Yields: about 500g of paste and 70 cookies.
[Ingredients]
- 2 semi-ripe pineapple (unripe ones are sour and ripe ones will be too soft to grate)
- Around 200 to 300g sugar
- 2pc 3cm cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 227g softened unsalted butter (1 block, SCS brand)
- 50g (3tbsp + 1tsp) icing sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1tsp vanilla essence
- 500g plain flour
- 1/4tsp salt
- 1 egg, beaten (egg wash)
- Pineapple cookie mould
[Steps]
1. Peel pineapples and remove the 'eyes'. Cut pineapple into 4 pieces and grate them, including the core.
2. Drain pineapple over a sieve and press out all the juice using the back of a spoon. Reserve the juice.
3. Place drained pineapple, together with 150g of sugar, cinnamon, star anise and cloves in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat till mixture starts to boil.
4. Once it has dried up, spoon about 2tbsp of juice into the pot and allow to cook till it dries up. Add in 2tbsp of juice again and allow to cook till it dries up. Keep repeating until all the juice is used up.
5. Taste the pineapple and add in the remaining sugar 1tbsp each time until desired sweetness is achieved. The amount of sugar required really depends on the sweetness of the pineapple.
6. Keep cooking it till pineapple has turned dry, sticky and golden brown in colour (when the sugar starts to caramelised). Total cooking time is about 2hrs.
7. Remove spices from pineapple and transfer into a heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool.
Once cooled, chill covered overnight to allow paste to firm up.
[Next day]
8. Whisk butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add in salt, whisk to combine, followed by vanilla.
9. Add in egg yolks, one at a time, and continue to whisk till fully incorporated.
10. Sift flour into the mixture. Mix the mixture with your hand and lightly knead for a couple of minutes till the flour is incorporated into the dough.
11. Wrap the dough with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30mins to firm up.
While the dough is in the fridge, roll pineapple into balls.
12. Preheat oven 175degC.
13. Roll out a portion of the dough (it is easier to work in smaller portions) on a floured worktop to about 5 - 7mm thick.
14. Dust the mould with flour for easy release. Cut out the dough with the tart mould - press the outer ring into the dough then push down the inner piece with some force. Lift up the mould and carefully remove the cut-out dough which is stuck to the mould.
*Image from Google.
15. Place cut-out dough on a parchment lined baking tray and brush with egg wash.
Place pineapple paste balls on each cut out dough. To decorate, top it with a tiny ball of dough or cut out thin strips of dough and lay over the top of the pineapple paste.
16. Bake for 15 mins or until the edges have turned golden brown. Leave to cool on baking tray for a few mins to firm up and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in air-tight containers.
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