Gong Xi Fa Cai Cookie

This is the first of many cookies that i will be baking for the coming Chinese New Year, 2011 which will be on February 3rd, 2011 and it is just 27 days more to go.

The tip of the Day that i would like to share is:

When cereals are done, throw away the box, but keep the bag.  It is the best for holding pastry/cookie dough and then using it for rolling out the pastry/cookie dough.  It is FREE.




Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp orange extract (or whatever you fancy)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 jar raspberry or apricot jam

Method:

Mix butter, orange extract and sugar

Stir in 1 cup of flour at a time, mixing well (I put all the ingredients except the jam of course in a food processor and pulse until combined)

Chill the dough at least 2 hours

Roll out 1/2 of dough to 1/4 inch thick and chill 30 minutes more.

Cut with round cookie cutter without the rabbit design..

Transfer to lined baking sheet with the round cookie cutter, remove the round cookie cutter and repeat with the rest of the doug.

Bake immediately at 350 f  for 12 minutes.

Roll out other half of dough on a second cookie sheet and chill for 30 minutes.

Place the rabbit cookie cutter and press down.  Then place the round cookie cutter over the rabbit cookie cutter and press down.  Transfer the cookie with the 2 cookies cutters to the lined baking sheet. Remove the cutters and repeat until you have made the same numbers of cookies as the plain ones.

Bake immediately at 350 f  for 12 minutes.

Cool completely.

Dust tops, the one with the rabbit design with powdered sugar.

Spread about 2 teaspoons jam on each cookie bottom(turn the cookie over, the bottom of the cookie is more level).

Place tops over bottoms to create the sandwich effect.

There is a typo in one of the photos, the word should be position, sorry!!!