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Friday, January 27, 2006
Pineapple tarts
It is a custom of sorts for my family to bake cookies every Chinese New Year, especially pineapple tarts. As a young girl I would often go to the kitchen a week or so before Chinese New Year to find my aunt, grandma and mom baking cookies of all sorts. The one which fascinated me the most was the making of pineapple tarts. Not the sort where they roll up the dough with the pineapple jam in the middle, mind you (I HATE those), I mean the kind with a base shaped like a flower with the jam on top. Many times while I was growing up I would stand there beside them, with eyes wide open, watching them make the dough, roll it, press in the cookie cutter, place it on the tray, fill it with pineapple jam and decorate the top. I would often whine, "lemme heeelpppp" to no avail, as my aunt/grandma/mom would just shoo me away saying that I was too young to help out. When I DID grow up, however, all I ever got to do was to help make the dough, fill in the jam and decorate the top. Noone would let me use the cookie cutter because "you have no experience, and we don't want the cookies to look ugly", although if I was lucky, I got to make one or two.
As the years passed by, we started making less and less cookies, because my aunt, grandma and mom were growing older and making cookies became a hassle, and simply because it was easier (and tastier) to buy cookies from vendors. Gradually the only cookies we were making at all were pineapple tarts, mostly because I insisted on having them.
Then last year the inevitable happened.
"We're not making any pineapple tarts this year," my aunt annouced.
"WHAT??!" I exclaimed.
"We have too many other things to do. Plus if you haven't noticed, we're all getting too old for this."
"But....but....I can help out!!" I whined.
"Do you have the time?"
I thought about my magazine schedule, and shook my head sadly.
"Too bad then."
I was pretty miserable. Sure, we bought pineapple tarts from the shops, but they were all the kind I hated. No one made the kind we do anymore.
This year, my aunt asked me if I wanted to bake pineapple tarts. I told her hell yes.
"But would you have the time?" she asked again.
I thought about my magazine schedule again. "Probably not," I said sadly.
"Well, what about if we make them on Chinese New Year eve? You think you'll have time then? We won't be making a lot, probably just enough for ourselves."
My eyes lit up. The magazine would probably be done by then. I said yes.
Few days ago, when I got home from work I spied freshly made pineapple jam in the kitchen and smiled. We managed to close the magazine quite early as well, so I took a day off to bake the cookies.
This morning I struggled to get out of bed. "Wake up!" my aunt exclaimed. "You said you were going to bake the cookies, weren't you? And didn't you have to drop by the office?"
"Mmmmmm," I moaned.
After I eventually got up and dropped by the office and came back, she was sitting in the kitchen with the dough, jam, rolling pin and cookie cutter on the table.
"I made the dough while you were gone," she said. "At the rate that you're 'helping out', the cookies will only be done by night." She sprayed some flour on the table. "You're going to have to do everything by yourself, I have other chores to attend to. I'll help out later after I'm done."
I nodded and starting rolling the dough flat. Then I stared at it. "Is it too thick?" I asked.
She sighed. "Just make one, and then judge by yourself. If you think it's too thick, then just flatten it out a bit more before you make the next one."
I nodded again and pressed out one using the cookie cutter. Yup, it was too thick. I flattened out the dough a bit and pressed another one out. Much better. Some time later I had filled up a tray, and proceeded to fill it up with jam and decorate the top.
By the evening, we had managed to make enough pineapple tarts to fill about a jar and three quarters. My fingers hurt from pressing the cookie cutter (it was the wood and metal kind), but I was happy. I had my pineapple tarts.
As the years passed by, we started making less and less cookies, because my aunt, grandma and mom were growing older and making cookies became a hassle, and simply because it was easier (and tastier) to buy cookies from vendors. Gradually the only cookies we were making at all were pineapple tarts, mostly because I insisted on having them.
Then last year the inevitable happened.
"We're not making any pineapple tarts this year," my aunt annouced.
"WHAT??!" I exclaimed.
"We have too many other things to do. Plus if you haven't noticed, we're all getting too old for this."
"But....but....I can help out!!" I whined.
"Do you have the time?"
I thought about my magazine schedule, and shook my head sadly.
"Too bad then."
I was pretty miserable. Sure, we bought pineapple tarts from the shops, but they were all the kind I hated. No one made the kind we do anymore.
This year, my aunt asked me if I wanted to bake pineapple tarts. I told her hell yes.
"But would you have the time?" she asked again.
I thought about my magazine schedule again. "Probably not," I said sadly.
"Well, what about if we make them on Chinese New Year eve? You think you'll have time then? We won't be making a lot, probably just enough for ourselves."
My eyes lit up. The magazine would probably be done by then. I said yes.
Few days ago, when I got home from work I spied freshly made pineapple jam in the kitchen and smiled. We managed to close the magazine quite early as well, so I took a day off to bake the cookies.
This morning I struggled to get out of bed. "Wake up!" my aunt exclaimed. "You said you were going to bake the cookies, weren't you? And didn't you have to drop by the office?"
"Mmmmmm," I moaned.
After I eventually got up and dropped by the office and came back, she was sitting in the kitchen with the dough, jam, rolling pin and cookie cutter on the table.
"I made the dough while you were gone," she said. "At the rate that you're 'helping out', the cookies will only be done by night." She sprayed some flour on the table. "You're going to have to do everything by yourself, I have other chores to attend to. I'll help out later after I'm done."
I nodded and starting rolling the dough flat. Then I stared at it. "Is it too thick?" I asked.
She sighed. "Just make one, and then judge by yourself. If you think it's too thick, then just flatten it out a bit more before you make the next one."
I nodded again and pressed out one using the cookie cutter. Yup, it was too thick. I flattened out the dough a bit and pressed another one out. Much better. Some time later I had filled up a tray, and proceeded to fill it up with jam and decorate the top.
By the evening, we had managed to make enough pineapple tarts to fill about a jar and three quarters. My fingers hurt from pressing the cookie cutter (it was the wood and metal kind), but I was happy. I had my pineapple tarts.
Published by: whiterabbit # 1/27/2006 10:58:00 pm 
Comments:
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I *demand* to try some of those pineapple tarts >:DD
# Commented by:
: Saturday, January 28, 2006 6:16:00 pm
: Saturday, January 28, 2006 6:16:00 pm
They won't be as nice anymore by the time we get back to the office :p Not to mention there might not be any left, because we made so little, and I effectively gave the three quarters to my boyfriend T_T
i love your family's pineapple tarts!!! I MISS THEM! yea i hate the ones with the rolled up dough tooo...nasty! sigh...so sad hor...old traditions dying. You better learn the damned recipe so you can make for me next time.
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# Commented by: : Monday, January 30, 2006 9:04:00 am
: Monday, January 30, 2006 9:04:00 am<< Home