Biskut Nestum / Nestum Biscuits

If you are not from South East Asia, you may ask what the heck is Nestum? Well, it is a brand of cereal made by Nestlé very popular in Malaysia and Singapore. I think every Malaysian or Singaporean would have grown up drinking the hot cereal as a child. I love it with Milo and hot milk.

These are biscuits made using Nestum. They are very light and crispy, just nice and not very sweet, but with very aromatic Nestum flavour. I think that due to the amount of bicarbonate of soda used in this particular recipe, the biscuits turned quite brown as they baked, and made them very crispy. However I think 1/2 teaspoon of soda is just a tad too much as I can feel just that slightest hint of soapy taste after eating them. So if you are sensitive to soda, I would suggest you reduce the amount slightly, say 1/3 teaspoon instead of 1/2 teaspoon. I topped mine with red glacé cherries so they are festive for the upcoming Chinese New Year!

Makes approx. 35-40 biscuits

[Ingredients]
125g butter, softened
80g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
150g (1 cup) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarb. of soda
30g (1/2 cup) Nestlé Nestum

3/4 cup Nestlé Nestum, extra for coating
5 red glacé cherries, for topping
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[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Sift flour, baking powder and soda together and then mix in Nestum to combine; set aside. Put the extra Nestum in a wide plate for coating. Cut each glacé cherry into 8 pieces.
2. Beat softened butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in vanilla and egg until combined.
3. Add flour mixture and mix into a soft dough; the dough will be sticky.

4. Pinch 1/2-tablespoon-size dough pieces (about 10g each) and roll into balls. Toss dough balls in the extra Nestum to coat.

5. Place on the prepared baking sheets; space apart. Use the prongs of a fork to press down each ball lightly and press a cut piece of cherry on top.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Taste: Light and crispy biscuits with Nestum flavour
Consume: Best within 1-2 weeks
Storage: Store in airtight container
Recipe Reference(s): ‘Biskut Nestum’ recipe by Malaysian cookery writer Norzailina Nordin