Category: COOKIES

A TALE OF DIRT PIES & SPICY COOKIES!

“You become about as exciting as your food blender. The kids come in look you in the eye, and ask if anybody’s home.”
Erma Bombeck
Spicy Cookies
Sometimes I think I’m running my personal blog patrol event & the frequency seems to be increasing with all the yummies doing the rounds! Made these ‘healthy’ cookies the other day. I don’t think they can get more healthier than this & stay edible, specially with kids. While browsing Sunita’s blog I stopped at these. She was inspired by traditional gingersnaps & these looked ever so pretty & sounded simple too. I had all the ingredients on hand & couldn’t wait to get started. They made 15 perfect cookies…warm, deep flavours emanating from them.
These are healthy, healthy cookies & good for a change from butter! More of a dunk in the coffee sorta cookie! The kids liked them, & the boy had a picture idea…to hold it against the sky; eventually we settled for somewhere in between!
And therein begins the tale of dirt pies. The kids have their friends over from Kiev these days & the girls wanted to bake! I wasn’t up to the kitchen getting messed up big time, so they agreed to make a jello pudding! Once it was set, I suggested cookie crumbs on top for a mud pie. They had a blast with spicy cookie crumbs (never mind the crumbs ALL over the kitchen floor) & topped the pudding with gummy worms popping out & an Easter egg each! Dirt Pies ready, I said I’d take pictures if they liked. They clicked with the idea, begging me to put them on my blog so they could become world famous! Never imagined blogs could be so powerful & in demand!! Of course the girls pleaded with me in the same breadth not to put the boys on the blog coz they didn’t want to share the limelight. Hmmm…me the ever fair creature dragged the boys with their puddings for a picture, but couldn’t stop them from gobbling their pies!! Boys will be boys!!

The recipe as adapted from Sunita’s World …
Ingredients:

Wholewheat flour – 1 cup
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Ginger powder – 3/4 tsp
Baking soda – 1/4 tsp
A pinch of salt
Brown sugar – 4 tbsp
Oil – 3 tbsp
Egg – 1
Vanilla essence – 1/2 tsp
Vanilla Sugar to roll the balls of cookie dough in (can use granulated sugar too)

Method:

  • Whisk together the egg, oil, sugar, and vanilla.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, soda,salt, cinnamon and ginger.
  • Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and tip in the egg mixture.
  • Gently fold in, with a spatula until everything just comes together…do not over mix.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
  • Pre heat the oven at 180 deg C, grease a baking tray.
  • Divide the mixture into 15 equal portions and shape each into a ball.
  • Roll each ball in the sugar and place them on the prepared baking tray, a little apart from each other.
  • Gently flatten the balls for 12-15 minutes or till the tops are firm and feel dry…(there will be visible cracks on the top).
    Cool in the tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before storing in air tight containers.

In the daughter’s words…Oooooooooooooooh crackle-tops!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

IS IT A BAR, IS IT A COOKIE? Guess what…It’s a BAR COOKIE!

“In the nut, nothing is lost, except perhaps the noise it makes when breaking.”
World Wide Walnut
Pistachio, Cranberries & Golden Raisin Bars

Was flipping pages of one of my favourite cookie books, ‘The Colossal Cookie Cookbook’, wondering what snack to make for the kids snack box for school. Thought I’d quickly do a batch of brownies, got the tin ready, lined it etc, & then had a change of heart. Wanted something other than chocolate…I like introducing them to as many flavours as possible, when they are still willing. Found something I liked the sound of… ‘Cranberry & Golden Raisin Bars’ hmmmmmmm. Passed a handful of golden raisins to the boy, who gave them a disdainful look, but tried one…& decided they weren’t that bad after all. Then the pistachios were chomped happily & the craisins too, which were a big hit! (The craisins were Ocean Spray’s ‘Orange Flavor Sweetened Dried Cranberries’ that I had lying around for a while. They are seriously good & healthy as a snack too.)

Having passed the litmus test, I set to work…

Bar Cookies are cookies that the dough is baked spread-out in a pan. The cookies are cut into “bars” after baking. Most drop cookies can also be made into bar cookies. Bar cookie dough is pretty stiff/firm like a cookie dough. They are usually simple & straight-forward cookies, that are fun to make!

Bar cookies consist of batter or other ingredients that are poured or pressed into a pan (sometimes in multiple layers), and cut into cookie-sized pieces after baking. Brownies are an example of a batter-type bar cookie. In British English, bar cookies are known as “tray bakes’.

The recipe as adapted from ‘The Colossal Cookie Cookbook’ , pg 393.

Ingredients:
Butter – 100gms (or margarine)
Brown sugar – 1/2 cup packed (soft brown)
Eggs – 2
Vanilla Essence – 1tsp
Flour – 1 cup ( the original recipe has 1 cup of self-raising flour)
Baking powder – 3/4 tsp
Salt – 1 pinch
Ground Almonds – 1/4 cup
Craisins – 1/2 cup
Pistachio nuts – 1/2 cup / chopped roughly
Golden raisins – 1/2 cup

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 10.5″ X 6.5″ or 8″ X 8″ pan with a 2″ depth. Leave a bit of overhang on the lining paper.
  • Sift the flour + baking powder + salt. Set aside.
  • Beat the butter & sugar till light & fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs one by one, followed by the vanilla essence.
  • Now gently fold in the flour + ground almonds + craisins + golden raisins + pistachio nuts.
  • Turn batter into tin & level out evenly with a spatula/butter knife.
  • Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown on top & done. Test with a wooden pick if need be.
  • Take out of oven & cool on rack for 10 minutes, then gently lift out of tin (holding the lining paper) & cool completely. Remove lining paper once cool.
  • Cut into bars or squares as desired, only once cooled. Dust with powdered sugar.
  • Best stored in the refrigerator, as per the book. (I’ve left them out as the weather is till cold & the houses here aren’t centrally heated.)
Enjoy a cookie with a cuppa tea or coffee…or a glass of chilled milk!
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

NICE & HEALTHY OATMEAL WALNUT COOKIES…& a nice award too!

“We load up on oat bran in the morning so we’ll live forever. Then we spend the rest of the day living like there’s no tomorrow.”
Lee Iacocca
OATMEAL CHOCOLATE-CHIP WALNUT COOKIES
While I was making these cookies the other day, the son was very intrigued by the ‘new ingredient’ on the counter. Told him it was oatmeal, a wonder grain with the power to give sustained release of energy the day through, healthy & full of fibre etc. He gobbled a couple & then later on, that night, told me that he ran well that day & felt great…‘Must be the oat cookies Mama!’ . These cookies are crisp, delicious & healthy.

Rolled oats are made from the oat groats that are extracted from the oat grain & are often considered to be an excellent choice when it comes to a healthy diet. In general, oatmeal made from rolled oats is understood to help reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the bloodstream. As an excellent source of dietary fiber, iron, and thiamine, rolled oats can be a significant part of a healthy diet, requiring only a small amount to reap the benefits. Rolled oats also have the advantage of possessing an antioxidant known as avenanthramides, which is very helpful in ridding the body of toxins that have built up over time.

Healthy & delicious…these cookies are NICE too!

Ingredients:
Butter – 1/2 cup
Brown sugar – 1/2 cup
White sugar – 1/4 cup
Eggs – 1 large
Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp
Flour – 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp
Baking powder – 3/4 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Quick Cooking Oats – 1 1/2 cups (I use Quaker Oats)
Walnuts – 1/2 cup / chopped
Chocolate chips – 1/2 cup
Raisins – 1/4 cup (optional)

Method:
  • Preheat oven to 165 degrees C. Keep 2-3 ungreased cookie sheets ready.
  • Sift the flour + baking powder + salt 3 times. Keep aside.
  • Cream butter + both sugars.
  • Add egg + vanilla essence & beat for a minute.
  • Stir in the sifted flour mix + oats +walnuts + chocolate chips + raisins.
  • Drop 12 spoonfuls onto each sheet, leaving room in between for spreading. Flatten with a fork if you like.
  • Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes until light brown.
  • Rest for a minute on the baking sheet & then cool completely on racks.
  • Makes about 2 dozen cookies. Store in an airtight tin in a cool place.

I got a really pleasant surprise early this morning. Hurried by to check my mail before leaving for the son’s soccer league finals & found this lovely award from Doris (Meeso) at The Humble Kitchen.THANK YOU Doris…you really made my day & all the way from Michigan!! It means a LOT to me & I’m completely over the moon. We went on to win the league finals & it must have been your good thoughts that helped too! Doris is a lovely girl & whenever I post a lamb dish, I have ‘Meeso on my mind’ coz she loves lamb dishes, especially Indian curries!!

Thanks also for giving me an opportunity to pass it on to a few bloggers who are wonderful & very NICE! Have to limit my list, though would love to add many many more…
  • Suganya @ Tasty Pallettes (thanks for being ever so patient & walking me through fixing my header)
  • Cynthia @ Tastes Like Home who always gives me handy advice & replies to my mails despite being ever so busy.
  • Arundati @ Escapades who shared her love for Star Anise with me & drove me mad between her 2 blogs. In the end I was convinced I was leaving messages for someone else!!
  • Susan @ Food Blogga who’s always had nice words to say & has an ‘infectious‘ level of enthusiasm!
  • Ben @ What’s Cooking who, among other things, loved my biryani recipe even though he couldn’t make sense of it!!!
  • Manggy @ No Special Effects…one of the nicest bloggers I know. Thanks for being there always Doc!!

“It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.”
Roger Federer

And while the Oscars are about to be announced today, it’s raining awards in blogosphere already. Went to Susan’s to deliver her award, & picked up one in return. Woo hoo…thanks a ton Susan. Means the world to me!!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

COFFEE WALNUT COOKIES…Heavenly beans!!

“Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee.”
Stephanie PiroWALNUT COFFEE COOKIES…

Yesterday was a busy day; I loved it. I made these scrumptious coffee cookies & a ‘Citrus Olive Oil Cake’…both from Cafe Fernando’s. This yummy food blog has the most beautiful collection of recipes & lovely pictures. More about the cake in another post…it was delicious too.

Have been dying to make cookies ever since I saw them there. It’s a recipe Cenk tried from Alice Medrich’s book Pure Dessert…a book which is full of simple and delicious recipes that focus on pure flavor. The amount of butter was the only deterrent, but I thought…What the heck! Once in a while you gotta cross the limit. O boy…the smell of freshly ground coffee put me on another level altogether. These are different from any cookies I’ve ever made….almost like a coffee shortbread. Nutty, crisp, coffee flavoured & buttery. The coffee is not overpowering at all, & the sugar is on the lower side. NICE!! Even the kids loved them; (I gave them just 2 each because coffee aint good for kids)….as Bart Simpson says…”Coffee is not for kids“!
coffee coffee Coffee Coffee COFFEE COFFEE!!!
Here’s my recipe which I adapted from the one posted at Cafe Fernando’s.
Ingredients:
Flour – 2 cups
Walnuts – 1 cup
Sugar – 3/4 cups
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Butter – 3/4 cup / chilled & roughly cut up
Fresh ground coffee beans- 3 tsps
Coffee Essence – 1 tsp
Coffee beans – 40-50 to put on top
Method:
  • Put the walnuts + flour + sugar + salt in a food processor & pulse until walnuts are finely ground.
  • Add 2 tsps coffee powder. Pulse briefly.
  • Add chilled butter & pulse again till breadcrumb like mixture forms.
  • Add the coffee extract & vanilla essence & pulse just until the dough begins to form lumps around the blade.
  • Take out & pull together to form a dough; knead briefly to make smooth.
  • Roll into logs (I made a square & a round log), wrap in clingwrap & chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Keep 2-3 ungreased cookie sheets ready.
  • Take logs out & slice 1/4″ apart. Push a coffee bean firmly in the centre of each cookie. Roll the edges of a few in the remaining ground coffee if you like.
  • Bake for about 15 minutes till light brown.
  • Cool on cookie racks. Store in airtight tins. These stay good for a month!
SQUARE OR ROUND,
PLAIN OR GROUND…
…I LOVE THEM!

“Given enough coffee, I could rule the world.”

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

FLOUR FLOWERS…CLICKETY CLICK!!
“If I sing when I cook, the food is going to be happy.”
Pasquale Carpino

COLOURING MY WORLD…ICED SUGAR COOKIES

My favourite cookies that I made again a few days ago. A friend was going down South for a birthday & wedding in the family, & her son insisted on taking these & some mini muffins for his cousins’ birthday. Got down to baking some of these attractive cookies that add colour to any table & I never tire of making them. I feel like a great painter adding colour to my canvas! Small pleasures, & very therapeutic indeed…

Hearts piled high…

The basic sugar cookie recipe is the same one that I use for ‘Smartie Cookies’. It’s a very versatile one, and works well with this recipe. For the icing, I use powdered sugar mixed with just enough water to make it thick & flowing, then colour according to requirement, and drizzle it on the cookies. I leave them to dry out overnight in trays in the oven, and sometimes give them a minute in a hot oven to get rid of any moisture (depends on the weather actually). Though a bit fiddly to ice, practice makes them better each time.

‘Wheat ,FLOUR,Flowers…& bees for company!’
This is heading as my entry for Jugalbandi’s Click February 2008…the topic for the month being ‘Flour’. The bees seem to be there for Bee…(donno how to make a Jai)!
Assorted cookies – hearts, flowers, stars, bees , leaves…
…in the rays of the rising sun.

I had so much fun doing these…

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
Henry Ward Beecher
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

HEARTY ALMOND SHORTBREAD…How deep is your love?

“I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find.”
James Beard
Almond Shortbread Hearts…delicious to the last crumb!

These are one of those cookies that disappear before you can say Jack Robinson! Very easy to make, non-demanding or challenging, & above all, full of taste! Great cut-out cookies! Perfect hearts for Valentines!

Nutty, Buttery & Crisp…goodness in every bite!

I made hearts & flowers since I love the flowers too, but you can make an assortment of graduated hears if you like…or heart cut-outs in larger cookies! These are cookies I make just at the whim of it. Not involved or bothersome, these are nutty ‘n’ buttery … a treat to have. I practically took under an hour to make these; some for a friend, & between the DH, the kids & their friends, the rest vanished! Boxed some for a friend with a quick card on top…

Ingredients:
Butter – 100gms
Castor Sugar – 5 tbsps / ground in coffee grinder
Flour – 1 1/2 cups
Almonds – 1/2 cup / ground in coffeee grinder with skins on
Almond Essence – 1 tsp
Extra castor sugar for sprinkling on top

Simple indulgence…

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
  • Beat the butter & almond essence with 5 tbsps of castor sugar. ( I do it by hand).
  • Mix in the flour & ground almonds together to make a firm dough.
  • Chill for 30 minutes if the dough is soft.
  • Roll out to 1/8″ thickness & cut out desired shapes. Sift castor sugar lightly on top.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes till golden brown.
  • Leave on cookie sheets for a minute & then cool on racks.
  • Drizzle with melted dark chocolate.
  • Store in an airtight container. These keep for upto 2 weeks.
  • Note: Makes about 2- 21/2 dozen cookies.

How deep is your love?

Pooja read this somewhere…” Spend your life such a way , so that when you get old you will have nice memories to cherish about “ & says, “Let us try to add one more such memorable day to our life and share here with others”. Onto building memories, this one is off to Pooja’s at ‘My Creative Ideas’ for her Valentine’s event.

Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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