Few things make your house smell like festive holidays as much as the delicious baked treats fresh out of the oven. Made with fresh ginger, crystallized ginger, Christmas spices, molasses, maple syrup, these ginger snaps are packed with flavours and a great reminder of Christmas. Recipe adapted from Cook's Companion by Carole Clements and Essen und Trinken
To all my friends and readers, I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas with Good Mood, Real Food and Love!

270 g All-purpose flour 2 tsp Baking soda 2 tsp Ground ginger 1/4 tsp Ground cardamom 1 tsp Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp Ground clove 1/2 tsp Salt

200 g Golden caster sugar, plus extra for coating 120 g Unsalted butter, room temperature 1 Egg, room temperature 45 g Molasses 45 g Maple syrup 2 tsp Fresh ginger, finely grated 100 g Crystallized ginger, roughly chopped ©angiesrecipes

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare 3 baking trays with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Beat the golden caster sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in egg, molasses, maple syrup, and fresh ginger. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until incorporated.
3. Fold in the crystallized ginger. Cover with a plastic film and chill for 1 hour. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the sugar, and place about 2-inch apart on the prepared baking tray.
4. Bake until the cookies are just firm to the touch, about 12 minutes or 15 minutes if you prefer them crisp. Transfer the ginger snaps to wire racks and let cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Linzer cookies based on traditional Austrian Linzertorte, are one of the common Christmas cookies in Germany. They are nutty, rich and SWEET. Traditionally they are filled with black currant jam, but any other fruit preserves can be used to fill the cookies. Rather than almonds, nuts such as hazelnuts, pecan, can be substituted to make Linzer dough.

Created in Linz, Austria in the 17th century, the Linzer torte is the world's oldest torte recipe. Tortes use nuts rather than flour as the main dough ingredient. The Linzer torte features an almond-based crust filled with black current preserves and topped with a lattice crust. In the 19th century, the Linzer torte was adapted into the present-day Linzer cookie.

Recipe adapted from Spitzbuben mit Gluehweingelee

Mulled Wine Jelly	Cookie Dough
1 Orange 100 ml Red wine 180 g Canning sugar (3:1) 2 Star anises 1 Cinnamon stick 3 Cloves	200 g Butter, cut into small pieces 100 g Sugar Pinch of salt 1 Egg yolk 150 g Ground almond 180 g Plain flour 1/2 tsp Spekulatius spice, optional Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Cut the orange into halves, put the half of the orange face down on the juicer and rotate it to get the juice. Place orange juice, red wine, canning sugar, star anises, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for about 4 minutes. Strain the jelly through a sieve. Set aside.
2. Beat butter, sugar, pinch of salt and egg yolk until combined. Add in ground almond, spekulatius spice and flour. Mix all the ingredients together with your hands until you have smooth dough. Flatten the dough into a 5-inch disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
3. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Roll out the dough into a 4mm thick round between 2 sheets of wax paper. Cut 2-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place them on the prepared trays. With half of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or flower shaped cutter.
4. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread mulled wine jelly thinly on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together. Fill the holes with little more jelly. Store them in your cookie box, separating the layers with waxed paper, and store for up to 2 weeks.

It is always preferable (and more affordable) to use the seasonal produce, so I promise you that this wouldn't be the final pumpkin recipe. :-)) So please do bear with me with all my repetitious pumpkin recipes.

• 470 g Spelt #630 flour©angiesrecipes
  
• 7 g Instant dried yeast
  
• 360 g Roasted butternut pumpkin puree
  
• 30 g Milk
  
• 30 g Maple syrup
  
• 80 g Walnut oil
  
• 1tsp Salt
  
• 80 g Mature sourdough starter
  
• 1 Egg white, well-beaten
  
• Poppy and sesame seeds

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together splet flour and instant dried yeast. Make a well in the center and add in the pumpkin puree, milk, maple syrup, walnut oil and salt.
   
2. Mix on the slow speed until all the ingredients blended. Then increase the speed and knead on medium until dough forms. Now lower the speed, and gradually add in the sourdough starter and knead it into the dough, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic in appearance. The sourdough starter here adds extra depth of flavor and moisture, and also speeds the fermentation slightly even in dough using the usual amount of instant yeast.
   
3. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a little walnut oil, return the dough ball, and cover with a plastic wrap. Leave it at room temperature for 1 hour or until it’s doubled in size. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Punch down the dough, knead briefly and cut into two 200 grams pieces and four 160 grams pieces.
   
4. Shape two 200 grams of dough each into a round and place them in a loaf pan lined with a baking paper. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and proof for 45 minutes until doubled. To make the braid, form each of four 160 grams of dough into strands of about 25-cm in length, tapered so the center of each piece is thicker than the ends. Pinch the 4 strands together at one tapered end. Cross strand 1 over strand 3, strand 2 over strand 3, and strand 4 over strand 2. Repeat until you get to the end of the strands. Pinch all loose ends together. Now pinch two tapered ends together and place it into a 18-20 cm greased springform pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and proof for 45 minutes until doubled.
   
5. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Once the dough has doubled, brush the tops of two loaves with well-beaten egg white and sprinkle the poppy or sesame seeds atop. Make a cross on the top of rectangular loaf and bake in the center of the preheated oven for 35 minutes until golden brown.

What would AUTUMN be without pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread or pumpkin cheesecake? I like to add nuts to the cheese filling, just to have something to chew on while enjoy the creaminess of the cheesecake. If you prefer yours without, then leave the walnut praline out. The cheese I used for the recipe is called "Quark©angiesrecipes", a type of fresh cheese, which is made by warming soured milk until the desired degree of denatured proteins and then strained. Quark usually contains much lower fat than the cream cheeses and has no salt added.
Feel free to replace it with other type of fresh cheese, like fromage frais or cream cheese.

Praline	Crust
100 g Granulated sugar 50 g Chopped walnuts	70 g Butter, diced 3 tbsp Brown sugar 120 g All-purpose flour
Filling	Topping
550 g Quark cheese ©angiesrecipes (or Fromage frais)at room temperature 120 g Brown sugar 2 tbsp All-purpose flour 450 g Pumpkin puree©angiesrecipes 1 tsp Vanilla 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp Ground ginger 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg 3 Eggs	200 g Sour cream 1 tbsp Sugar

1. For praline, line a baking sheet with foil. In a heavey skillet place the 100 grams of granulated sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the skillet occasionally until sugar begins to melt. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the chopped walnuts and cook until sugar is golden brown and walnuts are toasted. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading with a wooden spoon as thin as possible. Cool and chop the cooled praline into smaller pieces. Place 1/3 of the chopped praline in a blender container and process until ground. Store them in separate boxes in fridge until ready for use or up to 1 week.
   
2. For crust, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until softened. Add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Sift in the flour. Beat at slow speed just until combined. Press the dough onto the bottom and 4cm up the side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake the crust in a 190C/375F oven about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool crust on a wire rack while preparing filling.
   
   
3. For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat quark cheese, 120 grams of brown sugar, and the flour with an electric mixer on a medium speed until combined. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Beat until combined. Add in eggs and beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the coarsely chopped walnut praline pieces, reserving the powder for the topping.
   
4. Pour the filling into the crust and return to the oven. Bake in a 190C/375F oven for 40 minutes or until center appears nearly set. In a small bowl combine sour cream and granulated sugar. Spread over top of cheesecake.
   
5. Cool cheesecake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Use a small metal spatula to loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool completely and chill, covered, in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle the ground praline over the sour cream topping.

Autumn is the season for pumpkin recipes. So here is another one, which comes from one of my favourite baking source Dr. Oetker Backen A-Zangiesrecipes. This deliciously soft yeast-risen pumpkin bread is a great alternative to the moist, dense pumpkin quick bread, which is leavened with baking powder or/and baking soda.

• 300 g Hokkaido pumpkinangiesrecipes, peeled and seeded
  
• 45 ml Water
  
• 3 tbsp Milk, lukewarm
  
• 2 tbsp Honey
  
• 100 ml Olive oil
  
• 3/4 tsp Salt
  
• 500 g German #550 flourangiesrecipes
  
• 15 g Fresh yeast

1. Cut the pumpkin flesh into small dices. Place them in a pot with water over medium heat. Cook until soft and puree the pumpkin with a blender.
   
2. First add milk, honey, olive oil, salt and pumpkin puree in the pan of your bread machine. Then add in flour. Make a dry well in the center and add the yeast to the well. Program the bread machine the "Dough" cycle.
   
3. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press it down to flatten. Form the dough into a roll and place into a greased 30cmx11cm loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Make a 1cm deep slash in the center along the length of the dough. Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the bread pan and cool on a rack.

It simply isn't Christmas in Germany without flat, crunchy and richly spiced Spekulatius. Traditionally Spekulatius are moulded into shapes with a small Christmas design on the surface. Well, those wooden Spekulatius forms are not cheap at all, so I have decided to use X'mas-themed cookie cutters to make these cookies. You can garnish the cookies with colourful sugar icings, or with confectionery coatings made with couverture chocolate, to decorate your X'mas tree, or table center.

500 g All-purpose flour, sifted 4 g Baking powder 2 g Baking ammonia / Hirschhornsalzangiesrecipes 200 g Sugar 1 pack / 8 g Vanilla sugar 2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Almond extract 100 g Almond, ground 1/3 tsp Cardamom, ground 1/3 tsp Cloves, ground 1 tsp Cinnamon, ground

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and ammonia. Make an indent in the middle and add eggs, sugar, spices and extract, and combine all into a thick dough. Cut in the cold butter and together with the ground almonds and knead it well to form a smooth dough. If the dough is still sticky, then wrap and rest it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Roll out the dough into 3mm thick circle and cut out the cookies with favourite Christmas cookie cutters. Place them onto greased baking sheet and bake until starting to brown, about 10 minutes. When cool, store cookies in an air-tight container. Decorate the cookies with sugar icings as desired.

Those are the non-baked modern mooncakes. They resemble the traditional one with modifications. Traditional mooncakes are made with oil (usually lard), and plenty of sugar. "Ping Pei" means "chilled crust", which is comparatively easier to make than the baked ones.

140 g Glutinous rice powderangiesrecipes 50 g Short grain rice powderangiesrecipes 110 g Wheat starchangiesrecipes 80 g Caster sugar 80 g Sweetened condensed milk 400 ml 10% Unsweetened condensed milk / Evaporated milk

60 g Shortening 3 g Unsweetened cacao powder 3 g Matcha green tea powder 500-600 g Bean paste, homemade or storebought 2 tbsp Glutinous rice powder

1. Stir together rice flours, wheat starch, sugar, sweetened and unsweetened condensed milk in a bowl. Steam the mixture for 30 minutes on high heat. Remove and cool briefly aside. Rub in the shortening and mix until the dough is smooth and soft.
   
   
2. Divide the dough into two portions and divide one of them again into half. Mix cacao powder with one and matcha with the other until combined. Divide each flavour of dough into 28 portions. Prepare the filling too into 28 portions. Microwave two tablespoons of glutinous rice powder with strong heat for about 1 minute until cooked.
   
   
3. Dust the mooncake mouldangiesrecipes and tap to remove excess rice flour. Take one portion from each 3 colours of dough and combine them into a round. Flatten out the dough and center the filling. Seal and shape into a ball. Lightly coat the surface with prepared cooked glutinous rice flour. Press each into mooncake mould and then push lightly out on a serving plate. Cover tightly with plastic film and chill for 1-2 hours.

Mooncake is a Chinese confection that is traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, although they can be eaten at other times of the year as well. Traditional mooncakes are typically baked and consists of a thin tender skin enveloping a sweet and slightly oily filling, like lotus seed pasteangiesrecipes, bean paste, jujube pasteangiesrecipes, sesame paste, and many other kinds.
Besides its significance in Chinese history, mooncakes play an important role in August Moon gatherings and gift giving. These palm-sized round cakes symbolize family unity and perfection. Some mooncakes have a golden yellow egg yoke in the center which looks like a bright moon. They usually come in a box of four and are packaged in tin boxes with traditional Chinese motifs.

Traditional mooncakes have an imprint on top consisting of the Chinese characters for "longevity" or "harmony" as well as the name of the bakery and filling in the moon cake. Imprints of a moon (月亮), a woman on the moon(嫦娥), flowers(花), vines(藤), or a rabbit(玉兔) may surround the characters for additional decoration.

This crust has a reddish-brown tone and glossy sheen. It is the most common type of crust used on Cantonese-style mooncakes. It is also the most commonly sold in many western countries. Chewy mooncake crust is made using a combination of inverted sugar syrup, lye water, flour, and oil, thus giving this crust its rich taste and a chewy yet tender texture.

Nobody actually knows when the custom of eating moon cake of celebrate the Moon Festival began, but one relief traces its origin to the 14th century. At the time, China was in revolt against the Mongols. Chu Yuen-chang, and his senior deputy, Liu Po-wen, discussed battle plan and developes a secret moon cake strategy to take a certain walled city held by the Mongol enemy. Liu dressed up as a Taoist priest and entered the besieged city bearing moon cake. He distributed these to the city's populace. When the time for the year's Chung Chiu festival arrived, people opened their cakes and found hidden messages advising them to coordinate their uprising with the troops outside. Thus, the emperor-to-be ingeniously took the city and his throne. Moon cake of course, became even more famous. Whether this sweet Chinese version of ancient Europe's "Trojan Horse" story is true, no one really known.
First lady on the moon: It is generally conceded that Neil Armstrong , the American astronaut, was the first man on moon ( he made that historic landing in 1969). But that's not necessarily the truth to Chinese, who believe that the first people on the moon was a beautiful woman who lived during the Hsia dynasty (2205-1766BC). This somewhat complicated moon-landing story goes like this: A woman , Chang-O, was married to the great General Hou-Yi of the Imperial Guard. General Hou was a skilled archer. One day, at the behest of the emperor, he shot down eight of nine suns that had mysteriously appeared in the heaven that morning. His marksmanship was richly rewarded by the emperor and he became very famous. However, the people feared that these suns would appear again to torture them and dry up the planet, so they prayed to the Goddess of Heaven (Wang Mu) to make General Hou immortal so that he could always defend the emperor, his progeny and the country. Their wish was granted and General Hou was given a Pill of Immortality. More information about Moon Cake Festival

1 g Alkali (I used Potassium Carbonate - Pottasche) 3 ml Water 78 g Inverted sugar syrupangiesrecipes 30 g Salad oil (preferable peanut oil)

105 g Plain flour (I used German #405 flour) 780 g Fillingangiesrecipes (Pastes of lotus seeds, black sesame, Chinese dates or poppy seeds) 1 tbsp Egg yolk 1/2 tbsp Egg white

1. Dissolve alkali with water in a bowl. Add in inverted sugar syrup and oil. Beat until thoroughly combined and emulsified. Sift in the half flour and mix to the consistency of smooth paste. Add in another half and use rubber spatula to mix the dough until it becomes as soft as your earlobe. Cover it with plastic film and set aside for at least four hours at room temperature.
   
   
2. Divide dough and filling into 12 portions, each about 17 grams and 65 grams respectively. Flatten a portion of the dough in the palm of your hand and center the filling. Gently push the dough upward from all sides with two hands until all the filling are fully covered. Extend the dough with constant strength to so that the filling can be completely and evenly enclosed. Rub into a ball and coat thinly with flour. Dust the mold with flour and pour off the excess.
3. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F. Stir the egg yolk and white in a bowl until combined. Set aside. Place the filled packet, seam side up, in the floured mold. Press firmly to obtain the clear imprint of the mold and push down the imprinted mooncake onto a baking tray.
   
   
4. Lightly spray the surface of the mooncakes with water and bake for 5-7 minutes on the upper rack of the hot oven. Once the surface of the mooncakes started to appear light-coloured, remove and lower the oven temperature to 150C/300F. Brush the imprints atop the mooncakes with egg mixture and return them to the oven. Bake for 7 further minutes and take out again. Brush with egg mixture once more and return to bake for 5 more minutes until golden.
5. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Store the mooncakes in an airtight container. Mooncakes are at their best 2-3 days after baking. The recipe can be easily doubled or tripled if you want to give a thoughtful and homemade gift to your friends.

My contribution to the event "Celebrating Mother's Day" organized by Ivy.

Should we need a specific calendar day to celebrate, cherish and honour our parents? No. we shouldn't. May 10th is just one of the 365 days and appreciation can be shown in many forms throughout the year. Be having a cup of tea with your mom, or finishing the dish she cooked for you, listening to her blah-blah, watching one fav. soap TV series with her, or something, anything that might brighten her daily life. Even just being there would cheer her up.
I remember when I still lived at home with my mum and my brother, I didn't need to worry about the food, all I had to know was when the meal would be ready.
I believe this light dessert-like strawberry moussecake would really make her day, a mother's day. I now live 9000 kilometers away from her and cannot really give her the cake in person, but I will call and thank her for taking such a challenging role as a full time mother in life.
Mother's Day was not celebrated in China until the year 1997, when the day was set to raise money to help poor mothers. Since then, it has gain its popularity in the country.
The flower image I have found through google.

The flower for the Mother's Day is called "orange daylily" in English, or Wang You Cao (忘忧草) in Chinese, literally meaning "forget worries & strife plant". Still the most sold flowers are carnation.
Happy Mother's Day to All Mothers!

	Strawberry Mousse	Italian Meringue
2 round Chiffon cake, 7-inch 2 tbsp Strawberry jelly 1/2 tbsp Water	500 g Fresh strawberries 2 tbsp Inverted sugar syrup 2 tbsp Caster sugar 60 ml Water 1 tbsp Lemon juice 8 Gelatin sheets 300 g Whipping cream	100 g Golden yellow sugar 45 ml Cold water 4 Egg whites 1/3 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Lemon juice 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1. Soak gelatin sheets in a bowl of water and lemon juice for 5 minutes. Stem and rinse the strawberries. Place 2/3 of the strawberries, caster sugar and inverted sugar syrup in a blender and puree. Warm the softened gelatin with a pot of simmering water until clear and dissolved. Stir it into the strawberry puree mixture. Chill the mixture to the consistency of raw egg white.
   
   
2. Whip cream until the soft peaks are about to form. With a rubber spatula, fold the cooled strawberry mixture into the whipped cream to blend completely. Microwave the strawberry jelly and water in a small bowl for 10 seconds.
3. Place an 8-inch moussecake ring on a cake board or a serving plate. Place one disc inside the cake ring. Brush lightly with prepared glaze. (if desired, place strawberry halves or slices around the cake.) Pour half of the mousse over the cake, letting it spill over the sides. Spread the mousse in an even layer. Place second cake layer on top of mousse and brush with glaze. Pour the rest of the mousse on top and spread evenly. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight until firm.
4. Half an hour before serving time, start to prepare the meringue topping. Dissolve the sugar in water over medium heat. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture starts to boil, beat the egg whites with the salt and lemon juice until stiff peaks form. Once the syrup temperature reaches 118C/245F, pour into the whites in a thin stream, taking care not to let it run onto the whisk. Continue beating the egg whites until it has cooled to lukewarm and meringue is thick and shiny. Flavour with the vanilla extract.
5. Remove the moussecake from the fridge. Spoon Italian meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, and pipe meringue on top in a decorative manner. Brown the meringue with a kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle a few inches from surface of meringue. Lift the cake ring off. Slice and serve.

Florentines are a wonderful holiday cookie, but delightful all year round. Austrian bakers are attributed with creating these cookies although their name implies an Italian heritage.
Florentines are a delicious mixture of candied fruit (I used dried cranberries) and nuts (I used sliced almonds) with caramel, then baked. They are very often finished with chocolate on one side.

100 g Butter 100 g Sugar 3 tbsp Honey 250 ml Whipping cream 300 g Almond slices 100 g Dried cranberries, finely chopped 100 g Dark chocolate for coating, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Chop the cranberries finely. Melt butter, sugar and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the mixture turns a caramel colour, stirring occasionally.
   
2. Pour in the whipping cream and bring it to a boil. Add in chopped dried cranberries and almond slices. Lower the heat and cook until the mixture is combined and thickened.
   
3. Scoop two rounded teaspoons of the mixture on prepared baking trays and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Coat or drizzle Florentines with melted chocolate as desired. Set aside at room temperature until set.

We call these balls tangyuan or yuanxiao, which made of glutinous rice flour and can be either filled or unfilled with sweet, or savoury stuffing. Sweet fillings are basically made of sugar, nuts, seeds, or beans while minced meat and vegetables are often used the savoury filling. As a symbol of family unity and harmony in Chinese culture, tang yuan is traditionally served around Dong Zhi /winter solstice, about the time when families get together for the holidays.

The way to make tangyuan varies between northern and southern China. The usual method followed in the south is to shape the dough first into small portions, fill each with the preferred filling, and then roll into rounds. In North China, the fillings are pressed into rounds, and roll in a bowl of dry glutinous rice flour.

#Dough:	#Filling:
200 g Glutinous rice powderangiesrecipes 50 g Rice powder, short-grainangiesrecipes 210 ml Water, warm 1 tsp Matcha tea powderangiesrecipes 1 tsp Cacao powderangiesrecipes	160 g Instant black sesame powder 50 g Caster sugar 60 g Peanut butter Some water

1. In a bowl, stir the instant sesame powder with the peanut butter and some water to make a thick paste. Combine two kinds of rice flour together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add water gradually and mix until you have a soft dough. Divide dough into 4 equal portions, each about 110 grams.
   
2. Add matcha tea powder to one portion and cacao powder to another. Leave two portions uncoloured. Roll each portion out into a long strip to the same length. Place one white strip on the top of the green tea one, and the other atop the cacao strip. Slice each into two.
   
3. Stack layers, alternating white, green and cacao colours. Slice the stack into the small even portions, each about 16-18 grams. Lightly flatten each piece and place 8-10 grams of filling in the center. Seal and roll it into the ball.
   
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently drop the glutinous rice balls into the pot of boiling water and remove once they float to the top. Tangyuan can be served in either a very simple sugar wateror a bowl of red bean soup.