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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Apricot Sesame Cookies


When I was a teen, I’ve always wanted to bake cookies with jam fillings. And they always, always bubble and overflow and get burnt even before the cookie is done. I never knew why and always have been skeptical when it comes to baking with jam.

Then I made my first jam. Then I found that real jam will not bubble that much, because when I cooked it, the setting stage has already gotten past all the bubbling and bubbling. Most of our jams, especially the more affordable ones are made with pectin and flavouring, rather than real fruit. They consist of very little real fruit, and the preparation process is different from real fruit jam, which explains why it bubbles so much. And when I came across the recipe, I know, with my homemade real fruit jam, it will work perfectly.


If you all remembered, I bought a lot of sugar apricots and I also commented that my jam made with sugar apricot lacked tartness, which is usually found with apricots. Then for my balance of apricots(that I didn’t know what to do with earlier and after I baked the apricot yogurt cake, there was still 1 punnet left), I threw in the zest of one whole lemon and juice from the lemon as well. It worked perfectly and my sugar apricot finally had some tartness in it, to offset the super sweetness of the fruit. The lemony apricot jam really worked wonders with the flavor here.


Apricot Sesame Cookies Recipe
Source: Taste of Home

115gm butter
50gm caster sugar
170gm all purpose flour
Sesame seeds for rolling (mine is very very fine)
Homemade Apricot jam for filling (or buy the one that offers the highest fruit content)

1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Sift flour and mix until incorporated.
3. Form small balls of dough about the size of a calamansi lime and roll them round and coat the balls with sesame seed. Place on baking tray (I didn’t line or butter the tray)
4. Preheat oven to 180/200C
5. With a wooden spoon or the handle of any other apparatus that seems suitable, make an indentation in the ball.
6. Fill indentations with some jam.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes or until lightly golden.
8. Cool on a wire rack. Keep in air tight container.


Verdict: These are super yummy!! For a person who loves any bakes with fruits (or maybe anything with apricots, LOL), I'm super sold by this. I'd say, it depends on the jam. Maybe you can use homemade pineapple jam with this, as the cookie itself is soft and fluffy. Or maybe just make your own apricot jam for this. There are apricots in the supermarkets now, and if they are super sweet, just throw in lots of lemon zest and juice to add some nice tartness to it. With or without sesame? Personally, I find the sesame seeds nothing much on this cookie. Maybe they weren't toasted before hand. So, they weren't all that fragrant. It just makes it look better with not much taste. The next time I make this, I'll skip the sesame seeds. Save money and save time.

Maybe you'd ask, I don't want to make jam. Can I use any jam off the shelf? The answer, is maybe not. It might bubble and spill and get burnt even before the cookies are done. But there is onething called baking jam. I'm not sure about baking jam, though. I have never used it before, but I've seen it at bakery supply shops. it specifically states "baking jam", so it could be the type of jam you could substitute with if you don't have home made jam. Anyone can help with this?

I am thinking of experimenting with a jam that uses dried apricots so that readers from anywhere in Malaysia can make some, but wait, give me 3 more months. I am trying to clear my pantry as I am going to move end of February, and this time, it's for sure!!! I don't care and I want to move.


36 comments:

  1. thanks for sharing! it's pretty!!! love ur haked goodies

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  2. the apricot jam is truly mesmerizing! looks good!

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  3. I see another yummy cookies to 'copy' for cny. Thanks, Wendy, these cookies look pretty and tempting.

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  4. These look beautiful, especially the one with sesame seeds.

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  5. How about baking just the biscuits and fill them with jam (store-bought) later? Will that help? - natasya

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  6. The sesame seeds "spiced up" the look of these cookies. For look wise, I like the seeds. For taste wise, I prefer the one without the seeds. LOL.

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  7. wow you are so determine to move...you go girl! i just moved out and rented a house-room. like you i so wanted to move out from the stuffy house to clear up myself. actually, i ran away from home and when i run my first priority, my baking equipment n so i bring along with me...yup the oven, mixer even down to baking powder/soda n leftover butter. rather than clearing, i take it with me n now stuck in those boxes *sigh*
    this cookies is a nice change from those all-the same-same-cookies every year. i like jammie cookies too but downside will it keep for long? if i were to bake this a week before CNY, will it stay fresh? hmmm, you know when i looked at the second pic, it looks like egg tart to me with the shiny egg surface...yummm!

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  8. alahaii very kiutt.... nak cuba jugak lah! mau sebalang aku abeskan sorang! hahahaha

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  9. They look yummy with the apricot jam. Agree that store-bought jam tend to bubble over during baking. I use raspberry jam and they always spill over!

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  10. Ai Wei,
    Hehehe, Banks (Thanks)


    Jess Kitchen,
    There are apricots now, make some then :)



    Wen,
    Thanks



    Yummy Koh,
    Sure do, please copy.



    DG,
    Yeah, they look pretty, but they don't do much for the flavour.



    Natashya,
    I don't know becos I've never done that. But I've seen some bloggers doing that while the cookie is still hot.



    Zoe,
    Same goes to me :p



    Lisa.L,
    My new house has been renovating since end of Oct. The contractor told me it should be ready in 6 weeks time, but then, it's almost 3 months since work has started!!!!! I can't wait any longer la!
    The jam is dried out during the baking process, so it won't turn the cookie soggy. I kept mine hidden for more than a week. Hahaha!!! Dont hide means gone in a day.



    hana,
    Bleh, senang jer nak abeskan sebalang, dah la rasa masam masam manis, menyelerakan!!



    Busygran,
    Very frustrating right?
    I guess it either works with "baking jam" or homemade real fruit jam.

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  11. another version like pineapple tart~
    haha

    i wonder, which taste better?lol

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  12. me too! I'm going to move but in September keke

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  13. hasegawa,
    Each taste different. I love both :p



    Swee San,
    Ur house damn big lor! I am drooling at ur kitchen1

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  14. huh since end of Oct (counting on my fingers) that's like 3 months oledi. honestly, i've seen many renovations, the minimum will be 2 months n everybody wanna move in before CNY (to show-off mah).
    ah i understand loh with 3 cookie-monster girls in da-house, everything has to be hidden for rainy days.
    ok so gonna try this cookies out coz it has that golden hue on it. the aura that this cookies give is auspicious enuf.

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  15. These are gorgeous cookies! I've tried making jam biscuits with store-bought jam and fortunately it didn't bubble and overflow. I think it depends on the brand. Must go back and check which brand and take note...

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  16. Looks like thumbprint cookies. And I think the one with sesame seeds will be very fragrant. Yum Yum

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  17. WOW Wendy! These cookies look fabulous and perfect! SOoo yummy..wish I can have some :))

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  18. Lisa.L,
    Haha, not to show off la. I wanted to move in by CNY too. But new year new house lor, syok ma.
    Not many will come visiting anyway, we are the ones that go around visiting cos we are the "younger generation"



    NEL,
    Bought at bakery supply shop or supermarket?
    Check the list of ingredients in the jam too, if possible.
    Do let me know the brand ok.



    Kym Kym,
    Not really, I can't really smell the sesame in this cookie, besides having it stuck between my teeth! Haha. Yeah, if you were to make an imprint halfway thru baking, it's a thumbprint cookie.



    Anncoo,
    thanks :)

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  19. Another great looking creation! Pretty difficult to choose one to copy lol!

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  20. Is there any "LIKE" that i can click here. If u posted in FB sure i click LIKE. :o)

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  21. Wah two posting of cookies for CNY already. I am yet to start mine. No CNY mood here :( Like it or not I have to bake some as I invited some friend over. I love thumbprint cookies especially with lots of jam on it.

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  22. Sooo tempting! I haven't really tried cookies with jam filling before. However it's not easy to get fresh apricot here, maybe using homemade pineapple jam will be a good idea.

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  23. they look really pretty and delicious at the same time :)

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  24. I like the sesame patterns on the cookies.....very nice!

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  25. LOL u sure know how to syok sendiri. i move in Jan 1st so i also syok sendiri n loving it...refreshing! when you got new house, ppl sure wanna 'keh po' wan n this bring auspiciousness n 'ong' to the house. the merrier the better. human don't cost anything, better than lion dance...kekeke
    however, pls pls be careful when you are moving house since you are pregnant. don't do unnecessary stuffs and let the man do the heavy or cincai job.

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  26. Jeannie,
    More to come, more to choose from, keke.



    Jes's,
    Haha, thanks for the support!



    Gert,
    didn't make this for CNY, just post for the reference of others



    Min,
    If I can get, why not u?
    U live in Ipoh, I live 30 mins from Ipoh.
    Lots of it in Jusco, saw them last week.



    Jean,
    thanks



    Pete,
    Yeah, good for looks only, frankly.

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  27. no experience in baking jam so cannot give any opinion on this, i like the ones without the sseame seeds on. Have you been delaying on moving into your new house? wah, you sound so fierce suddenly..like " I INSIST TO MOVE IN NOW!"

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  28. Those cookies look amazing...so do the other recipes using apricots. Apricto recipes do not seem to be as easy to find...but you have proved apricot makes amazing treats!!

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  29. Thanks for the analysis of home made jam vs store bought ones. ;) it's been ages since I last made jam, so I guess I can't really experiment it myself. :P Btw, I just bakes a batch of jam cookies too, but I always have this problem which the cookies will turn a little soft the next day or after next. Do you have this problem? Inot ,then I seriously have to think about making jam at home again, lol!

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  30. Jenn@ChasingFoodDreamsJanuary 19, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    oo.. another gorgeous cookies.. how to stop my CNY cookie production ah? hehehe...

    I got some pineapple paste left, I m gonna use the paste for this cookie.. cos I m lazy to make or buy jam (I m not a fan of jams).. thks for the beautiful recipe!

    p/s: hope your house will be ready soon..

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  31. Wendy, these cookies are so pretty!

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  32. Looks so pretty! I'm not a huge fan of jam cookies as the jam always stick to my teeth !

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  33. lena,
    No I haven't been delaying my move. I was delayed by my contractor!!! We wanted to move in b4 CNY, but now it seems impossible.



    Valentine's Recipe,
    Apricots are seasonal, just buy during season.



    Bee,
    Nope this cookie didn't have the softening problem, maybe my jam was dry enough. I cooked it right up to the setting stage.



    Jenn,
    I hope so too
    Pineapple paste should be nice with this too.



    Jess,
    thanks



    pigspigscorner,
    hehehe, brush ur teeth after eating, it helps, LOL.

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  34. wendy wendy....i love you so much.....so much cookies recipe for my CNY cookies...and all seems so yummy.....good job and congratulation to your coming baby.....

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