Pinwheel Cookies

Baking at home is always a satisfying experience, if the outcome is good and appreciated by all. This time I have baked these cookies- Pinwheel Cookies! They look cute and taste awesome. A very balanced taste of chocolate and vanilla which seems to be made for each other is this creation. I first saw them as a kid and I was very intrigued as to how one could make it. Definately, I didnot dig it up to the end then. But now, since I have developed a liking for baking, I did and there it is! They take a bit of time to make but are well worth the efforts. Without much ado, here is the recipe!

Pinwheel Cookies:

Makes about 20.

240 gm flour.
1 tsp baking powder.
1/8 tsp salt.
120 gm butter.
150 gm powdered sugar.
1 tsp vanilla essence.
3 tbsp cocoa powder.
½ cup milk to make the dough.

Process:

1. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together. Grease a large baking tray.

2. Cream butter and powdered sugar till light and fluffy. This will take about 3-4 minutes with the help of a electric hand mixer.

3. To this butter and sugar mixture add the flour, vanilla essence. Add milk little by little and mix gently to make stiff but smooth dough.

4. Divide the dough into two parts and blend cocoa powder in one and set the other aside. Use a little milk (2 tsp) to blend the cocoa powder till it is well incorporated and the dough is even brown in colour.

5. Thinly roll out both the halves 1/8’’ thick into equal size pieces. Shape them in equal rectangular pieces by scraping off the excess. Keep them aside and repeat the process till all the dough is used.

6. Place the chocolate piece on top of the white one. Roll the two tightly just as in swiss rolls and allow to stand in a cool place for 20-30 minutes. While the roll is sitting preheat your oven at 175 C for 15 minutes.

7. Cut into ¼’’ thick slices and place them on the prepared baking tray.

8. Bake at 175 C in a preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes till they are done.

9. When done, take them out of the oven, let it stay on the tray for 2 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. When completely cooled put them in your cookie jar.

Sending this off to Champa's Bake Off. Have a nice weekend! Enjoy!!

Blueberry Muffins

Finally, I have managed to squeeze some time for my blog. Actually, there are so many things in our 'To-Do' list on our India visit that my blogging has taken a back seat. I think it happens with everybody. I am having a lovely time here socialising, relaxing, catching up with friends and having good food prepared by my Mom.  

Before flying to India, I had prepared and taken pictures of a few dishes intending to post it soon. But, it seems like I had been postponing it a little too long. Today, I am sharing the recipe of 'Blueberry Muffins' which I tried from the book -101 Cakes and Bakes from BBC Books. The recipe was named 'Buttermilk Berry Muffins' in the book but I prefer to call it simply 'Blueberry Muffins'. I have baked these muffins twice and was happy with the results both times. My husband loved it. It was the first time I used an Egg-replacer powder of the brand name Orgran. I have followed rest of the recipe as given in the book. I hope to experiment with the egg replacer powder more often.

Needless to say sending this off to Baking from a book 4 event guest hosted by Sowjanya. This event is the brain child of Champa. Also sending it off to Champa's Weekly Event Bake Off and Sri's EFM-Cakes and Bakes Series.

 Ingredients:

400 g AP flour.

175 g caster sugar.

1 tbsp baking powder.

Finely grated rind of one lemon.

284 ml buttermilk.

Egg replacer powder in place of 2 eggs.

85 g butter, melted.

250 g fresh blueberries.

Makes 12.

Process:

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line a 12 cup muffin tray. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, lemon rind, sugar and salt. Prepare the egg replacer powder as per the instructions given in the box. In a separate bowl mix butter, buttermilk and the prepared egg replacer. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Mix it lightly so that it is well combined. Do not over do. Fold in the blueberries and spoon it into the prepared tin.

Bake it for 25 mins until risen and pale golden on top. Leave to cool on wire rack for 5 mins. Place them on the wire rack to cool further.  

These muffins are very delicate when hot. I have tried it second time substituting the butter with 1/4 cup + 2tbsp oil. They came out good too.

Enjoy!

Marvelous Macaroons

I was very delighted when Champa had sent me 2 of her baking cookbooks all the way from US around 2 months back. Although I had bookmarked quite a lot of recipes to try from them but had been postponing it till today. All these while I was trying to keep my calorie intake in control!!

Well, since it had been a while since I had baked something new, my hands were literally itching to bake. So, finally I decided upon these 'Marvelous Macaroons' from the book '101+ Hurry -Up Cookie Recipes' sent by Champa. They really turned out 'marvelous'. To be honest, I have never tasted a macaroon before, but, I was happy with my results. The recipe given in the book was for about 40-42 macaroons. So, I scaled it down proportionally to get 12. However, my macaroons turned out to be slightly bigger than those shown in the book's picture.

Needless to say, I am sending these to Champa's Bake-Off and Baking from a book#4 this time being hosted by Ruchikacooks

 I used:

1/3 cup finely chopped/crushed tinned pineapples.

1/2 cup condensed milk.

1/3 cup dessicated coconut.

2 tbsp margarine.

2 tbsp chopped almonds, toasted.

1/2 tsp lemon zest.

2 drops almond extract.

1/2 cup+2 tbsp AP flour.

1/2 tsp baking powder.

Makes around 12 no. 

Process:

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Drain pineapples well and place them in a large bowl. Add milk,coconut, margarine, nuts, lemon zest and almond extract. In a small bowl combine flour and baking powder. Beat into pineapple mixture until blended. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 mins or till lightly browned.

Garnish with whole almond, if desired. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Enjoy!!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes it happens that you are all set to make something and then suddenly you realise that one or two ingredients are missing. Thats what happened today. This recipe calls for walnuts and it just slipped off my mind that I had used them up in something else. So, I had to do with out it, but next time I will make sure to check properly before setting out to bake it. Walnuts would have added a nice crunch to these cookies.

The recipe called for an egg which I replaced with baking powder. Also, I used caster sugar instead of equal quantities muscovado and golden granulated sugar. They turned out good and we loved it.

Sending this off to Champa's Baking from a Book- Cookies and her weekly Bake -Off.

Makes 8 Cookies:
Ingredients:

1/2 cup AP flour.
1/4 cup caster sugar.
1 tbsp cocoa powder.
1/4 butter at room tempreture.
1/4 tsp baking soda.
1/2 tsp baking powder.
3 tbsp milk chocolate chips.
2 tbsp chopped walnuts.
1/2 tsp vanilla essence.

Process:

Preheat the oven 10 180 C and grease a large baking sheet. Add the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and beat till light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla essence. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Stir it in the butter mixture and add the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Drop dessertspoonfuls of the mixture on to the baking sheets, spaced well apart to allow for spreading.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins till done. Take them out to cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Easy Lime Biscuits

I had come across these biscuits on Sushma's Blog a few weeks back. She had made it from Anjum Anand's Book,  'Anjum's New Indian'. I noticed this book in the library on my last visit and I brought it home. It has some very wonderful recipes and I am planning to try some of them. To begin with, I tried these 'Easy Lime Biscuits'.

Sending this to Champa's Baking from a Book-Cookies and her weekly Bake Off.

Makes 8 Biscuits:
Ingredients:

1/2 cup AP Flour.
1/4 cup icing sugar.
3 tbsp ghee.
2 tsp lemon zest.
8 pistachios chopped.
4 cardamom pods crushed and powdered.
2 tbsp sugar candy cubes.

Process:

Preheat the oven to 180 C and grease a large baking tray.

Mix together the flour, icing sugar, ghee and the lemon zest. Work the dough until it comes together and is no longer crumbly. Roll the dough into 8 balls. Flatten into small discs in your palm. Sprinkle the cardamom powder, chopped pistachios and sugar candies evenly on the biscuits. Place the biscuits on to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until the edges starts colouring. Take out and cool the biscuits on the tray.

Enjoy with a hot cup of tea!

Ginger Nuts

I donot know why these biscuits are called Ginger Nuts - they donot have any nuts in them. Well, what ever the reasons I love them with a cup of hot tea and the lingering taste of ginger refreshes me like nothing else. I chanced upon this recipe in a book I bought from the library- Beautiful Baking by Jane Asher. I have been thinking of baking them for a while now.

Today when I decided to bake them, I realised that I was short in AP flour so I added about 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour that I use for chapatis. However the taste was good. As I am writing this I have already gobbled 4 of these biscuits. Its irressistable to restrain from having something freshly baked.
Sending this off to Champa's Bake - Off and Baking from Book-Cookies.
Coming back to the recipe, you will need:

Chocolate Cookies

I donot need to profess my love for chocolate again here. A hot cup of tea with some home made chocolate cookies! What can be better! I had not tried making cookies at home till now so I was wondering how they would come out? But they came out quite well and I am glad I tried it finally!
I made these from a book - Home Baking, that I borrowed from my friend. The recipe was named Chocolate Drop Cookies in the book. But, I altered some measurements- added 1/4 flour more than stated in th book, added a pinch of baking soda and a tablespoon of milk, so the batter had a soft dough consistency and I could make small balls and gently press them.
Sending this off to Champa's Baking from a book- Cookies and Bake off.

Some Awards with Buttermilk Biscuits and Apple Dip.

3 Awards in a go! Many thanks to Deepa of Food Lyrics for making my day. I would like to pass on these awards to my fellow bloggers. All of them have amazing blogs.

Priya of Priya Easy N Tasty Recipes.

Rachana of Veggie Fare

Supriya of Cook in a blog world

Arundhati of Gourmet Affair

Simply.food of simply.food

Saraswathi of Sara's Corner

Ms Chitchat of Chitchat at Crossroads

Please accept the awards!

To celebrate my awards I made these lovely biscuits.