raspberry jelly buttons

These cookies reminded me of the Knotts Berry Farm cookies I used to get after test taking in high school. They’re so delicious!! I made these with raspberry preserves and they were soooo good! I found the recipe on Never The Same Spice Twice. Stephanie’s grandma is amazing. This is her recipe 🙂

Raspberry Jelly Buttons (adapted from Never The Same Spice Twice)
4 sticks unsalted butter
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 egg yolks (my dad asked for the whites so I didn’t use them)
1 cup brown sugar
approx 1/2 cup raspberry preserves

– using a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar
– add in eggs one at a time and mix after each addition
– add in flour one cup at a time and mix
– refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes
– preheat oven to 350 degrees
– take dough out of fridge
– roll dough into small golf balls and place on silpat lined cookie sheets
– use your finger (I used a chopstick and my thumb but my thumb made the holes too big) to make a hole in the middle of the golf ball but don’t poke all the way through
– fill holes with raspberry preserve
– bake at 350 for about 20 minutes
– let cool and enjoy! 🙂

I actually made my golf balls too big and ended up with 48 cookies. The original recipe said you can get about 80-100 if you make them small so I guess I’ll try them with boysenberry preserve next time!

These were the batch where I used my thumb to make the hole. As you can tell, they were wayyyy too big. A chopstick worked perfectly for the second batch 🙂 THESE ARE SO GOOD!!! It’s funny how they remind me of high school and our STAR testing. My high school gives us snacks during STAR testing and they were always those Knotts Berry Farm cookies. To be honest, I think everyone looked forward to those cookies. These are going to be great as gifts for Lunar New Year. I opted for raspberry because it’s red and red is good luck in Chinese culture.

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Fran’s Chocolates

Most Food Network junkies will probably know what Fran’s is but it is one of the best chocolatiers in Washington. They have numerous shops in the Seattle area and these babies are delicious. I saw them on the Best Thing I Ever Ate episode with Bobby Flay. I know Bobby loves the coconut bars because it’s like an upgraded almond joy bar but I HATE almond joys. I’m not really a coconut kinda gal. In fact there is only two desserts I’ll eat with coconut. One of them is tapioca pudding with taro (sai mai lo) and the other is coconut jello. My mom makes both of them. I was browsing their website and saw that they sold boxes of chocolate for Lunar New Year. How awesome is that?! 🙂 It came with a red box and gold satin ribbon (as pictured above).

What I like about these truffles is that they’re practically bite size BUT they pack quite a punch. The sweetness, saltiness, and chocolate is just right. It’s silky smooth and delicious. I got this box for $30 not including shipping. Now most people will say that’s insane but it was for my mom for CNY so I obliged. My mom loved them. She said she likes the oolong tea truffle and the single whiskey malt truffle. I love the gray smoked salted caramels. There’s saltiness, smoky flavor, and most of all yummy caramel. These were a delicious treat for our feast yesterday!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Fran’s Chocolates

Most Food Network junkies will probably know what Fran’s is but it is one of the best chocolatiers in Washington. They have numerous shops in the Seattle area and these babies are delicious. I saw them on the Best Thing I Ever Ate episode with Bobby Flay. I know Bobby loves the coconut bars because it’s like an upgraded almond joy bar but I HATE almond joys. I’m not really a coconut kinda gal. In fact there is only two desserts I’ll eat with coconut. One of them is tapioca pudding with taro (sai mai lo) and the other is coconut jello. My mom makes both of them. I was browsing their website and saw that they sold boxes of chocolate for Lunar New Year. How awesome is that?! 🙂 It came with a red box and gold satin ribbon (as pictured above).

What I like about these truffles is that they’re practically bite size BUT they pack quite a punch. The sweetness, saltiness, and chocolate is just right. It’s silky smooth and delicious. I got this box for $30 not including shipping. Now most people will say that’s insane but it was for my mom for CNY so I obliged. My mom loved them. She said she likes the oolong tea truffle and the single whiskey malt truffle. I love the gray smoked salted caramels. There’s saltiness, smoky flavor, and most of all yummy caramel. These were a delicious treat for our feast yesterday!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Chinese New Year feast

I LOVE Chinese New Years. My mom decided to have our annual feast early this year. Today also happens to be my birthday. I love that my birthday falls on CNY week because my mama always makes good food. She makes good food regardless but sometimes I have to twist her arm for the dishes that I want. She said she’d make me roast pork (siu yuk) for my birthday and she did!!! It’s one of my favorite take-out dishes and I always order it.

This is the roast pork before my dad cut into it.

Tofu! 🙂 This version is actually dried tofu that you have to soak in water and then cook. It’s a bit time consuming but very delicious.

I’m not a fan of this dish but it makes an appearance every year. This dish has water chestnuts, pork, and some scallions. Water chestnuts taste weird. I never liked them.

This dish also makes an appearance every year. It’s vermicelli noodles cooked in soy sauce with dried shrimp and green onions.

This is “faat tai.” Basically it’s like a cupcake but it has to have the four flowers.

This dish is one of my favorites! I usually never see it unless it’s CNY. It has shiitake mushrooms, veggies, a black vermicelli like ingredient, albalone, dried scallops, and this other ingredient I don’t know the name of. I can say it in Chinese but not in English. I used to refuse to eat the black vermicelli like ingredient just because it reminded me of hair.

And last but not least, peas and carrots! Gotta have lots of veggies! 🙂

There was also a chicken but I didn’t upload the picture. The chickens that my parents buy at the butcher shop have the head on and everything so I figured it was a little too much for my blog. Thanks for reading!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

matcha green tea almond cookies

Lunar New Year is next Friday so everyone in the family is getting ready for it. We’ve been cleaning and buying different foods so we can make the annual dinner which is really more like a huge feast. I love Chinese New Year because I get to eat all sorts of goodies AND I get lai xi (red envelopes). I decided to make different types of goodies for CNY this year. Matcha green tea almond cookies were at the top of the list! 🙂

Match Green Tea Almond Cookies (adapted from Rasa Malaysia)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon green tea powder (I used a Japanese kind that my mom has. High quality would be ideal)
1/3 coarsely chopped raw almonds

– in a small bowl, stir together flour, salt, and green tea powder than set aside
– in a medium bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar until fluffy
– add dry mixture in batches (I did about 1-2 tablespoons at a time) and mix to combine after every addition
– add in chopped almonds in 3 batches and mix to combine
– pour dough onto saran wrap (make sure it’s long enough) and roll dough into a 12-14in. log about 1 1/4 inches in diameter and freeze for 30 mins.
– preheat oven to 325 degrees
– take dough out of freezer and use a sharp knife to cut 1/4 inch pieces (should yield 24 cookies)
– bake for about 15-16 minutes and let cool

It goes great with a cup of tea! 🙂 My mom was excited to see the almond pieces in my cookies. These are buttery melt in your mouth cookies. It reminds me of shortbread…only better. TRY THESE! 🙂

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

chicken noodle soup

I’ve been sick for the past week and still am. My sister took pity on me and made me delicious batches of chicken noodle soup. Did I mention how awesome it is having a sister who knows how to make good chicken noodle soup?! 🙂 It’s awesome!

Chicken Noodle Soup
1lb farfalle pasta, cooked according to package instructions
2 1/2-3 cups shredded chicken (I used rotisserie chicken from Costco)
2 stalks of celery cut into small pieces
2 stalks of carrots cut into circles
1 cup of corn (optional)
2-3 teaspoons of chicken bouillon (I used chicken pho bouillon)
3 14 oz cans of chicken broth
4-5 14oz cans of water
1/2 teaspoon dill
1-2 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (optional)

– in a large pot, add chicken broth and water
– add celery and carrots and cook until fork tender
– add corn if you’re putting it in
– add dill, parsley, salt, and pepper
– if you’re adding red pepper flakes now would be a good time
– stir soup around and bring to a boil
– once it comes to a boil, add shredded chicken and pasta
– stir to get everything combined and let it cook for about a minute or two so the broth seeps into the noodles

**I noticed that my pasta absorbed a lot of the liquid so if you make this in a big batch and don’t plan on eating all of it than leave out the pasta until you are going to eat it.

It’s a super simple recipe and it reminds me of Progresso chicken noodle soup. Only this taste better! 🙂

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Project Give: 4MS January Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Polly for winning the January giveaway! Please email me at failsweetly@gmail.com to relay your shipping information! 🙂

Fettucine Alfredo w/Chicken & Mushrooms

I’m a huge pasta junkie. I LOVE LOVE LOVE carbs. Since I usually like to take the easy way out this recipe is one of my go to’s from my college days. I like it because I can use leftover ingredients and still make a great meal.

Fettucine Alfredo w/Chicken & Mushrooms
1lb fettucine, cooked according to package instructions
2 jars (11oz) of fettucine alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli)
2 cups shredded rotiserrie chicken
12 mushrooms, washed and sliced
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (optional)

– sautee mushromms in a little EVOO
– once mushrooms get some color, add in the alfredo sauce and stir
– when the mushrooms and sauce are thoroughly combined, add the chicken
– stir the chicken into the sauce and let it come to a light boil
– add salt and pepper to taste
– add red pepper flakes if desired (it makes the pasta so much better!!)
– give it one last stir and spoon over noodles

This is literally a 30 minute meal if you cook the noodles at the same time! 🙂 College day recipes are the best.

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Cafe Dulce (Los Angeles, CA)

After my trip to the LACMA, I ventured out to Little Tokyo. I’ve been wanting to try Cafe Dulce because they’re known for their green tea and red bean donuts. I also got a maple bacon donut hole. I have to say, I’m not impressed by the donut hole. It tasted like something I’ve made before which didn’t wow me very much. I also thought they needed to use better bacon (just because I’m a bacon snob).

I got two green tea donuts, a red bean donut, and a bacon donut hole. The red bean donut tasted very light and fluffy. It had a really great mix of cinnamon and sugar. I wasn’t a fan of the filling. I was thinking it’d be traditional red bean filling and only consist of red bean but it had some weird crunchy thing in it. At first I thought it was corn but my sister said I was wrong so I still don’t know what it is! 😦

The green tea donut was a winner! 🙂 I love the custard filling because it’s not too sweet. The donut doesn’t have a overpowering green tea taste for people who don’t really like that. I did wish the taste was a little stronger just because I can handle it. My sister ate one and I shared the other with my parents. My mom also loved this one. She ate the red bean one as well but I guess it was up her alley and she actually knew what was in it.

We got Hong Kong style milk tea and I have to say…where is the boba?! I’ve never had it without boba before and it just taste weird without it. GREEN TEA DONUTS! 🙂 There were plenty of sushi restaurants and bakeries to eat at but we were still full. Next time I think we’ll try a sushi place or Japanese bbq restaurant!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

The LACMA has been on my bucket list for awhile. I’ve always been meaning to go every time I’m in LA but never had the chance. Yesterday I had the trip with the big sis. It was super busy for a Sunday and there were tons of art to see. I think one of the most famous pieces there is the urban lights which is close to the sidewalk on Wilshire Blvd.

I love the lights. It was hard to get a good angle because EVERYONE was snapping pictures.

I thought this piece was awesome. I wanted to take a cool picture but there were tons of kids running through. Basically it’s like yellow string and you can play in it.

This is the fountain by the Bing Theatre.

I thought this piece was pretty rad. It almost doesn’t look like art.

Another one of the fountain!

Different angle for this piece. This picture was taken on the bottom floor.

Good ole California palm trees. I love Wilshire Blvd! You can see them for miles.

More lights. This was taken earlier in the day.

This was taken in the afternoon after we had lunch at Ray’s.

It’s a lot prettier at night but it’ll do 🙂

One of the many reasons why I love California. I just need a sunset to go with this picture!

Palm trees along Wilshire Blvd.

A ton of food trucks across the street from the museum.

Up close and personal!

Hope you liked all my pictures! 🙂 We also made a trip to Little Tokyo in LA so more pics soon.

Fail Sweetly,
Justina