CNY 2018 - RUB-IN METHOD CHEESY PINEAPPLE BALLS

I happened to have many pineapple tarts recipes in hand.  After reading through, discovered that all is about the same with just a little variation.  I have not tried the cheesy type, so here is one of them.  Some  recipes use Parmesan cheese while others use cheddar cheese, but here I used cheese powder as advised by the store selling baking ingredients.

The result of these tarts aren’t the melt in mouth type but they are crispy, not crumbly or fragile but of course with the added aroma of cheese and  a little savoury in taste.

Anyway, still acceptable to my family members but honestly I prefer the melt in mouth, fragile type.   However, these cheesy pineapple balls  look cute with the design and glaze.  They are yummy, though and lovely for giveaways.

Recipe adapted from Yum Yum Magazine No. 93 with modifications

Ingredients

[makes 65 pieces]

280 gm plain flour

60 gm milk powder

20 gm cheddar cheese powder

60 gm cornstarch

60 gm icing sugar

220 gm cold butter – cubed

1 large egg yolk or 2 small egg yolks

Pineapple filling – divide into about 6 gm portion and roll into small balls

Egg yolk – lightly beaten for glazing

1. Sift the first 5 ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Add in the cold butter.  Use finger tips to rub in butter until mixture resembles bread crumbs. 
2. Add in egg yolk and knead into a soft and smooth dough.  Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Divide into small portions [to fit size of paper cases], wrap pineapple filling with dough.  Roll into ball and cut lines on top [with a pincer] for decoration.  Place in paper case, then brush lightly with egg glaze.  Place on baking tray.  Do the same for the remaining ingredients.
4. Bake in preheated oven at 160 degrees C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove to cool on wire rack before storing in airtight container.