Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Traditional Ginger Cookies 매작과 Maejakgwa

Hey guys, I'm sorry that I didn't post again on Sunday. I couldn't find the time to :(

But I'm back today ant I also have some news that I want to share with you guys. But first of all I will get into the recipe.

So today I thought that I would have a post on a Korean dessert because it seems that it has been a while since I last posted a Korean dessert. So today the dessert that I am going to be introducing you to is called ginger cookies or 매작과(maejakgwa)

The cookies are a traditional Korean cookie that’s really popular. It is a variety of hahngwa, or Korean traditional confection, consisting of wheat flour, vegetable oil, cinnamon, ginger juice, jocheong, and pine nuts. It is also categorized as a form of yumilgwa. You may remember that I have also posted recipes for other traditional Korean desserts that are in the same category. You can find it here: Yugwa

The ingredients are very simple yet the flavour that you get in the end is AMAZING. The best thing about this cookie is that it’s very crunchy! So without any more talking let's get into the recipe:

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon gingerjuice
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup water
cinnamon powder
vegetable oil

Method
1. In a large stainless steel bowl place the flour, salt, sugar, ginger juice and water and knead it for 20 minutes. OR you can use a food processor for about 2 minutes.
2.Put the cookie dough in a plastic bag and set it aside at least for 30 minutes.
3. Chop pine nuts to garnish the cookies. Set aside.
4. Take the dough out from the plastic bag and roll it out with a rolling pin, into a roughly rectangular shape (about 50 cm x 40 cm, and 2 mm – or 1/16 inch - thick).
5. Cut sheets of cookie dough into 2cm x 6cm rectangles
6. Put the leftover dough edges into a plastic bag to protect them from drying out.
7. Make 3 slits in the middle of each piece of dough.
8. Push one end of the dough through the centre slit to make a ribbon shape
9. Take the leftover dough out and spread it on the cutting board with the rolling pin. Cut it into any of your favorite shapes: triangles, squares, whatever – or use a cookie cutter.
10. Heat up vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan. *tip: Put a sample of the cookie dough into the heated oil to check if it’s the right temperature. The dough should float slowly on the surface of the heated oil.

For the syrup -->
1. Place ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water into a pot and bring to a boil over low heat for about 20 minutes. About half of the water should evaporate, so the syrup is nice and thick.
2. Turn the heat off and add 1 ts cinnamon powder and stir it well.
3. Gently toss the cookies with the syrup to lightly coat them.
4. Sprinkle with chopped pine nuts whist the syrup hasn't set.

And there you have it, a crunchy traditional Korean dessert that you can serve any time. When you have guests over or even when you feel peckish.




I hope that you guys enjoyed that recipe, because I really do absolutely LOVE it.

And now to the news that I had to share with you guys. Because I will be finished with exams after early next week I have decided that I will start a YouTube channel where I can also post up videos of the recipes that I post on this blog. I probably won't get started cooking until a few weeks later, I have't even decided on a name for the channel just yet. But When I do have it all up and running I will put a link to it all here on this blog. 

So that is it from me today. I don't think I will be posting again till the weekend after my exam on Friday. I hope that is ok with you guys. And until then please remember to stay safe, healthy and most important of all happy :)

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