Holiday Inspiration - A sweet gift in POKETO bento box

Written by Shiho Masuda from https://www.shihomasuda.com

 

By now you can probably tell I love baking (the madeleines in Double Happiness Gift Wrapping were the first hint, then again in Expressing the 5 Senses in Gift Wrapping where I share how to make dry orange slices at home).

I always enjoy seeing my friends' happy faces simply lit at the sight of home baked delights. Without encouraging indulgence (too much sugar is not as healthy as we’d like it to be…!), I believe the sweet taste is almost equivalent to affection, care and an “at home” kind of feeling. One of my favorite recipes to make as a gift is Butter Cookies. Easy, quick and delicious, especially when combining butter, cocoa and matcha flavors!

I’ve included the recipe and the steps in the video, but here’s the written version just in case you want to save it: EASY BUTTER COOKIES


INGREDIENTS:

BUTTER FLAVOR (PLAIN):
Flour - 160g
Softened Butter -110g
Sugar - 60g
1 Egg Yolk

COCOA FLAVOR:
(using half of the Butter Cookie amounts)
Flour - 80g
Softened Butter - 55g
Sugar - 30g
1/2 Egg Yolk
Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) - 10g (2 tsp)

MATCHA FLAVOR:
Same amounts as for cocoa flavor, but replace the cocoa powder with Matcha powder (unsweetened) - 5g (1 tsp)

   

 

HOW TO MAKE:

For each of the flavors, mix the softened butter with sugar until creamy. Add the egg yolk and mix well. Sift the flour twice then add it to the composition, mixing well until you get a soft dough. Make into a cylinder shape, place it in an air-tight container and leave it in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 170 C (330 F). Take the dough out from the fridge and cut each of the 3 rolls in two vertical halves (on the length of the shape), resulting in 6 halves. Place the halves of two different colors together and roll into cylinder shape again, so as to obtain half of one color and half of another. Cut the dough into slices approximately 1cm (0.4”) thick and place on a non-stick baking mat. Decorate with a slice of almond then bake for 20 min (time may vary depending on your oven type, so make sure to check every now and then). After that, let cool and enjoy!

Note: In the video, I cut the doughs in half before refrigerating them, but I recommend doing so after refrigerating, so that they’re a bit more firm and easier to cut.



And what’s the best way to pack them as a gift? Check the video below! Plus, as a holiday gift from us, SHIHO Academy offers you 20% discount for “The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Furoshiki Wrapping” course with our special coupon code “BENTO20”! The coupon is valid until the end of the year - 31st Dec 2020. Don’t miss the opportunity!


SHIHO MASUDA GIFT WRAPPING ACADEMY Online Courses
https://www.shihomasuda.com/onlinecourses


SHIHO MASUDA GIFT WRAPPING Free Video Tutorials
https://www.shihomasuda.com/free-videos


Blog - A LIFETIME WITH GIFT WRAPPING
https://www.shihomasuda.com/blog