Recipe: Quick & Easy Pineapple Tarts + Happy Chinese New Year

Firstly, a very Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai to all my Chinese readers and friends. Let's welcome the Year of the Water Snake; I sincerely hope that your year 2013 will be filled with abundance of good health, wealth and happiness. I am really looking forward to meeting all my relatives during this festive period as well as enjoying all the good food. :) Hope that you too will enjoy the celebrations with your family and friends. 

Usher in the Year of the Water Snake :)

A happy and prosperous New Year to all!

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Pineapple tarts are my all-time favorite Chinese New Year cookie. Usually, we would get store-bought ones but this year I decided to try making my own tarts as well as pineapple jam. 

Other than being utterly delicious, these pineapple tarts also hold an auspicious meaning as pineapple in Chinese sounds like "ong lai" (directly translated as "luck come"). That is why it is common to see pineapple decorations during the CNY period too as everyone wants to invite luck into their home. 

I picked this pineapple tart recipe from one of the cookbooks I got from the Big Bad Wolf Sale - Asian Delights by Betty Saw. It caught my attention since the recipe is called "Quick and Easy Pineapple Tarts". Ideal for a first timer like me. Instead of using a cookie mould, this recipe calls for a cookie press fitted with a star nozzle. My piping got better towards the end, but I still need a lot of practice to get it looking perfect.

I was a little worried that these wouldn't taste as good as the store-bought ones, since it didn't resemble the regular ones that we got. The look and texture of this tart is more like a shortbread biscuit. When I took my first bite, the taste and texture really surprised me... cos it was way better than I imagined. It was melt-in-the-mouth, light and buttery. As soon as it cooled, my kids were in amongst the cookies and popping them into their mouths. I was so happy that they enjoyed it. Homemade pineapple jam just brings it to the next level. We managed to finish the whole batch by evening time. Guess I'll have to make somemore for CNY now!

Big smiles from my kids

Two big thumbs up for mummy's pineapple tarts :) Yay!

Quick and Easy Pineapple Tarts
Recipe adapted from Asian Delights - Betty Saw
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Makes 30

Ingredients
250g butter, softened at room temperature and cut into small cubes
60g caster sugar
1 large egg yolk
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
270g plain flour, sifted
2-3 tbsp cream or milk, as required

Pineapple jam (recipe here)

1. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Then, beat in egg yolk and add salt and vanilla essence, mix well. Fold in sifted flour. If mixture looks a little dry, then add in some cream or milk gradually.

2. Put mixture into a cookie press fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe in circles, starting from centre onto greased tins. Fill each hollow with 1 teaspoon of pineapple jam. Bake in a preheated oven (190°C) for 15-20 minutes or until pale golden.

3. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. Once cool, store in an airtight container.

* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

I am also submitting this to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIYand Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.