Walnut Cookie

The picture of the cookies looked very promising and i made a batch. I had so much faith in Martin Yan that i did not even bother to read the recipe twice, just collected the ingredients and went ahead. What a dissappointment when i looked into the oven, the cookies were as flat as ???????. Could it be the altitute? Here i always have this excuse when my bakings don't turn out the way it should - BAD WORKMAN BLAMES HIS/HER TOOLS. Perhaps the temperature of the oven is not high enough, so for the next tray, cranked up the oven to 375f and still ..... flat cookies. Well, the recipe says COOKIE, so cookie it was, American type of cookie and not what i wanted - a chinese 'sou'.

Anyway, surprisingly, these cookies were delicious and i kid you not, the fragrance was so inviting when the cookie jar was opened. I ate one and could not help myself, and ate another. Normally, i am not a cookie fan but these cookies were so addictive and i must have been hypered the whole day. Not only was i sugar rushed, i was nutty and went crazy. I had to look for better recipe!!!. I did 2 more batches of cookies made with Walnuts and hope you all will approve them to be HUP TOU SOU. Will post them asap, so that you all can bake some for the coming Chinese New Year.

This recipe is from Marin Yan's - Culinary Journey Through China.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter,softened
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
About 40 walnuts halves.

Method:

Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Beat butter, shortening, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy.

Add egg and vainlla extract and beat until blended.

Add flour mixture, mix well and stir in chopped walnuts.

Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or for up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350f.

Divide dough into fourths. Divide each fourth into 10 portions. Roll each portion into a ball then place 2 - 3 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Press a walnut in center of each ball.

Bake for 14 - 16 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airthight container.