Muah Chee

Have you ever heard about Muah Chee?

When I was thirteen, I was obsessed. I would eat two packets for recess and maybe even bring home a third. It was glutinous rice pieces in a peanut and sugar powder. Honestly, who wouldn't love it?

Nobody.

Just look at it, ooey-gooey chewy rice-flour pieces oozing chunky peanut bits with sugar crystals.

There is a cheat way to make it, and the traditional. I would like to say I did it the traditional way because I don't believe in new-age rubbish (if you consider nuking it in the microwave 'new-age'), but frankly, I steamed it because I don't have a microwave.

Radiation waves, all that. Yada Yada. But the wait was well worth it, I'll prove it to you. Try some.

Traditional Steamed Muah Chee

Serves: 8 portions (Muah Chee can get overwhelming all at once, eight is a good size, trust me.)

Source: Small Small Baker

200g glutinous rice flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shallot oil
250ml water

75g roasted peanuts, processed into a powder
75g granulated sugar

To make shallot oil, thinly slice 1 small shallot, fry with 1 tablespoons oil till golden brown. Leave to cool.

Mix glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt, shallot oil and water in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine, make sure flour mixture is completed dissolved. Pour the mixture into a deep dish (about 8" in diameter). Steam over medium heat for about 25mins. Test the centre with a toothpick to ensure it is cooked through. Leave to cool.

Mix peanut powder and granulated sugar in a plate. When ready to serve, scoop small pieces of muah chee with a spoon and toss them in the peanut powder mixture cut with a pair of scissors with a lightly greased blade. Serve immediately.

Perfection. Chewy, Nutty, Sugary perfection.

Peanut Butter 'Cookie Dough' Balls

There are two things you must know about me. Well, amongst others.
1. I have a strong suspicion that the peanut butter i eat has started running through my veins
2. I like dried fruit even more than real fruit

So what other way than to start off my first post with these. If i were a cookie in my former life, I would have been these. No doubt.

I know that the trend recently is to use dates in everything, from cookies to granola bars. I have never ever set my eyes upon a real-like larabar, but i could imagine. I have seen recipe after recipe using blitzed up dates.

You see, I don't have dates here. Not unless you are willing to spend $20 on a 50g bag (I may love dried fruit, but not that much).

It is possible to use raisins instead, but I was afraid of failure, of dissapointment, and that my rusty old food processor will give it's final choke if i stuffed it with raisins and nuts to creamy-fy.

Until.
Until:

Third random-fact-about-Me: I spend possibly 4/5th of my awake-time on Pinterest. And now it has paid off.

The original recipe is from Chocolate Covered Katie, and I was sold. Peanut butter? Raisins? Roasted peanuts? No ingredient-I-would-have-to-ride-my-bicycle-under-the-hot-equatorial-sun-to-the-market-to-obtain?

Alright. I was willing to put my food processor's life on the line here.

Katie has an endless list of date-based bars and cookies. And this was the one I saw that used raisins in the initial recipe. My chance of failure was 50% less.

I didn't change much of her recipe. Not at all, in fact. I did not want to go horribly wrong and end up with raisin-peanut mush.

I did not. I ended up with this:

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls:
Makes: 12 'cookies'
From: Chocolate Covered Katie

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp raisins
Dash of salt
2 tbsp roasted, unsalted peanuts
1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract

Place all ingredients into a food processor and combine until smooth. You can make little cookie like I did, or even granola-bar-esque shapes.

Katie says it is sugar-free and gluten-free.

It's also leftover free, that's for sure.

Now I have something to pack in teensy little lunch-boxes just to give me a reason to go to school.