Cong You Mian

HM made this for us and it was beyond delicious. I wanted to try my hand at it but it did not come out nearly as well, so I will have to play with it. I used olive oil instead of cooking oil and the noodles were from Amazing Oriental and weren't just flour and water (they had sugar and other ingredients in them). The cong were very big (how does that change the flavor?). Or perhaps I didn't use enough noodles, as they came out very dark. The cong you (scallion oil) flavor was not as strong in mine - perhaps I didn't cook them long enough.

• 
  4 T cooking oil
• 5 stalks scallions, cut into long sections (about 50 g)
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T dark soy sauce
• 2 t sugar
• 400 g dried thin, round noodles

1. Pour oil in wok. Add white parts of scallions. Simmer over medium low heat until they wrinkle. Add the green part. Continue to cook until they turn brown, about 10 min. Remove scallions.
2. Add soy sauces and sugar. Cook until the sauce starts to bubble. Remove from heat.
3. Cook the noodles. Drain and rinse briefly. 
4. Put noodles in oil and stir to evenly coat. 
5. Portion out to 4 serving bowls. Top with the fried spring onion and optional cooked vegetables.  

Blueberry Almond Muffins

The hint of almond and the sheer number of blueberries are what make these muffins special. Best warm out of the oven.

• 
  2 c flour
  
• 2 t baking powder
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 c butter, softened (113 g, or less if using Dutch butter)
• 1 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 t vanilla
• 1/4 t almond extract
• 1/2 c milk
• 2.25 c fresh blueberries, washed and dried

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for 2 min.
3. Add eggs one at a time.
4. Stir in the extracts.
5. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to make a thick batter.
6. Gently fold in the blueberries. Do not overmix.
7. Scoop into paper liners in muffin tin.
8. Bake at 375/190 for 30 min until lightly golden.
9. Cool in pan 10 min.
10. Run knife around edge to remove from muffin tin and cool on wire rack.

Soft Coconut Cookies

It's impossible to find semisweet chocolate here so instead of making chocolate chip cookies, I tried a new recipe for soft coconut cookies. I used to make macaroons when I was younger but find them too sweet now. This one was a nice touch of coconut without being overwhelmingly sweet nor chewy. I baked them 3 trays for different lengths and lightly browned looks the best. Made 39 cookies.
To try: One reviewer suggested using just 1 c sugar (instead of both sugars) and juice+zest of one lime.

• 
  2.5 c coconut (2 c for toasting, 1/2 c plain)
  
• 2.5 c flour (used 2 c Dutch bread flour, 1/2 c German flour)
• 1 t baking soda
• 3/4 t salt
• 185 g butter, room temp (original was 225 g/1 c, but Dutch butter is weird, so reduced it)
• scant 3/4 c brown sugar (mostly donkere, but with a touch of light)
• 3/4 c sugar (Dutch fine)
• 2 eggs
• 1.5-2 t vanilla

1. Spread 2 cups of coconut in pan over induction heat 5, stirring constantly until golden brown. Be careful not to burn. Immediately transfer to bowl to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda and salt.
3. In large bowl, beat the butter and sugars for 3 minutes.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
5. Stir in vanilla.
6. Add flour mixture until just combined.
7. Add toasted coconut and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
8. Place plain coconut in bowl (can be chopped up further). Roll dough into small balls and dip one side in coconut.
9. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. 
10. Press down cookies since they will not spread very much in oven (thus, there is no need to refrigerate the dough either). 
11. Bake for 9-12 min at 175-180C until just beginning to brown at edges (or slightly less). 
12. Cool on wire rack.
13. Store in airtight container.