In a blink of an eye, we are now in our last week of online/home based learning. This is it. Bella will officially be done with 5th grade and Jamie with 1st grade. Time really flew by. We have been living this new normal for the past 8 weeks now. And even though I know it has been difficult for my kids, more so Bella than Jamie, they have been superb! They do what they are supposed to do when it comes to homeschooling, they help around a lot with house chores and I think we definitely appreciate each other more. I know I do.

We are spending so much of our waking hours together since they haven't been going to school. And that means cooking 3 meals a day, everyday! And I haven't even included the crazy amount of snacks these kids need! While I do stock the pantry with store bought cookies, chips and other snacks, Kian is always trying to encourage us to not consume so much snacks that has added sugar. But this mama here sometimes have sweet cravings too.

So, these Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are a great substitute. It is low in carbs because it is flourless. Almond flour aka almond meal is not type of flour actually. It is basically ground blanched almonds. I used Monk Fruit Blend as a sugar substitute and because everyone is baking at home during this pandemic, sugar free chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips were out of stock. So, I had to used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead. But you can absolutely make this a flourless and sugar free recipe if the ingredients are available to you.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup Almond Flour or Almond Meal (finely ground)
2 tbsp Monk Fruit Blend
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Xantham Gum
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1  tbsp Almond Milk
4 tbsp Chocolate Chips (of your choice)

Cooking Method
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Mix the almond flour, monk fruit blend, salt, baking soda and xantham gum very well together.
3. Dissolve the coconut oil in the microwave in short cooking times (20-30 seconds) until it is in a liquid form.
4. Add the coconut oil, vanilla extract and almond milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until a soft dough is formed. If it is too dry, you may add another 1/2-1 tbsp of almond milk.
5. Shape the dough into round cookies and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minute as they will be very soft and delicate when first taken out of the oven. The cookies will firm up once cooled.

Makes 10 small cookies.

It has been over a month since we've been staying home and social distancing. Being home has definitely inspired me to better hone my baking skills. I must admit I am not a very experienced baker and only have a few recipes under my belt. But I do enjoy the baking process. I find it rather therapeutic. And, with the desire to try and still keep our carb and sugar intake low, I have been exploring with low carb and low sugar dessert recipes.

Last week, I was looking through my pantry and discovered that I do have a handful of ingredients that I can pull together to attempt as low carb and low sugar chocolate brownie recipe. The original recipe is  keto-diet compliant but I did not have any monkfruit sweetener so I substituted with Truvia Baking Blend instead. Y'all, this Low Carb Chocolate Brownie is delicious and delightfully rich! It is not overly sweet and we liked it that way. I had reduced the amount of sugar substitute but you are welcome to add more if you prefer a sweeter version. I also baked the brownie through so it had a rich cake-like texture. I would definitely try reducing the bake time a little to achieve a fudge-like texture next time. 

Give this simple and easy recipe a go to satisfy your sweet tooth craving without having to feel too guilty.

Low Carb Chocolate Brownie
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from Fit To Serve

Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 cup Almond Flour (sifted)
3/4 cup Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend
1 oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
10 tbsp Butter
3 Large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder

Cooking Method
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and lightly grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.
2. Using a double boiler, melt the butter, baking chocolate, Truvia Baking Blend and salt.
3. Once melted, mix in the cocoa powder. Stir well until well combined and let it cool slightly.
4. Once cooled, whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
5. Add in almond flour and baking powder. Gently stir until well combined.
6. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 min. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

We are 3 days away from Mid-Autumn Festival which is on September 13 2019. Fortunately, it falls on a Friday this year. And since Bella and Jamie get to stay up a little later on Fridays, we will have more time for a traditional Chinese meal at home. Kian also returns home from his work trip in time for the festivities. So, it is perfecting timing as the family reunite over a Mid-Autumn Festival dinner. It is also our family tradition to light lanterns and enjoy mooncakes in our backyard after dinner.

Apart from buying my favorite Hong Kong brand baked mooncakes, I have also been making Snow Skin Mooncakes with Mung Bean Paste and Snow Skin Mooncakes with Red Bean Paste every year for the last couple of years now. However, this year, it is most unfortunate that my local Asian supermarket did not have any peeled split mung beans available. They were out of stock for 2 weeks! But when a door closes, another one opens. I actually found ready made red bean paste and lotus seed paste at the store. So I decided to make my snow skin mooncakes with ready made red bean paste instead. They worked out well and tasted pretty good.

I also bought the lotus seed paste and decided to try out another snow skin mooncake recipe - Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes with Lotus Seed Paste. This recipe does not require any steam cooking and hence, is a lot easier and less time consuming to make. They also seem to refrigerate better too. I also receive extremely positive reviews from Bella and Jamie. They have been enjoying the Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes with Lotus Seed Paste as an after school snack.

As with my other snow skin mooncake recipes, I recommend measuring the ingredients with a digital scale for food. All of the ingredients can be found at your local Asian supermarket.

Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, inspired by Singapore Hawker Food

Recipe
Ingredients
200g (7oz) Glutinous Rice Flour (divided)
200g (7oz) Powdered Sugar
30g (1.8oz) Shortening
A few drops of Pandan Essence
A few drops of Green Food Coloring (optional)
180ml (6 fl oz) Water
A few pieces of Pandan Leaves
1 500g (17.6oz) pkt Lotus Seed Paste

Equipment
1 50g size mooncake mold

Cooking Method
1. Divide the lotus seed paste into 30g (1oz) portions and roll them into balls. Set aside.
2. Bring water and Pandan leaves to a boil and then allow it to cool. Discard the Pandan leaves and add in Pandan essence. Mix well.
3. In a non stick pan, toast the glutinous rice flour until it turns light yellow. Divide them into 150g 5.3oz) and 50g (1.7oz) portions and set aside to cool.
4. Once glutinous rice flour is cooled, mix together 150g (5.3oz) flour, sugar and shortening. Add in Pandan water slowly and knead until a soft dough (snow skin wrap) is formed. You may use an electric mixer with a dough hook and add a few drops of green food coloring if you prefer a more intense color.
5. Divide the dough into 25g (0.88oz) portions.
6. Dust your hands, counter top and mooncake mold with the remaining 50g (1.7oz) toasted glutinous rice flour.
7. Wrap each lotus seed paste ball with snow skin wrap and seal completely. Shape it into a ball first then gently mold it into an oval.
8. Place the oval into the mooncake mold, place it on the counter top and gently push the shaping tool to shape the mooncake into the mold. Remove from mold gently.

​Makes 16 pieces

This year's summer holidays came and went by in a flash! I had taken the entire summer off from blogging and had the most wonderful time with my family traveling, boating, swimming and just about any family-fun activity there is. The kids are now settled back in school and I am feeling refreshed & excited to share with you what I have been up to all summer.

Every summer, as a fun family tradition, I try to get my kids involved in the kitchen. Inviting your kids into your kitchen to help with meal preparations or to make a special recipe not only helps them learn and refine some basic skills, it is also a wonderful way to spend quality time together. They get to explore new foods & learn about nutrition and also develop math and reading skills as they help measure and read directions.

So, for the 4th of July, we decided to bake some cookies together. This recipe is so simple & easy to follow and yet, they bake up so tender and delicious! We used red, white and blue M&M's in honor of America's Independence Day but any colors will work just fine. In fact, Bella said that we could make another batch in August with just red and white M&M's for Singapore's National Day. Orange and black would be perfect for Halloween. Orange, yellow and brown for Thanksgiving or any Fall festival party. And not forgetting Christmas with red and green. The possibilities are endless!

For more of my favorite recipes to make with kids, go to:

Gem Biscuits - These adorable "Gem Biscuits" promises fun and color in every bite! Kids will have so much fun icing the biscuits and learning about colors
Homemade Wontons - With the little extra hands helping, this batch recipe will leave you with ready made meals for days to come.
Sweet Potato Balls - A great recipe to include for Thanksgiving as the kids lend a hand and talk about what they are thankful for.

Candy Coated Chocolate Cookies
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from Robbi's M&M's Cookies

Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup Brown Sugar (packed)
1/2 cup White Sugar
1 cup Butter (cold)
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cup Candy Coated Milk Chocolate Pieces (We used M&M's)

Cooking Method
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown and white sugar together.
2. Add in eggs, vanilla extract and mix well.
3. Add in the sieved all purpose flour, baking soda and salt and mix well until a soft dough is formed. Add in 3/4 cup of candy-coated chocolate pieces and set the rest aside. Mix well.
4. Drop dough by spoon onto a baking tray. Push a few candies gently on top of each dough ball with the candies that was set aside.
5. Place the trays of dough in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 36 pieces

A couple of weeks ago, the family was invited to Bella's 3rd grade musical performance after school and we were really excited for her. Unfortunately, Kian was traveling for work and could not make it, so she was pretty disappointed. To cheer her up, I decided to take her and Jamie to an early dinner at our neighborhood Thai restaurant before the performance. They both love the dumplings and noodle dishes there.

After dinner, Bella asked to have her favorite dessert, Mango and Sweet Sticky Rice. I ordered it for them and the two of them just devoured that plate. They've always loved this dessert. Then I realized that I actually have all the ingredients at home to make this dessert! I even have the mangoes already.

So, that weekend, I decided to make it for them again at home. It really is a very simple recipe if you plan ahead of time. The glutinous rice needs to be soaked in water for a few hours or overnight in order for it to cook well. I soaked it for 5 hours that afternoon and was able to have it ready for dessert after dinner. Bella and Jamie, who are 2 of my biggest critics when it comes to food, said that it tasted so much better than the restaurant! I guess that statement says it all and I am just thrilled to be sharing this recipe with you!

Thai Mango and Sweet Sticky Rice
by Miss Crumbs A Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup Glutinous Rice (soaked in water for 5 hours or overnight)
1 cup Coconut Milk (divided)
3 tbsp Sugar (divided)
1/2 tsp Salt
Sesame Seeds for garnishing
1 large Mango (peeled and cut into thin slices)

Cooking Method
1. Wash and rinse glutinous rice well. Soak in cold water for 5 hours or overnight.
2. Drain the rice well in a sieve and transfer to a steel deep dish. Steam cook for 45 minutes or until the rice is cooked and tender. Check the water level in your steaming pot or wok occasionally and add more water when necessary.
3. While the rice is cooking, add 2/3 cups of coconut milk, 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt into a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Keep the mixture warm until the rice it ready.
4. Remove the glutinous rice from the steaming pot or wok when it is ready and stir in the coconut milk mixture into the rice. Cover the dish with a plastic wrap and let it stand for 30 min or until the mixture is fully absorbed by the rice.
5. Bring the remaining 1/3 cup of coconut milk and 1 tbsp of sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to allow it to cool and thicken.
6. Mold about 1/4 cup of the sweet sticky rice onto a plate, drizzle the rice with the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with the sliced mangoes.

Makes 4 servings

One of the fun things that I often do whenever I bake Pineapple Tarts, especially during Chinese New Year, is to make these super easy Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies with the extra pastry. They are so simple and easy to make on its own too. And it can be a fun family activity for the kids, with them helping you dip the cookies into chocolate and sprinkles.

The shortbread cookie is not too sweet and hence, goes perfectly well with the pineapple jam in the Pineapple Tart recipe, and in this case, the sweet melted chocolate and sprinkles. You may also sprinkle them with colored sugar while they are cooling too.

We made these heart shaped ones with pink and red sprinkles for Valentine's Day last month. But you can pretty much cut the cookies out into any shape and use any color sprinkles to match the occasion. You can have clover leaf shaped with green sprinkles for St. Patrick's Day or egg shaped with pastel pink, blue and yellow for Easter, just to name a few.

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
by Miss Crumbs A Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
​5 cups All Purpose Flour
4 tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Salt
​8 tbsp Powdered Sugar
2 cups Butter (4 sticks)
4 egg Yolks
Dark Melting Wafers (I used Ghirardelli Chocolate)
Colored Sugar or Sprinkles.

Cooking Method
1. Sieve flour and cornstarch into a large mixing bowl. Cut cold butter sticks into small cubes and place them into the flour.
2. Using your finger tips only, rub the cold butter cubes into the flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add in salt, powdered sugar, egg yolks and mix until a soft dough is formed. The dough should not stick to your hands. More butter may be added if it is too dry.
4. Roll out the dough till it is about 1/2 inch thick and use your choice of cookie cutter to cut out the dough and place onto a baking tray.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 min.
6. Place wafers in a top pan of a double boiler over low heat. Stir constantly until smooth and melted. Do not allow water to boil.
7. Once cookies are baked and cooled, dip them into the melted chocolate and sprinkles. Place on parchment line tray to allow them to set.

Makes approx. 100 pieces (depending on size of cookie cutter)

Sweet Potato Pie is a traditional dessert, originating in the Southern United States. It is often served during the American holiday season, especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

For our Thanksgiving dinner last week, I decided to make a Sweet Potato Pie for dessert. Sweet potatoes are also frequently used in Singaporean cuisine, often as a dessert as well, such as "Sweet Potato Soup". At times, we would simply wrap the whole sweet potato in foil and place them in hot charcoal while we grill our main meal and then have the hot, soft sweet potato as a dessert.

This Sweet Potato Pie recipe is made easy and simple with store bought pie crust and canned sweet potatoes. The pie filling was quick & easy to make and so tasty & delicious. I actually found it to be pretty light too. It did not feel too dense nor too sweet. I will definitely be making this recipe again for Christmas!

Sweet Potato Pie
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from Trisha Yearwood

Ingredients
1 29oz Canned Sweet Potato
3/4 cup Sugar (divided)
2 Eggs
4 tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Whole Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
Pinch of Salt
1 Unbaked 9" Pie Crust (I used Pillsbury)

Cooking Method
1. Drain the liquid out from the canned sweet potatoes and blend them in a food processor until a smooth puree is formed.
2. In a bowl, beat 4 tbsp butter with 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer until creamy.
3. Add in 2 eggs, 1/4 cup whole milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Mix well with the electric mixer.
4. Place pie crust in a pie dish and pour mixture in. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar with a sieve (for an even spread) over and allow the pie to stand for 10 to 15 minutes before baking (to let sugar melt).
5. Bake at 300 degrees F for 60 minutes. Cool thoroughly and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Halloween Eyeball Punch is a simple and delicious way to spook up your Halloween night with these creepy fruit eyeballs. A fun way to get the whole family involved in the kitchen with this easy recipe.

To create the eyeballs, I used the popular Southeast Asian fruit, lychee. Lychee is a small fleshy tropical fruit with a rough textured and inedible soft shell that is pinkish red. It is usually eaten fresh but with this recipe, I used the canned one as they are more readily available in supermarkets. As for the pupils, I used blueberries. I had initially planned on using blackberries but unfortunately, the lychees were not large enough as I had 'Texas-sized" blackberries. You may also consider using black seedless grapes.

This kid friendly punch is a simple mix of cranberry juice, pineapple juice and ginger ale. To make it into a adult drink, you may consider adding vodka.

Halloween Eyeball Punch
by Miss Crumbs A Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
1 20 oz can Lychees
1 cup Blueberries / Blackberries / Black grapes
10 fl oz Cranberry Juice
6 fl oz Pineapple Juice
7 1/2 fl oz Ginger Ale

Cooking Method
1. Place 1 blueberry in each lychee for it to resemble an eyeball and set aside.
2. In a pitcher, mix cranberry juice, pineapple juice and ginger ale to make the punch
3. Pour punch into glasses and add in a few blueberry-lychee eyeballs in each glass.
4. Serve chilled or with ice.

Makes 4 servings

Strawberry Mummies and Ghosts, or Straw-boo-ries! A fun and easy sweet treat that you can get your family, especially the kids involved with.

We are a week from Halloween Day and I have always felt that it is the kick start to all the holidays that follow. Fall is my favorite season of the year, it is such a festive time with Thanksgiving and Christmas not too far away. The only thing that is missing here in Houston is the consistent "real" Fall weather.

This year, one of the fun Halloween activities that I did with Bella and Jamie was to make these Strawberry Mummies and Ghosts. They are so easy to make and Bella had fun decorating them. And Jamie was hands down, the most excellent taste tester!

I used Wilton Candy Melts as the dip and got some eyeball candy and mini chocolate morsels to decorate them. All items can be found in the baking aisle of your supermarket. This is not a sponsored post. I am just sharing with you the exact brands and products that I used.

Strawberry Mummies and Ghosts
By Miss Crumbs A Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
1 lb Strawberries (rinsed and dried very well)
12 oz Wilton Candy Melts (Bright White)
1 Pkt Wilton Eyeball Candy
1/4 cup Chocolate Mini Morsels (I used Nestle Tollhouse)
Piping Bag or Ziploc Bags
Parchment Paper

Cooking Method
1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place candy melts in a stainless steel bowl over a double boiler (over a pot of hot water) on low heat. Stir constantly until it is smooth and melted. Do not allow water to boil.
3. Scoop out 5 tbsp of the candy melt and put it in a piping bag or ziploc bag for later use.
4. Dip strawberries into remaining melted candy and place it on the parchment paper lined baking tray. You may wish to allow the melted candy to drip onto the tray for the ghosts (to resemble the tail).
5. Place candy eyeballs on for the mummies and chocolate mini morsels for the ghosts.
6. Snip off the tip of the melted candy filled piping bag or ziploc bag and pipe the candy over the dipped strawberries to resemble mummy wraps.
7. Allow it to set for 30 minutes. They are best consumed on the day they are made.

Red Bean Sago Sweet Soup, a classic warm sweet soup that is typical served as a dessert at the end of a meal in Cantonese cuisine. Collectively known as "Tong Sui" literally translated as "sugar water" from Cantonese, there is a huge variety of these sweet soup desserts. Red bean soup is classic favorite.

My mom loves red bean soup. Whenever she visits us from Singapore, we would always cook a pot and she would have it for dessert after dinner and even for breakfast the next day. In Singapore, there really isn't any rule as to when you should eat certain dishes. If it is available, there is no reason why you cannot have it. Hence, it is very common for Singaporeans to have warm dessert soups or a hot bowl of noodles for breakfast.

Our family tend to enjoy red bean soup a little less thick and a little more grainy. We prefer the red beans to be just broken down and not mushy. However, if you prefer a thicker consistency, you can always use a hand blender and pulse the red bean soup a few times. I added in some tapioca sago pearls for additional texture as well.

Red Bean Sago Sweet Soup
by Miss Crumbs A Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
12 oz Red Beans or Adzuki Beans (soaked in water overnight)
4 oz Tapioca Pearl Sago
3 1/2 oz Rock Sugar
10 cups + 6 Cups Water

Cooking Method
1. Drain soaked red beans and place them in a pot. Add in 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. As the beans cook, you will need to add more water, right around 30 minutes onwards, adding up to 4 more cups, as needed.
2. In another pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add in tapioca pearl sago and cook until the pearls are translucent. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain and set aside.
3. Once the red beans a broken down and soft, add in 3 1/2 oz rock sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.
4. Stir in cooked tapioca pearl sago and serve warm. 

Serves 4