Spiced oats cookies

When I lady baked a batch if butter cookies, the hubby wanted oats cookies. This one is for him!

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 cup maida

1/4 cup granulated sugar*

2 tbsp butter

2-3 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp ginger powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder

A pinch of salt

1/4 cup raisins 

Method:

Mix the oats, flour and sugar well. Add the spices and mix well. 

Add the butter, and mix well till crumbly. 

Add milk one spoon at a time, mixing well. 

Add the raisins and mix well. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175 degrees. 

Grease the baking tray. Till the dough into balls, flatten and place on the baking sheet. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking to ensure it doesn't burn. 

Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. 

Chai cookies

I love chai, and when I saw a recipe for chai flavoured cookies, I just had to try it out. The first attempt was a bit of a disaster, but I tried again soon after. Unfortunately, the flavour of cardamon was the dominant one, and the older one even dubbed it kheer cookies. It tasted good, but not the way I wanted it to taste- which means, I get to experiment a bit more!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon tea leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp milk

Method:
Dry grind the sugar and tea leaves in a blender till well powdered.
Combine the flour, sugar, powdered sugar, tea mix, and salt, till well mixed (add cardamom powder if using).

Add the vanilla and butter and knead together to get a rough dough. Add the milk gradually till you get a batter.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.Drop spoonfulls of the batter onto the greased cookie tray, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes till the edges start to brown. Cook for 5 minutes in the oven, then transfer to a wire rack for cooking. Store after cooling down completely.

Thumbprint cookies

Thumbprint cookies!!! Doesn't the name itself sound magical? The first time I tried it, it was a bit of a disaster, but I think I have evolved along the cookie making line since then, and I wanted to try it out again. Worked this time.

100 gms granulated sugar

100 gms butter
50 gms rice flour
100 gms maida

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp jam

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees for 10 minutes

Cream together the sugar and butter till well incorporated. 

Sieve the flour and baking powder a few times. 

Add the flour gradually to the butter, mixing continuously, till you get a smooth dough. 

Divide into 16 or 24 pieces. Roll into a ball, press down with the back of a sketch pen to make a deep depression. 

Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 10 minutes

Meanwhile, place the jam in a double boiler and stir continuously till it melts. 

Take the cookies out of the oven. Put the molten jam in the depression, and bake for an additional 5 minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack, before storing. 

Savoury canapés with microgreens garnish

Having decided I was going to have microgreens for lunch, the rest of the meal sort of created itself. Savoury crackers, with 

For crackers:

1 cup maida

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste3 tbsp grated cheese

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees

Sift together the flour, salt and pepper. 

Add oil, and knead well till you get a firm dough

Roll onto a greased baking sheet, and make indentations with a sharp knife

Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

Take out of oven and let it cool on a wire rack. 

For the hung curd:

1 cup yogurt

1 tsp garlic paste

4-6 olives chopped fine

Salt to taste

Method:

Tie the curds in a muslin cloth, and hang it up so the whey escapes. Squeeze out the remaining whey. 

Add garlic paste and salt and mix really well till you get a smooth consistency. 

Add chopped olives and mix well*

For serving:

Scoop/ pipe the hung curd on the crackers, garnish with microgreens and serve. 

*- if you are having the dip without microgreens, you can experiment with the flavours- I kept it simple

Butter cookies

I love experimenting with cookie recipes, but eventually I fall back on my old faithful recipes. This is my mother's butter cookies recipe, made even more special because for the first time ever, I used cooking butter. 

Oats Chocolate Chip Cookies

Weekends are the time to fill the home with the glorious scents of baking. Finding my stack of chocolate chips intact, I decided to modify my basic oats cookie recipe to accommodate chocolate.

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 cup maida

1/4 cup granulated sugar*

2 tbsp butter

2-3 tbsp milk

1/4 cup chocolate chips 

Method:

Mix the oats, flour and sugar well.

Add the butter, and mix well till crumbly. 

Add milk

Incorporate the milk one spoon at a time, mixing well so you have a slightly runny batter. 

Add the chocolate chips and mix well. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175 degrees. 

Grease the baking tray, and using s spoon, drop the batter on the tray at equal intervals. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking to ensure it doesn't burn. 

Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. 

*- if you don't have it, just whizz the equivalent quantity of regular sugar in the blender

Vegan savoury cookies

LI am not a vegan, nor am ever likely to be, but I do have friends who are vegan- for ethical or health reasons- and once in awhile, I like trying out vegan dishes. This savoury cookie was one of them. No butter, no oil, no sugar. But pretty high on taste.

1 cup peanuts, roasted and cooled

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup wholewheat flour/ atta

1 small onion minced

1 tsp rock salt

1 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp inactive yeast*

Method:

Grind together the peanuts and onions, with a little water, if necessary, to get a fine paste. 

Add yeast, pepper powder, coconut and salt, grind together. 

Add the flour, knead well. 

Make small balls, and flatten them. Place on a baking tray lightly dusted with flour. 

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. 

Sprinkle salt or sesame seeds on the cookies, and bake for 15 minutes. 

Can be stored for upto a week. 

*- make it inactive by heating slightly

Chocolate chip cookies

I have been wanting to make chocolate chip cookies for a really long time, but couldn't get my hands in chocolate chips. So when I found myself in the vicinity of the store that does stock them, I grabbed a packet, and within 30 minutes of getting home has whipped up this batch for us!

200 gms maida

100 gms butter

100 gms granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup chocolate chips 

Method:

Sieve the flour and baking powder till well incorporated

Add sugar and mix well

Rub in the butter till properly mixed 

Add milk gradually 1 tbsp at a time to bring it together into a firm dough

Add the chocolate chips and mix well. 

Roll into 16 balls, flatten slightly and place on a greased baking sheet. 

Bake in pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes

Ragi cookies

In Bangalore you have these Iyengar Bakeries, where you get a variety of baked goods. Of all the varieties on offer, one that I remember most fondly is the Ragi cookies, because that is the only place I have ever tasted them. So when I ended up with a packet of ragi flour, I had to attempt some cookies. The recipe is entirely mine, and had I been more careful with the oven, I would have got a much nicer batch.

1/2 cup ragi/ nachani flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar, powdered (I used a bit less)
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
Powder the sugar and keep aside.
Sieve the flour and baking powder a few times till well mixed.
Add the sugar, and sesame seeds and mix well.
Add the oil, and vanilla essence, and knead to a firm dough.
Grease a baking tray, and place balls of dough on it (I got 16 balls)
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees, and bake for 12- 15 minutes.

Eggless chocolate cookies

I baked a batch of chocolate cookies today because I was in a mood to do so. Initially, I intended to roll them in sesame seeds, but changed my mind when I couldn't find they. The batch came out really well- crispy on the outside, soft inside.

200 (1 cup) gms maida
100 gms (1 cup) butter
100 gms (1 cup) granulated sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Mix the butter and sugar well, till it appears homogeneous.
Sieve the baking powder, flour and cocoa powder together, and add to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix well so there are no lumps. If the dough does not come together, add upto 2 tbsp milk.
Grease baking tray with oil.
Divide the dough into 16 equal parts. Roll each into a ball, and press lightly.
Arrange on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes*.
Cool well before storing in an airtight container.

* check every minute after 12 minutes, because the temperatures may vary.

Coconut cookies

I baked a batch of coconut cookies today because I was in a mood to do so. They were browned slightly more than they should have, but tasted really good.

200 (1 cup) gms maida
1 cup grated coconut
100 gms (1 cup) butter
100 gms (1 cup) granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Mix the butter and sugar well, till it appears homogeneous.
Sieve the baking powder and flour together, and add to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix well so there are no lumps.
Add the coconut and knead to make a dough. If the dough does not come together, add upto 2 tbsp milk.
Grease baking tray with oil.
Divide the dough into 16 equal parts. Roll each into a ball, and press lightly.
Arrange on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes*.
Cool well before storing in an airtight container.

* check every minute after 12 minutes, because the temperatures may vary.

Sesame Cookies

"When are you making cookies?", asked Thing One. When I thought back, I realised it was nearly a month since I had last made cookies, and set about rectifying the lapse. Since there weren't too many ingredients at home, I picked a recipe which used only those ingredients that I did have. The result is very different.

2 cups maida

3/4 cups sugar, powdered

2 tbsp rice flour
3/4 cups oil

1/4 cups milk

3/4 cups sesame seeds
1 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

Method:
Sieve the maida, baking powder, powdered sugar, salt and rice flour together till well mixed.
Add the oil, mix well, till you get a consistency of bread crumbs.
Add milk and knead to a soft dough- it should not crumble if you roll it out. Add a few drops of milk if needed. If the mixture is too wet/ sticky add a little more flour.Roll it into a log and wrap with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll into balls, and flatten into discs.
Bake in a pre heated oven at180 degrees for 10-12  minutes/ side start to brown. Keep checking after 10 minutes, and keep some water in the lower tray to ensure the cookies do not get too dry.
Cool and serve in an airtight container.

Oatmeal cookies, variety is the name of the game

"Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.”
- Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
One basic recipe, three variations. Can anyone ask for more?

3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp milk

MethodDry roast the oats till they smell toasty.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix well.
Add the butter, and mix it so it resembles breadcrumbs.
[This is the basic mixture- you can personalize it in many ways]
Add 2 tbsp milk and mix well, so you get a dough that holds together, but breaks away when pulled- you might need to add 1 tbsp more till you get the consistency. Do not knead beyond that point.
In the meanwhile, preheat the oven at 180 degrees, and grease a baking tray.
Divide the dough into 16 parts, roll into a ball, and press down to get a cookie shape. Place on the baking tray at well spaced intervals.
Place a shallow dish with water in the lowest level, and the baking tray in the middle level. Bake at 180 degrees for 15- 20 minutes, checking after 12 minutes to ensure it doesn't get over crisp.
Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

There can be three variations-
Add 2 tbsp roasted flax seeds, before adding the milk
OR
Add 1/4 cup raisins, before adding the milk
OR
Add 3 tbsp cheese and 1 tsp chilli flakes before adding the milk

Cornflakes cookies

Cornflakes are my standard breakfast fare. What if we convert them into cookies?

1/2 cups (or 60 gms) maida
1/2 cup cornflakes
50 gms butter
50 gms sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt (skip if using salted butter)

Method:Powder the sugar.
Cream the sugar, butter, vanilla essence and salt
Add the maida, and mix well.
Coarsely grind the cornflakes, add to the mixture and mix gently to form a soft dough- if the dough doesn't hold together, add a bit of water or milk to bind it together.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Roll the dough into balls. Arrange evenly on a greased baking sheet, leaving sufficient space between them to ensure they do not run into each other.
Bake for 15-20 minutes till the edges start browning.


Notes:Temperatures might vary, so keep checking after 12 minutes are over
To ensure the cookies don't become very brittle, pour some water into a baking tray and keep on the rack below the rack where the cookies are- this will ensure that there is some additional humidity in the oven.

Oatmeal cookies

More cookies- oatmeal cookies this time- to help the kid while he studies for his exams! These rustic looking cookies are very high on the taste quotient, and disappeared almost before I could click a photograph.

1 cup instant oats
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used less)
1/3 tsp cinnamon powder
1/3 tsp ginger powder
1/3 tsp pepper powder
1/3 tsp nutmeg powder
Water as per need.

Method:Dry roast the instant oats till they smell toasty
Mix the butter into the flour till it looks like breadcrumbs
Add oats, sugar and spices mix together so it holds together when pressed.
Gradually add water till the dough is able to hold together- when you pull, it should break away easily- do not overknead

Roll the dough into a cylinder and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Cut into discs, press lightly between the palms, and set on the tray distributing equally- the cookies shouldn’t be too thin as they will not be very crunchy.
Bake for 15- 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees- keep checking after 12 minutes to ensure it doesn't burn.

Vegan orange cupcakes

I haven't been baking much these last few months, and though I kept promising myself I would bake a cake for various occasions, they came and went without anything going into the oven. New Year's Eve was my last chance to redeem myself, and even though I could think of a dozen excuses not to, I weighted out the ingredients, and in no time at all had myself a lovely batch of cup cakes. I hope the next lot isn't this late in coming!

1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
¾ cup orange juice
½ cup powdered sugar

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp orange zest
1 tbsp custard powder or corn flour

Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Sieve flour, with corn flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Keep aside.
Mix the oil and sugar, and beat well till well blended and creamy.
Add orange juice to the sugar and oil mixture, and mix well.
Add the sieved flour mixture and orange zest and mix well ensuring there are no lumps in the batter.
Pour into a greased cake tin, or cupcake liners, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (15 minutes for cup cake, 20-25 for a regular cake), till a toothpick inserted into that batter comes out clean.
Serve hot or cold.

Sugarfree Date-Banana Bread/ Muffin

A couple of weeks back, I decided to cut sugar out of my diet for "sometime". And then without warning, I was subject to carpet bombing of the most sinful desserts imaginable. Turning away from temptation requires far greater will power than I possess, and yet, I am too stubborn to admit defeat. "Necessity is the mother of Invention", they say, so I tinkered around with a basic vegan banana bread, and came up with this sugar-free version which tasted just as good as a more conventional muffin/ cupcake would.

4 bananas
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
⅔ cup coconut oil
3/4 cups dates
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
A few drops vanilla essence

Method:
Soak the dates in water, bring to a boil, and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Remove the seeds, discard the excess water, and blend the dates in a mixer.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Add bananas to the date puree, and blend till smooth.
Add coconut oil and vanilla essence and blend till well mixed.
Sieve flour, baking soda and baking powder a few times.
Fold the flour into the puree, making sure it is well mixed.
Grease the molds with coconut oil, pour the batter, and bake for 25 minutes (or till done)

*- I was skeptical, so made a really small amount of batter. The recipe I have written out doubles all the ingredients. That would also ensure that the cake is a bit taller, because more batter will go into each of the molds.

Savoury cookies with whole-wheat flour

Sometimes, the Fates conspire against you. Today, it was in the form of three lovely ladies who each posted their variety of cookies, making me want to have cookies NOW. Just whip up a batch, you might say, but there was a slight problem- I'd run out of butter, and much that I craved cookies, I didn't particularly want to wade through ankle deep water to get it.
But necessity is the mother of invention, and Google Uncle can sometimes be useful, and a whole lot of other sayings which may or may not make sense.
Net result, I baked up this batch of savoury cookies with whole-wheat flour, olive oil, kalonji seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds and salt. Can't say my cookie obsession has been satiated, but at least now, I can wait another day.

1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp flax seeds
1 tsp kalonji seeds
Salt to taste
Water to knead the dough

Method:
Mix all the ingredients to make the dough. Add only as much water as is required.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Roll the dough into a disc, cut into desired shapes, and bake for 10 minutes or till done.

Soft and chewy Spiced Cookies

The kids wanted cookies, and I had run out of butter. All the recipes I found online were for chocolate chip cookies, but of course, I didn't have chocolate chips either. So I adapted one of them to make spiced cookies, and they were really quite amazing. Soft and chewy, just the way cookies should be.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nonsweetened cocoa powder**
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ginger powder


Method:
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, ginger powder and cinnamon powder and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, egg and honey. Add in flour mixture to oil mixture a little at a time until well incorporated.

Divide the dough into 16 parts, and roll each into a ball. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 8-10 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Depression Cake

After the success of my skinny lemon cakes, I've been looking for other eggless cake recipes that do not require butter either. The Depression Cake (so named because it was invented during the Depression when ingredients were in short supply) seemed to fit the bill, and I lost no time in trying it out.
Unfortunately, the cake seemed to have taken its name too seriously, and every single cupcake sported a depression in the middle. I filled it up with chocolate sauce to make it presentable, but one would still like to know whether to attempt the recipe again or not.

What I did do wrong was to go by my nose and turn off the over when 7 minutes of baking time were left (toothpick test was successful). A few minutes later, I realised I might have made a mistake and popped it back in for 7 minutes, but by then the damage was probably done. That might be the reason for the crater.

1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
3 tbsp cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp  salt

1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

Method:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
Mix first 5 dry ingredients.
Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients - two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third larger depression.  Pour water over all.  Mix well until smooth.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, put the batter in them (this amount made 12 cupcakes), and bake for 25 minutes