Kuih Makmur

My family and I have always enjoyed Kuih Makmur (at home, we call it Kuih Mur) and since we were young, my 2nd sister has always been the biggest fan.

I was planning to make some for my youngest sister to bring them back to the family for Chinese New Year but as previously mentioned, I ran out of time when work took up SO much of my time in January.

I carefully browsed the Internet for recipes and it was there I found the two different types of recipes: one would use peanuts and the other, without.

I asked my sister which one would she prefer, but I already knew how I wanted mine to turn out. I was just asking her for the fun of confusing her. ;D

It came to a shock to realise that these babies require ghee (clarified butter)!

Now gee, there went my diet! =P

I referred to two (2) recipes for guidance, Kuali.com and Sunflower Food Galore's. The first attempt was a learning experience because there's just so much work involved. I never knew I needed sooo much time just to get them perfect.

The first attempt was before the Thaipusam weekend so I could bring them back to my family. I brought some to work and it was huge hit with the colleagues, although some said that they were a bit sweet.

My family asked, "Why weren't they round? Aren't they supposed to be round?"

I said I didn't know why my cookies never seem to turn out round. Seriously!

Nevertheless, that one jar I brought back was emptied within 4 days. Not too bad, eh? =)

The second attempt was 2 weeks ago, as I wanted to use up the remaining ghee. This time, I reduced the sugar and increased the milk powder. 

Unfortunately, by the time I had to roll the baked ghee balls in icing sugar, I didn't have enough for the remaining balls.

I had to add fine granulated sugar and a bit more milk powder to coat the remaining ghee balls. You can tell from the texture, can't you?

(I learned this from my colleague who brought her Kuih Makmur to work a few days after I brought mine. She told me she used fine sugar as she didn't have icing sugar at home.)

Now for this second attempt, I used superfine flour (as per Sunflower Food Galore's recipe) and at first bite, I almost swooned in ecstasy.

Seriously.

I took a second ball to reaffirm my satisfaction.

Yums.

Superfine flour makes a huge difference from the all-purpose flour and with the former, you will no doubt find yourself with guaranteed melt-in-your-mouth Kuih Mur.

Go and try them today!!

UPDATE: YOWZA! I just realised today (4th Jan 2013) that some of the images have been accidentally deleted and you haven't had the opportunity to admire these white balls as lovingly as I did. So here you go!

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p.s. these Cornflake Cookies were a hit at work, too, but I can't remember where I got the recipe. I'll let you know when I find it again!

p.p.s. I really MUST stop baking cookies soon and focus on improving my cooking instead. =)