Eid – Amber Hasan

Amber Makes, Baking, Christmas, Dessert, Eid, Festival, Food, Lifestyle, Recipes

Raspberry thumbprint cookies

June 23, 2020 No Comments

We love baking; we bake just when we can and we bake when we can not. The baking is usually slower in summer because we like cooler things like smoothies and trifles to beat the heat, but we make sure that there is always a jar of home-baked cookies in the pantry, regardless of the season.

By the way when I say we, it myself and my little ones.

They just need a go ahead from mommy to start, even when one cant stand the oven heat in the house.

I accept I would totally do that in search of a good, sweet cookie.

Though I baked a lot of cakes when I used to bake professionally, but I am not really a cake person. I am a cookie person, I love cookies.

This recipe is the first one for cookies that I tried. I found it online many years ago and kept a printout in my recipe book. Then I misplaced that recipe book. Even frantically searching online out of my cravings, I could not find the same recipe. I tried few other recipes but they were all either too floury or not sweet enough.

Until two years ago, I found that recipe book and I found this lost treasure of a recipe.

We bake these cookies around Christmas and Eid to send to our friends and family. And these are loved by everyone.

These are rich, buttery and sweet, with just enough tang of the raspberry jam. The coconut adds more texture and a little crunch in the flour base.

PS: I would love to give credit for this so if you do know/find the link, please reply in the comments section

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 stick unsalted butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
raspberry jam

DIRECTIONS:

1- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the coconut, baking soda, and salt. In a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle, or using a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla, scraping the side and bottom of the bowl. Beat in the dry ingredients at medium-low speed. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

2- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and bake for 12 minutes. Make a dent in the cookies; fill with jam and bake for about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

RECIPE NOTES:

Though the recipe calls for a total of 22 minutes of baking time, I bake for 8 minutes, then make dents, fill in jam and then I bake an additonal 5 minutes. Once the cookies cool down, the texture is perfectly balanced between soft and chewy. These tend to get hard if over-baked, so as always less is better.

These cookies never lasted in the pantry for more than a week so I am unable to tell you how long these will stay good.

The dough seems to get difficult to handle and the cookies flatten out when it stays on room temperature for a while. I take out in portions, roll while it is still cold and hard and then take out more.

Amber Writings, Canada, Children, Desi, Eid, Family, Islam, Lifestyle, Thoughts

What touched my heart today!

July 1, 2016 No Comments

Unlike the common media (racist) perception, Masjids aka mosques are not places of extremism. Okay may be some are, but most are not. We talk more about donations, charity, matrimonial issues and “where did you get this dress from?” then about “Lets kill some non Muslim” or “Lets blow ourselves”

I myself try to avoid masjid because of number 3. The unstoppable restless soul that he is, he does not let me pray in peace and I do not want to spoil other’s Salah too. Hence I avoid.

Today is Juma tul Wida, A very special day which means it is the last Friday of Ramadan. Friday being a special day for believers, and then the last Friday of Ramadan, the most special month, and the last 10 days of the blessed month. What more can one ask for.

Like anyone I know, I also wanted to go. But then what about number 3?

Luckily the closest masjid, which has one of the most pleasant and humble persons as Imam, Syeda Khadija Centre, broadcasts live prayers and sermons.

PM Trudeau at Syeda Khadijah Centre during Ramadan 2015

And today’s sermon by this absolutely gracious man, was so so simple, and so close to my heart, I have previously written about it as well, and so I had to share.

I made number 1 and number 2 sit with me and listen to it as well. And when later I asked them to tell me 1 point each out of what they heard, they could just do it like that. I would leave the religious stuff out of it and would only share the one that is general applicable for us all.

Internet is the biggest terror of our times:

I am a social media junkie. With or without intention, I just keep flipping through pages after pages. And I am sure most of us are. Most of the material on internet is not certified, but presented in a way that it looks more like news then unfiltered information. Parents instead of reading books to their kids or singing lullabies, prefer to hand them a smart phone or tablet that the child is then glued to.

Quote “What happened in Turkey is heart wrenching. No Muslim I know, would even think of doing something as horrendous as blowing himself and in turn taking innocent lives. Turkey is one the very few Muslim countries that have managed to keep balance between religion and modernity. And they kill these innocent people. And we all see these videos of mass brutality on our smartphones and then share them. 50 people die and all we care is to share the video of the suicide bomber. One sister texted me to pray for her son, who left home, saying I do not follow this hateful religion any more and I am leaving it. So she asked him, how do you know it is hateful? Where did you learn about it? Did you go to a scholar? And he replied Internet. So I request all you IT people to help our children and find some substitute. We were a generation of inventors and thinkers. And now we are all limited to consumers.”

Donate what you want for yourself:

I personally know that people around usually give old clothes and shoes and stuff in charity. Old, chipped plates, used toys, stained furniture. Unless it is specifically mentioned, no one gives new, packed stuff. And then we brag “Oh I dropped three garbage bags full of goodies at the donation box” or “Oh All my kids old toys go to the refugees” I have witnessed people actually looking for a toonie at the masjid when the donation box comes when their skin is hardly visible out of all the gold that they are wearing.

“Do not give rotten, basement bound stuff in donation. You have forty thousand dollars extra, lying in your account and your brother’s house is being sold on foreclosure because he could not pay will not help you. Do not give away ripped t-shirt and faded trousers in the name of donation. If you buy your suit from Harry Rosen or Gap or whatever, buy a new t-shirt or a pair of shoes and that would be an acceptable donation. If you like biryani for yourself, do not give away rotten, stale rice to a shelter.”

Baking, Canada, Children, Desi, DIY, Eid, Food, Lifestyle, Pakistan, Recipes

Present-Surprise Sugar Cookies

July 29, 2015 No Comments

Since birth I have a little issue, a teeny tiny bug that always reined me towards the paths less travelled. I always found different things better. The price tag(read obstacles, hardships) was not the matter, never was. It was always the worth of that different thing for me that made me steer into that direction, regardless of the opposing forces.

Okay enough bragging Amber…

This Ramadan had been a very very busy one, thanks to my 18 month old little labbittt who has this unending, never tiring, not to mention unnerving energy to keep the chores coming in for me. I still managed to do doe crafts and test my skills.

Every year for Eid I try to offer my cake-shop customers something new, something unique, something different. It works for me both ways. One that my customers are happy to find goodies that are otherwise rare or entirely unavailable at other places. Second, I make extra batches and keep them for family and friends so they enjoy a different treat every time. And above all, I get to hear “My mom is the bestest baker with the bestest idea” and trust me nothing beats that!

So while I was on my mission to explore, create or remake something different, I sought help from Google Mamoo(Mom’s brother) As always Mamoo Jan did not disappoint me and brought me a horde of different images and recipes. But I was still looking for something different, yet easy because my baby-yes that says it all.

I had time constraint, plus the energy constraint as the hot summer fasts were about 17-18 hours long and for a person like me who misses about 70% of the sehris, it was a difficult task when mixed with other chores.

And then I struck gold. While I was going through the same colourfully designed cookies that are hours of back breaking labor and delicate crafting, I came across this amazing love-at-first-sight treasure box kind of cookies. The ones that are sure to spark excitement as they slide those little basked lids and smiles when they actually reach those candies tucked inside! Its a win!

You know Eid for Muslims is like Christmas for Christians. Damn I sound such mommy-like.Well, living in a foreign land, it sometimes gets really difficult for parents like myself to keep our children focused. They see all these glamorous and sparkling festivals like Easter and Halloween and Christmas-thanks to the Corporate cycle though. And we tell them, we celebrate Eid. Okay what is Eid Mamma? Oh that boring day back home where you spend the entire Chaand raat either getting Mehndi(Henna) done or just having fun on the streets, and then you offer Salah in the morning and then hit the sack for the entire day. Then wake up in the evening and go see some relatives or eat out etc?

Nay!!

We got to make sure that our Eid here is as sparkly and shiny as our neighbours Christmas or Halloween is. To tell them little minds that ours is a beautiful religion and it gives us all the more chance to celebrate all the beautiful festivals just like any other religion.

So we here, thousands of kilometres away from our roots, try to make every possible effort to make their faith strong and their identity positive, while still maintaining their innocence and happiness. Since I always tell them that Eid is like our Christmas, hence the presence of all the shiny wrapped presents and if not then something that is close. Which is why the thought of these baked beauties just made my day!

I replaced Skittles from the original recipe with jelly beans. I also had the chance of a life time to research Twizzlers. And boy am I happy. The Pull n’ Peel Cherry flavoured Twizzlers are to only OU Kosher, but are also approved as vegan edible candy.

I got small braided baskets from Dollarama and lined those with gold coloured paper. I placed the cookies inside and left it uncovered so when the baskets were handed over, the kids were actually jumping to explore whats wrapped inside the treasure boxes. Unfortunately I could not get proper pictures of the finished baskets but just this random one from my iPhone that I took to send to hubby and even that I forgot to send to him.

Recipe adopted with thanks from Erica’s Sweet Tooth

[yumprint-recipe id=’1′]

Canada, Desi, Eid, Family, Festival, Islam, Pakistan, Religion, World

Of Hilals and sightings

July 17, 2015 No Comments

I just read on Facebook: Quote: “It is haraam to fast on Eid, yet half of the Muslims are fasting today. It is a major sin to leave a Farz Roza(fast) and yet half of the Muslims are celebrating Eid. Who is answerable for this?”

Ramadan this year started without much of a confusion. Muslims all over the world generally observed 1st Ramadan on June 17th. Even my neighbours who are from Middle East and usually follow festivals as per back home, were pleasantly surprised that Pakistanis, Indians, Arabs and Muslims in general in the neighbourhood were celebrating Ramadan together which is very rare.

Last night was the 29th of Ramadan and about 80% people were sure that 1st Shawwal would fall on Friday July 17th and Eid ul Fitr would be celebrated.

However, about 15 minutes after Iftaar, Hilal Committee of Toronto announced that there was no sighting of moon and hence we shall have 30 blessed days of Ramadan and Eid would be on Saturday July 18th.

I was surprised, yet happy and satisfied. There is no point in celebrating Eid or any festival just because people back home are celebrating it. Called a couple of relatives, informed them and the feeling was mutual.

And there was this chaos on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp. Women telling each other on groups that they are wrong. Endless fights. Then someone tweeted from Hilal Committee’s Twitter handle after midnight that they are reverting their decision and Eid shall be Friday July 17th.

CKGFk4aVEAAbZBW — Courtesy: Naheed Mustafa

Few minutes later they tweeted that the account was hacked by someone and the tweet was falsely sent. and that there is no change in decision. While Social Media was abuzz with people posting news of moon sightings in Edmonton and California and hence emphasizing that Eid should be on Friday, some parts of USA including Houston, Miami, Newyork, Philadelphia were already preparing for Eid on Friday as for them it was decided from about a month before.

I wonder why there has to be so much division on such a small issue. Isn’t Eid supposed to be a blessing from Allah SWT for the faithful after fasting for 30 days. Why can’t here be unity? Why can’t ISNA and HSCNA and all the big wigs get together and find a solution for this?

And imagine the sorry state of affairs when I visited ISNA website just moments earlier, the main banner wished Eid Mubarak, while the date mentioned it was still 30th Ramadan. Sigh!

I am no scholar; just an ordinary Muslim who does not want to be divided in two parts because half of the family is celebrating Eid one day and the other half on the other. I do not have the knowledge to decide which Masjid is right and which distance parameters does my residence fall in. I, as a Muslim follower, do put my faith in these scholars and they can’t just get away with decisions just so it is easy to book the halls for Eid prayers in advance or because the other group follows some other school of thought.

Time has moved, advanced. Let us not give others any chance to ridicule us. Eid is Allah’s blessing. Let it be that!