There is a Chinese restaurant in my area where we usually hold our big family gathering with relatives. At the end of the meal we are usually served with sweet soup and two kinds of mini pastries like little cubes of osmanthus cake, red bean cake, deep fried sesame balls and warm Chinese cookies on a big plate. My favourite pastry is those Chinese cookies but a lot of times the ones made by the restaurants have custard powdered added to the cookies which is totally not the traditional way. Last week I was craving Chinese cookies so I decided to make some for myself. Old fashioned Chinese cookies are flaky, delicate and crumbly. And their secret ingredient is lard. Some people may be skeptical about lard as this is an animal fat. However, according to Country Living Magazine, pure lard contains no trans-fat. In fact, when compared with butter, lard contains less saturated fats and more monounsaturated fats, which is the “healthy fats” that is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. When choosing lard, it is crucial to get a brand that is minimally processed and non-hydrogenated.
我們社區附近的一間粵菜館是我們常常舉辦大型家庭聚會的地方。晚飯完結時，侍應會奉上糖水和美點雙輝，圓圓的大碟子上 擺放着兩款迷你中式糕點，有時是切成小方塊的桂花糕跟笑口棗，有時會是紅豆糕跟暖暖的桃酥。EC最喜歡的是桃酥，只是酒樓做的桃酥很多時候加進了吉士粉，味道不如老式餅鋪的正宗。上星期突然心血來潮便自己在家做一趟。你知道桃酥為什麼這樣酥脆鬆香嗎？這是因為當中的一種秘密材料–豬油。 很多人對豬油存疑，認為豬油是動物油，多吃對身體不好。其實豬油並沒有想像中那麼不好，但前提是要選擇得對。根據Country Living的報道，純正豬油不含反式脂肪，其飽和脂肪含量比牛油少，而單元不飽和脂肪含量也比牛油多(不飽和脂肪就是我們口中常說有助降低心臟病風險的”好”脂肪)。購買豬油時要選擇沒加工、非合成和非氧化的純豬油。
Now back to the Chinese cookies. This recipe is adapted from Chinese Almond Cookies (Bite-sized) as well as Mini Chinese Walnut Cookies. I used lard for the fats for a more traditional flavour. You will notice from the pictures that the cookies spread and puff up a lot as I’ve used the creaming method to incorporate more air into the dough (I have also used this technique in my Espresso Shortbread Cookies). When you arrange the cookies on your cookie sheet, you will need to leave more room in between the cookies so they have room to spread and expand. If you have nut allergy or simply don’t have almond flour on hand, you could replace almond flour with all purpose flour. However, since all purpose flour is more absorbent, you will need to add an extra 5 to 10 g of egg. And the cookies would be less flaky compared to one with almond flour included.
還是説回食譜吧！這個中式桃酥的食譜修改自一口杏仁酥和迷你合桃酥，EC用了豬油作配方中的油脂，令餅乾更接近傳統的味道。從製作過程的照片中可見到一口杏仁酥和迷你合桃酥在烘焙前後的大小均差不多，但桃酥在烘焙之後，餅身往外擴展，體積膨大了很多，表面也有較多裂紋。這是由於攪拌方法改變了的緣故，桃酥使用糖油混合法將空氣混入油脂內(特濃咖啡牛油酥餅也是使用這個技巧)，因此成品會進一步更鬆化。在烤盤上排放曲奇麵團時緊記要預留空間，以免曲奇在烘焙過程中往外瀉時互相黏在一起。至於粉類方面，EC混合使用了中筋麵粉和杏仁粉，若家中沒有杏仁粉或因食物敏感不能使用堅果的話，可以使用全中筋麵粉，但在蛋液方面大概要增加五至十克(麵粉比杏仁粉吸水)，整體效果會不如添了杏仁粉配方的酥脆。
Old-Fashioned Chinese Cookies
懷舊桃酥
Makes 20 cookies
20瑰份量
Ingredients
210 g all purpose flour
70 g superfine almond flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
140 g pure, non-hydrogenated lard (I used Tenderflake)
140 g granulated sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
30 g beaten egg
材料
中筋麵粉 210克
特幼杏仁粉 70克
泡打粉 3/4茶匙
梳打粉 1/2 茶匙
純非氫化豬油 140克(EC用Tenderflake)
細砂糖 140克 (EC用有機蔗糖)
鹽 1/4茶匙
全蛋液 30克
Directions 做法
In a large bowl, combine and sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
麵粉、杏仁粉、泡打粉和梳打粉混合過篩放大碗中，備用。
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with an electric mixer, beat lard on low speed until smooth. Add salt and sugar and mix briefly. Switch to medium speed and beat until mixture is fluffy. Beat in egg mixture until fully Incorporated. Scape down the sides of the bowl as needed
豬油放入攪拌盆中，以電動打蛋器或座枱式攪拌器(使用攪拌槳配件)低速打至順滑，加入糖和鹽略混合後轉中速打發至鬆發，加入全蛋液打至蛋液完全被吸收，用刮刀清理盆邊。
Add in the flour mixture and mix on low speed until large clumps form. Switch to a spatula or use your hand to gather the clumps and lightly compress them to form a soft dough while avoiding over mixing or kneading. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
篩入乾粉低速拌至材料結成塊，轉用刮刀或以手把碎塊輕手抓成柔軟不黏手的麵團，不要過度攪拌或揉搓麵團，蓋好麵團室溫休息30分鐘讓材料融合。
Preheat the oven to 325℉/160℃. Divide the dough evenly into 20 portions, about 29 g each. Roll each into a ball then arrange the dough balls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Gently flatten the dough balls into thick discs with your palm. For a classic look, make an indentation in the centre with your thumb. The dough will spread in the oven so make sure to leave enough space between them.
預熱焗爐至325℉/160℃，將麵團平均分成20份(每份約29克)，輕搓成小圓球後排放在墊了牛油紙的焗盆上，輕輕用掌心壓扁成厚片，若要做成傳統的模樣可用姆指在麵團中央按出凹洞，麵團在烘焙過程中會往外擴展，因此排放時麵團之間要互留足夠的空間。
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until the colour is slightly golden. Switch off the oven and let the cookies stay in the oven for an extra 5 minutes with the oven door ajar. Remove from the oven and cool cookies completely on a cooling rack. For best flavour and a stable and firm texture, store cooled cookies in an airtight container and allow the cookies to rest and develop flavour overnight before consuming.
入爐焗18至20分鐘至曲奇上色後關掉電源，打開焗爐門留小縫，讓曲奇在爐内多待5分鐘才取出，把曲奇放在鋼架上完全放涼，之後存放在密實盒中，待第二天曲奇質地變結實和味道融合後才享用風味更佳。
For this batch I tried flattening the dough a bit more before making an indentation in the centre.
這次嘗試把麵團按扁一些才在中央按一個凹洞。
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