During this time of year (a few weeks before Chinese New Year), Chinese families will be busy making preparations for the coming celebration. One of the key tasks is to make various types of snacks and goodies to entertain family and friends who visit during the 15 day long celebration. One of these favourite snacks is peanut cookie. It is packed full of finely ground peanut. If you like peanut butter, you will like peanut cookie as it is a dense form of peanut butter that has a rich aroma of frehly toasted peanut and tastes heavenly as you bite into the cookie. As 2019 is the year of the pig, I have shaped some of these cookies into a cute piggy shape. The kids simply love it.

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/PpRRW90pIgs

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of raw peanut (you could substitute with ready to eat roasted unslated peanut)

• 90 gm flour

• 30 gm butter (softened)

• 45 ml of rice bran oil

• 30 gm icing sugar

• Dash of salt

• Glaze: beaten egg yolk

METHOD

1. Toast the raw peanut by dry frying in a saucepan until golden. Rub off the skin,with paper towel and cloth towel. If you don't want to bother with toasting, just buy good quality ready to eat roasted unsalted peanut. Just make sure they are fresh.

2. Grind the toasted peanut finely. Set aside.

3. Place flour, icing sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and stir to mix well.

4. Add finely ground peanut and mix well.

5. Add softened butter and stir to combine.

6. Add oil, a teaspoon at a time and stir to mix until clumps are formed. You may need less or more oil, depending on the flour, so adding oil slowly will help achieve the consistency you require.

7. Once clumps are starting to form, knead with hands until the dough is smooth and firm to touch.

8. Using a teaspoon, scoop out 10 gm of dough. Roll each piece into a ball. If you like, shape them into buttons, or in my case, piggy shape. To achieve piggy shape: add a small flat disc as nose. For nostrils, punch 2 holes into the disc using a bamboo skewer. Stick melon seeds as ears on the top end. Use a skewer to punch 2 holes as eyes.

9. Glaze the peanut cookie by brushing the top with beaten egg yolk. Do not brush over the holes.

10. Bake in 180°C oven for 20-25 mins. until golden.