Pandan Kueh Bangkit 班兰万吉饼

小时候过年前婆婆和姑姑都会赶制年饼，从早做到晚。一部份是亲朋戚友订购的，一部份用来送礼，还有好大一部份做来自己吃。

我记得那时婆婆和姑姑制做的年饼有黄梨饼，cornflakes饼，腰豆饼和Kueh Bangkit。除了Kueh Bangkit，我每样都喜欢，那时最高兴的莫过于放学后一回到家就有新鲜出炉的年饼吃。

我不喜欢吃Kueh Bangkit，但很喜欢帮婆婆和姑姑做Kueh Bangkit。因为做Kueh Bangkit的模型有很多种，我喜欢用不同的模型切割出形状，然后用夹子夹出花纹。我还记得当中我最喜欢的模型是梅花形状的。

自从婆婆和姑姑不再制作年饼后，我就再也没有吃过Kueh Bangkit了。这么多年来我从来也没想念过Kueh Bangkit的味道，但是不知道为什么今年过年前我突然很想吃Kueh Bangkit，可能是怀念那一段童年回忆吧！

这股欲望一直缠绕着我，我想尝试做但心有余而力不足。我又不想随随便便在外面买一罐来吃，所以，在过年前几天休假时我终于忍不住做了。

我没有特地向姑姑请教配方，而是在网络上找来了一个看起来还挺简单的配方。印象中Kueh Bangkit不容易做得好，偶尔失手做出来的饼干就会硬邦邦的，没有溶在口里的口感。所以，我对第一次尝试做的成品不抱有太大希望。可能是我运气好用对了配方，第一次做的Kueh Bangkit就有那种我要的口感，一口咬下去是脆脆的，进入口里后就会变软然后溶化。

吃着吃着，我又回到童年时那段美好的时光。

Recipe adapted from here. Thanks Lily for sharing such an easy and good recipe. The outcome is fabulous, just what I want.

Ingredients: (yield about 63pcs)
225g tapioca flour*
3 pandan leaves (cut into small pieces)
30g margarine
65g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
75ml - 90ml coconut milk
1 - 2 drops of pandan paste/pandan extract
a pinch of salt

*Prepare more flour for dusting purpose (I prepared 250g – half a packet).

Method:
1) Line a large Pyrex bowl with greaseproof paper, microwave the flour and pandan leaves on high 1 min at a time for 5 times, stirring every minute. Set aside, cool completely before using.*
2) Mix coconut milk with pandan extract and salt.
3) Cream margarine with sugar and yolk till sugar dissolves.
4) Add in 75ml coconut milk and mix well.
5) Add flour to mix till non-sticky dough is formed. If dough is too dry, add more coconut milk but add 1 tsp at a time, otherwise, dough may be too sticky. Leave dough to rest covered with a damp cloth.
6) Take a quarter of the dough and roll dough on a floured table to 3/8”(this thickness is necessary to obtain a nice size cookie) and use cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Using a pincher to pinch desired designs (optional). Alternatively wooden moulds can also be used and that omits rolling the dough.
7) Bake on lined tray in preheated oven at 150C for 15 mins. Cookie should not brown.**
8) Remove to cool completely before storing.

* I do not own a microwave, so I use my oven to "bake" the flour instead. I baked at 120C for about 40 mins, stirring every 10 mins. Last round I increased the temp to 150C. Alternatively, you may "fry" the flour using a wok over low heat. At the end, the flour should be fluffy and dry, slightly yellowish.
**I only baked for 12 mins and the cookie is cooked.

Tips:
1)Taste the cookie after it has cooled down, if the center is uncooked or still soft, return to oven to bake for a few more minutes. The texture should be crispy and melt-into-the-mouth.
2) It takes quite a while for the flour to cool down completely. So you may prepare the flour the day before and keep it in airtight container after cooling down.