CNY cookies- Pineapple tarts

This is my favourite pineapple tart receipe. Have been making them for the past few years, and the girls seem to like them. Blossom has been requesting them to be packed in her lunchbox for her recess in school.

The receipe, adapted from Oi Lin as follows:

• 280g butter (cold)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 360g plain flour
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 450g pineapple filling (i bought ready-made ones)
• egg glaze: 1 egg yolk with 5 drops of water

Method:

1. Sift flour (I omitted this step) and sugar. Mix well
2. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture
3. Use fingertips to rub the butter into the flour.
4. Beat the egg yolks and add vanilla essence. Pour them into the butter mixture. Knead to form a dough. Wrap the dough in clingwrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
5. Pinch about 1/2 tablespoon of pineapple paste and roll into a ball. Similarly pinch about 1/2 tablespoon of dough. Wrap the ball with the dough.
6. In a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, place the balls with some spacing in between.
7. Brush egg glaze over the top of the balls.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 190 deg celsius for about 15 minutes

The texture of the tart is really melt-in-the mouth. The smell of the butter when the tarts are in the bake is truly heavenly. We like our pineapple tarts closed as it retains most of the moisture in the tart.

I am submitting this to the Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favourite CNY cookie (January 2011), hosted by J3ss Kitch3n

Wishing everyone a lucky and prosperous Lunar New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!