serves as a great conversation starter when guests visit!
The Humble Pandan
This is a hot new superfood that people are discovering and it has tons of benefits, e.g. strengthening the immune system, helping with several skin problems, relieving headaches, lowering high blood pressure. Read more about the amazing benefits of Pandan.
Did you know that you can sometimes find taxi drivers in Singapore who put a roll of tied up pandan leaves in their cabs? It´s to give it a light fragrance and keep the interior smelling nice in a gentle way. The smell of pandan is as humble as the plant - elegantly subtle and not overpowering. We´re still waiting for someone in the perfume industry to create a new line of Pandan l´eau de toilette sprays!
To complement the tarts, you can make a deliciously refreshing pandan drink with My Blue Tea's Pandan Powder, or another to-die-for treat - kaya (pandan coconut jam). Here's a video from Jonah Cooks to show you how to do it!
With all that said, you've probably got your apron on already with one foot tapping impatiently. So here we go, the recipe for Pandan Ondeh Ondeh Tarts!
RECIPE - Pandan Ondeh Ondeh Tarts
Ingredients
(makes around 40 round tarts)
For Tarts
175g of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
250g of all purpose/plain flour
1 egg yolk
50g of condensed milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp of @my.blue.tea Natural Pandan extract
For Fillings
200g of Gula Melaka (also known as coconut sugar or palm sugar)
100ml water
100g of desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons of @my.blue.tea Coconut Milk powder diluted in water ( optional)
For Egg wash & decoration
2-3 egg yolks and a small amount of milk
Small amount of desiccated coconut & shredded coconut
Method
To make the filling:
Chop the Gula Melaka into small pieces and heat up in a pan with water until it fully dissolves. Add coconut milk and mix.
Then, add in the desiccated coconut and stir until it soaks up the Gula Melaka. Stir the mixture until it looks dry and forms small clumps.
Leave for half an hour to cool down.
It is ready to roll when you lift up the filling and it doesn’t stick to your fingers.
Roll into 10-13g of balls (or cylinder shape for variety).
Tip: If it still doesn’t shape easily, just place in the fridge for a while.
To make the pastry:
Cream softened butter and add the condensed milk. Then beat at high speed for about 2 mins until it is light and fluffy.
Then add the egg yolk ( if you double the recipe add the egg one at a time).
Then add My Blue Tea Pandan extract, or more to your desire (but try to resist the temptation to add too much!)
Beat until it is all combined and add the flour slowly at low speed.
When is all combined, test it doesn’t stick to your finger.
Next, take approx 12-15g of pandan pastry to your desired amount of filling (this may take some experimenting) and roll into balls.
Place fillings and roll them into balls ( or cylinder shape). Put on baking paper on tray.
Do the egg wash and sprinkle a small amount of desiccated coconut and shedded coconut on top.
Baked in a preheated oven at 180c for 15-20 min until it browns on top. It will take longer/shorter depending on quantity used.
Catherine has got everything you need for your baking needs to celebrate all festivals! Pandan & Purple Sweet Potato cookies, Christmas cookies, Mooncake Festival cakes (with Butterfly Pea, Pandan, Durian & Purple Sweet Potato flavours) and Pulut Tai Tai for birthdays or weddings. What a scrumptious spread! Catherine never stops teasing our tastebuds!
And if you want more special treats, here's the link to the Jackfruit and Pandan Butter Cookie recipe for any occasion. Enjoy!
Tip: Complete the treat with a beautiful cup of Matcha Coconut Latte. (Optional: add 1 tspn Expresso if you want a little extra kick).
About Catherine Ang
Another winning recipe by Catherine! We wish to thank Catherine who has been sharing a lot of recipes and beautiful photos of her creations. In her own words, she loves baking and not so good a cook (we beg to differ!). She's a specialist psychologist during the day and bakes during the weekend. Baking is a very healthy and healing activity to calm the senses and restore the mind and spirit. And absolutely delight the stomach!
Catherine has contributed quite a few recipes with our Superfood Powders and the most shared and viewed is her Blue Butterfly Mochi recipe. Another beautiful recipe for you to try is her Durian and Pandan Crepe. She is clearly not shying away from fruits with very strong flavours! And Pandan Cendol Cake - another winning Pandan recipe.