Rock Cookies 黑芝麻花生酥

I have been developing my Chinese almond cookies recipe for a while. I ran out of grond almond last week so I tried to replace this with something else that I could find in my pantry. It turned out to be a great success as my family members and friends who tried these cookies all loved the nutty black sesame flavor. I had to clearly state to my kids that those were just rock-shaped cookies and advised them not to put real pebbles or rocks in their mouth. I hope you enjoy these rocks too!

EC這陣子都在研究中式杏仁酥，上星期杏仁粉用光了，便隨手往廚櫃找點代替品，結果大獲好評，家人及白老鼠朋友都很喜歡黑芝麻的味道！EC給家中兩隻小鬼吃時還要教導他們不能拿後花園的碎石放入口吃！希望你們也喜歡這些石頭呢！

Rock Cookies (Black Sesame Cookies With Peanuts)
黑芝麻花生酥

Ingredients

100 g all purpose flour
40 g ground black sesame seeds
60 g roasted peanuts, chopped
50 g granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
40 g unsalted butter, softened
40 g vegetable shortening
15 g egg, large

材料

中筋麵粉 100 克
黑芝麻粉 40 克
炒香花生碎 60 克
糖 50 克
鹽 ¼ 茶匙
軟化牛油 40 克
固體菜油 40 克
全蛋液 15 克)

Directions
做法

Combine and sift flour, black sesame powder, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl. Stir in peanut pieces then mix well.
麵粉、黑芝麻粉、鹽及糖混合過篩放入鋼盆內，加入花生碎拌勻。

Add butter and vegetable shortening. Rub with fingertips or beat with an electric mixer until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add egg and mix until a dough forms. Dough should be very soft but not sticky. Add flour a little bit at a time and mix again if you found it too sticky.
加入牛油和固體菜油，用打蛋器攪拌或用手指頭揉搓成麵包糠狀，加入蛋液搓成柔軟而不沾手的粉糰，若粉糰太濕太黏手可加少量麵粉。

Preheat oven to 325ºF/160ºC . Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.
焗爐預熱325ºF/160ºC ，烤盆墊上牛油纸或矽膠墊。

Divide dough into little portions then shape each into a rock. Place cookies on lined baking sheet.
粉糰分成小份，然後用手輕壓成小石子形狀，排在烤盆上。

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, making sure not to brown the cookies (as browned cookies don’t look like rocks). Either cover the cookies with a piece of aluminum foil or reduce oven temperature if the cookies are browning too fast. Every oven is different so adjust your time accordingly. Turn off oven and let cookies sit in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes to dry them out while leaving the oven door ajar. Leave oven door closed if using a small oven that loses heat quickly.
放入焗爐焗約 15-20分鐘（避免讓酥餅上色，否則不似石頭）若烤焗途中酥餅已上色可用鍚紙蓋面或調低爐溫，關火後虛掩焗爐門（若使用散熱快的細小焗爐則不用開門）繼續用餘溫烘5-10分鐘，每個焗爐火力不同請自行調整時間。

Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to ten days.
靜置數分鐘後可轉移到鐵架完全放涼，酥餅存密封盒中可保存七至十天。

Recipe adapted from my Chinese almond cookies. Makes 40 to 50 rock cookies.
食譜改編自EC的一口杏仁酥，可做約40-50件小酥餅。

I made them exactly the way as my almond cookies the very first time I created them, with baking powder and egg wash. They tasted great but I wasn’t satisfied with the appearance at all!
初試時是用杏仁酥的做法（有泡打粉和掃了蛋黃液），很美味但外貌並不討好。