Category: COOKIES

Wholegrain Olive Oil Crackers & 3 Dips | Roasted Bell Pepper, Garlic & Walnut + Classic Garlicky Cream + Rocket Cashew Dip

“What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents”
M Chiarello

Wholegrain Olive Oil Crackers & 3 Dips…. for times like these when the game is up. Nothing unites the world better than sport and food. I think the two were meant to go hand in hand. Think world cup cricket, soccer, or then super bowl, and the first thing that comes to mind if food! OK, after the game of course! With the ICC  Cricket World Cup warming up nicely, it’s imperative to keep the food going!

Yesterday spent 20 minutes rolling out crackers … thin, crisp, delicious Wholegrain Olive Oil Crackers. Paired them off with 3 quick dips. Dips are an out and out game favourite, and I have gone with simple ones! A Roasted Bell Pepper, Garlic & Walnut Dip {earthy, smoky, finger licking good}, a Classic Garlicky Cream Dip {tangy, creamy, GARLICKY ... an all time favourite} and a seasonal Rocket & Cashew Dip {where sharp peppery leaves meet the sweetness of cashew nuts}. 

Dips are really really versatile to throw together. Make them using what you have on hand. Herbs, seasonal produce, cold pressed oils, garlic, garlic greens, onion scapes, legumes, citrus fruit, nuts, cheese, spices. Get creative and follow your taste buds. You will be surprised at how much you can create with so little! To thin them down you can add coconut milk, citrus juice, single cream, sour cream, buttermilk etc.

Once ready, which is a matter of minutes usually, you can dip into them of course, or add them to your cheese platter. There’s so much more you can do. Slather sandwiches with them, toss them through a pasta, top grilled chicken or fish with dip. If you are more adventurous, them use them in a bread like the French Fougasse. I love that you can tweak the flavours as you like, and also that dips embrace local and seasonal produce whole heartedly!

Why so many nibbles of late you might wonder? Well these are game days. Cricket, cricket and more cricket. From games you expect nothing and get the word, and from games you expect the world and hit rock bottom, the sports world is a funny place to be in. The cricket world cup down under has begun,and how! Talk sports and there is another huge thing in common …FOOD!

And that’s where we DIP! These are simple ones to rustle up. You could even do a  make ahead simple hummus that I just shared with oat & cheese crackers. On the side, you could go the healthy crudite way or whole grain crackers maybe. Else grab the bag of chips, nachos, pita chips…whatever. Dig right in. Every major gaming event, be it the super bowl, soccer or the cricket world cup, churns up an appetite for food, yummy, good, delicious food.

These dips will hit the ball out of the park … like South Africa did today! If you are deft in the kitchen, and love getting quick stuff together, then here are a few other options. The India Pakistan thriller saw us polishing off  rustic Savoury Whole Wheat Hungarian Kalács.  Do a quick version with cooked chicken tossed in the rocket cashew pesto dip and cheese! Or skip the chicken and go vegetarian. Next was the India South Africa match.

That saw a rerun of Oat & Wheat Cheese Crackers with a quick Hummus! Delicious times indeed!  If you aren’t the cooking types, but certainly the eating types, then your best option would be a quick call to Food Panda to order your favourite food. It’s an online food-ordering service that makes it easy for customers to find their favorite food conveniently from home, work or on the road and get it delivered. It is now active in 30 cities in India and has over 4000+ restaurants available and the delivery of your food is free.

Oh and don’t forget to participate in the Philips giveaway here. Just a day to go!

[print_this]Recipe: Wholegrain Olive Oil Crackers

Summary: Wholegrain Olive Oil Crackers & 3 Dips. Crisp, light addictive crackers. Top them with spices or enjoy them as is. Crackers don’t get simpler than these!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 200g wholewheat flour
  • 100g oats
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 40ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 150ml water {approximately}
  • Olive oil for brushing over
  • Zaatar and Sumac for sprinkling {optional}

Method:

  1. Place first five ingredients in bowl of food processor and blend to mix. Gradually add water to make a firm, pliable dough. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. On a lightly dusted surface, take a quarter of the dough and roll it out as thinly as you can to a rectangular shape to fit the tray. Transfer dough to the parchment paper, brush with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle over with Zaatar if desired.
  4. Take a pastry / pizza cutter and cut into desired shapes.
  5. Bake for about 15-18 minutes until light golden brown. Keep an eye on them towards the end as they can over brown pretty quick.
  6. Cool completely on racks. Store in an airtight container. Serve with dips.


Recipe: Roasted Bell Pepper, Garlic & Walnut

Summary: Earthy, smoky, finger licking good

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

  •  2 red bell peppers
  • 1 whole head of garlic
  • 50g walnuts
  • 30ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Handful fresh oregano
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Method:

  1. Place the bell peppers and garlic and roast in an oven at 180C  for 30 minutes, until the bell peppers are charred. I roasted them in my AirFryer. Place in a covered bowl and allow to cool. Peel and deseed the bell peppers, squeeze the garlic out.
  2. Place walnuts in food processor with all the remaining ingredients. Pulse to desired consistency. Stand for 20 minutes for flavours to mature. {Can be made ahead. Store in refrigerator for 2-3 days}


Recipe: Classic Garlicky Cream  Dip

Summary: Creamy, garlicky and tangy, this is an all time favourite!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 400g yogurt, hung
  • 3 finely chopped cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic greens {or chives, maybe fresh coriander}
  •  finely chopped green chili
  • 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Place yogurt in a large bowl and whisk well until smooth and lump free. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Taste and check seasoning. Add more lime or salt if required.
  2. {Can be made ahead. Store in refrigerator for 2-3 days}


Recipe: Rocket & Cashew Dip

Summary: A dip where peppery rocket meets sweet cashew nuts. Thin this one down with cream cheese or single cream if you like. You can also add some parmesan.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 100g cashew nuts
  • 50g rocket leaves
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  •  Salt to taste
  • Dash of lime juice

Method:

  1. Place cashew nuts and rocket leaves in bowl of processor and pulse until everything is chopped quite fine. Make sure not to process it to a paste. We want to feel the texture of the nuts.
  2. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and blend. Season with salt and add a dash of lime juice.
  3. {Can be made ahead. Store in refrigerator for 2-3 days}

[/print_this]

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Baking | Oat & Wheat Cheese Crackers, and a quick Hummus #comfortfood #simple #savoury

“Comfort food….food that reassures. Is different things to different people.”
David Tanis

Oat & Wheat Cheese Crackers, and a quick Hummus…for one of those days when you are tired, feeling under the weather and craving comforting food. For days like this only quick, simple and flavourful seriously works. For days like these, a food processor is your best friend. Nothing to beat a workhorse that does everything, takes the work out of the cooking or baking, pampers you unknowingly, and delivers like nothing else!

I had a bunch of chickpeas left over as I boiled extra the other day while stirring up a quick chickpea curry. I always boil extra chickpeas as having some on hand offers plenty of quick rustle up food ideas. Salads for one. I made this layered savoury chickpea parfait often. Doubles up as a healthy, filling and quite delicious tiffin too!

But I was in a mood for crackers. Just one of those strange days where I craved baking something savoury, and had an idea in my head. Working as a fit foodie makes me constantly strive for fun wholegrain alternatives to things. They got to be yum too. I used butter in these crackers, but I think you could easily use olive oil. I might throw in some ground nut meal too the next time to substitute some of the flour. Just a thought…and more ideas to work on!The hummus happened as I was inspired by a quick hummus recipe that popped into my inbox not so long ago. I recall it having sesame paste as optional and it stayed in my head. There is nothing much to a hummus or chickpea dip. Just throw a bunch of ingredients into the faithful food processor, give them a whir. Balance flavours as you so desire.

More garlic if you are like us, more lime juice too. Plenty of extra virgin olive oil, maybe fresh herbs. Skip the smoked  paprika if you don’t have some on hand, degi mirch {kashmiri mirch} or red chili flakes. I have to say though that smoked paprika adds some fine earthy, moorish flavours to the dip…

There are other dips you could try. A Quark, Garlic and Chives Dip, Baba Ghanoush or Muhamarra would be wonderful here too. Else if nothing else, some nice cheese, fruit and wine will complete your cheese board.

[print_this]Recipe: Oat & Wheat Cheese Crackers

Summary: Whole grain healthy crackers, bursting with flavours. Crisp, healthy and delicious, they’re a great cheese board option.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 150g wholewheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 30g unsalted butter, chilled, cubed
  • 30g cheddar, grated
  • 15g finely chopped garlic greens {about 1/4 cup}
  • 1tsp red chili flakes
  • 1/8 to 1/4 cup cultured buttermilk
  • Wholewheat flour for dusting

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 150C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment, or lightly grease them.
  2. Place the oats, wholewheat flour, salt and baking soda in bowl of food processor and mix on low for 30 seconds.
  3. Add remaining ingredients except buttermilk and pulse to mix until you get a breadcrumb like mix.
  4. With the processor running on low speed, gradually add the buttermilk 1 tbsp at a time until the dough seems to come together. You will need about a 1/4 cup maybe less.
  5. Turn dough in a bowl and knead together very briefly till it comes together, 20-30 seconds. Divide into 2, then roll out and cut as desired.
  6. Bake for about 30 minutes in a low oven until light golden brown and crisp.
  7. Cool completely and check if crisp. If not leave in a low oven or another 10-15 minutes.
  8. Cool and store in an airtight box.

Recipe: Chickpea Hummus

Summary: A simple chickpea dip, Hummus is ideal to serve with crackers. Hummus is great as a sandwich filling too.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 30g white sesame seeds , toasted
  • 200g {1cup} chickpeas, boiled
  • 4-5 cloves garlic
  • 4-5 stalks chives, chopped
  • 30ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1tsp roasted ground cumin
  • Water as required {2-3tbsp}
  • Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over, paprika and chives for garnish

Method:

  1. Place the sesame seeds in bowl of food processor and grind.
  2. Add remaining ingredients except water and process until ground into a smooth paste. Gradually add a little water at a time, and continue to process until you get desired consistency
  3. Taste and adjust salt, lime juice etc.
  4. Transfer to a bowl, drizzle over with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle over smoked paprika and chopped chives.
  5. Serve with the crackers, crudites etc.

[/print_this]

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Wholegrain Lingonberry Thumbprint Cookies – with LumiaApptasting & World Feast by Vikas Khanna

“BE OPEN TO new thoughts, to new people, to new principles, to new ideas, to new experiences. “NEW” MAKES US GROW”
Rossana Condoleo

With the Chenin Blanc chilled just right and a good wine from Fratelli at that, recommended by Ruchira, it was a nice beginning to the LumiaApptasting event held recently. With the promise of sumptuous food, refreshing drinks and a garnishing of apps , it was an evening of fun brought to us by Microsoft in collaboration with Women on Wanderlust {WOW}.

The evening was introduced by the sweet and vivacious Poonam Kaul, Director, Communications, Nokia India, and then handed over to the hilarious duo who are quite trademark of LumiaApptasting – Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna and Tech Guru Rajiv Makhni, the boys or rather men from Amritsar. Both in perfect sync with each other, with a ‘dress code pink’ ladies only event in place, they soon had all the women literally eating out of their hands!

Promising a hell of a journey, it took off pretty soon. Blind tasting, blind guessing, songs, dance, drama … the LumiaApptasting had it all. Woven through the evening were the perfect apps to tackle all your pre-holiday tasks, track your belongings and getting acquainted with fellow travelers. Plenty of ice breakers thrown in! Interestingly, the event wove it’s way across the entire group, and at different times you could here applause, sighs, gasps as the spoken word touched various nerves at different times. LumiaApptasting is a unique concept that take mobile apps out of the tech space and brings them right to consumers in a relevant sort of a way. It’s a fun, innovative way that brings  technology and lifestyle together in more ways that one would ever imagine, possibly in any and every sphere of life. We were a motley group of women … wanderers and bloggers. Bloggers I believe from different fields – food, lifestyle, maybe technology too. From an app to help discover the unknown treasures of your holiday destination, to immortalising your favourite holiday moments with awesome imagine apps, the line up of apps were creative. They included Face Swap, Wise Quotes, Wacky facts, & the Self Defense App. The latter two my favourites! Did I mention that the trailer of Fifty Shades of Grey was played? Yes that happened too!The evening ended with the launch of Vikas Khanna‘s new book World Feast. In a departure from Indian cuisine prominent in his last few books, his latest book offers a treasury of multicultured flavours, taking our taste-buds for a journey across the world.  A beautifully photographed book that captures the very essence of New York, and knocks your breath away at times. Being generous to a fault, the chef made sure each lady left with a copy of his book in the goodie bag that evening! That was a real WOW moment for all of us, a book with a 120 recipes so imaginatively created.

Through simple, wholesome and staple recipes to complex combinations of textures and flavors, the book offers it all. Chef Vikas Khanna has brought in inspiration from some of the worlds iconic cooks, cafes and home kitchens, and allows you to add your own imagination and experience as you turn pages.

And that is what I did. The boy has been on my case for stained glass cookies. They were a norm during his growing up years every Christmas, the fascination of candy melting to transparent magic while baking. Turning the pages, I stopped at the thumbprint cookies. Those were ‘growing up’ cookies too, so before I knew it I was in the kitchen.

I took the liberty of playing with the recipe Ojasvi’s Raspberry Thumbprint Cookie to give it my own wholegrain twist. It worked. Beautifully. The boy was thrilled, and said they were the best ever. Mr PAB took one look and said they were like the ones he used to beg his mother to buy each time he visited his ‘nani‘ or maternal grandmother when he was a kid. Now I was thrilled too! True old fashioned cookies!!

Things I changed. All purpose flour for a combination of wholewheat and almond meal, some baking soda to help them stay light, brown sugar and instead of white, and a wild lingonberry preserve from Ikea to fill. The Slyt Blaber is the son’s favourite preserve. He got hooked on to it several years ago when we first visited Sydney. Thankfully Hong Kong has a great Ikea, so the Swedish preserve supply continues!

The cookies turned out really nice. They flattened out slightly more than those in the book. Perhaps I should have chilled the dough, perhaps added a spoon or two more of flour. Next  batch. Nevertheless they were crisp beautiful and delicious! I made this a Fit Foodie recipe.

[print_this]

Recipe:  Lingonberry Thumbprint Cookies

Summary: Rich, old fashioned buttery cookies that would delight the cookie monster at home. Make sure you use good quality butter and vanilla extract. These Lingonberry Thumbprint Cookies are adapted from World Feast by Vikas Khanna, pg 341. Makes 20-24 cookies.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Filling
  • 1/2tsp honey
  • 1/4 cup lingonberry preserves {or your favourite jam}
  • Cookies
  • 1 1/8 cup wholewheat flour
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Place preserves and honey in a small bowl and mix well. Reserve.
  3. Sift together flour and almond meal
  4. Place butter and sugar in a large bowl and blend with a electric hand blender until light and cream.
  5. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  6. Fold in the dry mix well. Knead to a smooth dough.
  7. Divide into half, then divide into ten to twelve 2.5cm/1″ balls each.
  8. Place an inch apart each on the baking tray, using a floured thumb to create indentations in the centre of each ball. ill each indentation with 1 tsp of jam-honey mixture.
  9. Bake until golden brown for approx 25 minutes.
  10. Remove to tray, cool completely. Dust with icing sugar. Store in an airtight container.

[/print_this]

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti …{chocolate+cranberries+ginger+walnuts}

“Eat clean. Think straight. Work consistently. Speak positively. Motivate others. Believe in yourself.” Toni Sorenson

Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti. It’s strange that I post biscotti every so often. Each time Mr PAB travels I brace myself for the request. “Do you think you’ll have time to make me some biscotti?” Yes he is that predictable. And me? Equally unpredictable. Even if I am torn for time, I know I will definitely bake a batch. The unpredictable bit is that I cannot make the same recipe over and over again.

That the biscotti was going to be healthy and wholegrain was a given. The beginning of the holiday season means a lot of additional flavours begin to dance in the head. Crystallised ginger, dried cranberries, orange, and walnuts of course… fun fun fun! Baking the batch gave me a chance to play around with this beautiful Acacia Wooden Cutting Board from Engrave that I recently received. Chopped the walnuts, ginger and cranberries on it, flipped it over and shot some more…

Meat or mushrooms, this rugged chopping board can handle it all. Hand crafted from a single block of Acacia wood, this rustic looking board is as comfortable in the lap as it on the kitchen counter. If you find one side is worn out from months if frantic chopping, flip it around for a second stint.

Engrave have got a whole lot of fun, innovative and interesting products online. I especially love the Acacia range, but there’s plenty more in the lifestyle range. Their engraving and personalized products really stand out. There is loads of creativity on offer that includes plaques, canvas, name plates, ipad engraving …

…. back to baking and the queen of substitutions kicked in. It was going to be a chocolate base. Most whole grains work really well with chocolate, so no question of messing around there. I like that this recipe worked out well. Plenty of wholegrain – buckwheat flour, wholewheat flour and oats, it’s packed with nuts, ginger, cranberries too … all good for the winters. The recipe is a healthier take on the chocolate almond biscotti I made several years ago…. and that brings me to the Fit Foodie meter.

As you might know, I was part of the Saffola Oats campaign led by Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna last year to develop healthy and tasty recipes.Using wholegrain and healthy ingredients like oats, buckwheat flour, amaranth flour, whole sugars etc., I discovered a whole new world! There’s been no looking back…I developed  bunch of fun and interesting recipes. You can now find these on the FIT FOODIE website. There were a couple of videos shot for Food Food Channel as well. They are on the Saffola Fit Foodie site and on you tube too.This year around, I have been invited to hop on board and join their ‘Fit Foodie Panel‘.

Our panel of experts is the one that creates, carefully scrutinizes and approves every recipe that is available on the site. Headed by Michelin starred chef, Vikas Khanna, it includes die hard foodies, eminent chefs, popular food bloggers and renowned nutritionists who ensure that the scale is perfectly balanced on both health and taste. They cook, they taste and yes, they share exactly what works to spin that delightfully healthy meal on the table!

The site offers another interesting concept that’s been developed by the efficient and creative team behind brand Saffola… the Fit Foodie Meter. It works hard to improve normally used recipes and give them a healthier makeover of sorts, yet keeps the tasty factor in place.

The Fit Foodie Meter score is in a comparative format. The meter always shows the score for two recipes: 1) The ‘Regular Recipe’ or the most commonly prepared form of the dish and 2) The ‘Fit Foodie Recipe’ or the recipe presented in this website, which is an improved/modified version of the original dish. For example, if one were to take pizza as the dish, the Fit Foodie Meter would show the score for a regular veg pizza (Regular Recipe) and that for the Green Pizza (Fit Foodie Recipe) whose recipe is presented on this website. The greater the difference between the two scores, the higher the nutritive value of the Fit Foodie recipe in comparison to the Regular Recipe.

So join us at Saffola Fit Foodie as we try and get you healthier takes on recipes. Feel free to request for ‘recipe makeovers’ . Together we can reach our goal of tasty & healthy recipes. You can submit your healthier versions of recipes too. It’s a lifestyle change. Come be part of it!

[print_this]Recipe: Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti {chocolate+cranberries+ginger+walnuts}

Summary: Crisp, chocolaty, and healthy, this Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti is a nice addition to the holiday cookie platter. With cranberries, walnuts, crystallised ginger and orange, it’s time to ring in the holiday season with this twice baked Italian cookie! Makes 25-30

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Ingredients:

  • 75g wholewheat flour
  • 40g buckwheat flour
  • 50g oats
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 75g dark chocolate
  • 75g unsalted butter, chilled, chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 125g brown sugar
  • 1tp vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 50g walnuts, roasted, chopped
  • 15g crystallised ginger,chopped
  • 25g dried cranberries, chopped

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 170C
  2. Place wholewheat flour, buckwheat flour, oats, coco powder, baking powder, pinch salt and dark chocolate in bowl of food processor and pulse to fine mix.
  3. Add the butter and pulse at high speed again. Reserve.
  4. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, brown sugar, almond extract and orange rind till fluffy, one minute.
  5. Fold in the dry mix with the walnuts, ginger and cranberries. Form into 2 logs and bake for 30 minute
  6. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes. Slice with a sharp knife.
  7. Lay flat on sides on the baking tray, and bake again at 150C for 30 minutes.

[/print_this]

whatsapp

Don’t miss a post Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Wholewheat Cocoa Almond Biscotti #comfortfood #biscotti #chocolate

“Comfort food, food that reassures, is different things to different people.”
David Tanis

Wholewheat Cocoa Almond Biscotti … what can be better than a crisp chocolatey cookie on a rainy day. Twice baked, studded with roasted almonds and chocolaty to boot. There’s something strangely comforting about this twice baked Italian cookie, not least that it is low on fat. This version is wholegrain and delicious!

It was time for Mr PAB to travel, and as is customary to carry some cookies with him, it was time to bake! Biscotti’s been on my mind of late. It’s been raining quite a bit; delayed monsoons and what have you. The weather seems perfect for biscotti and some nice deep coffee. So a batch was baked. Some for him, some for us!

You might have noticed fewer desserts popping up here. Yes, that’s happened too. With the daughter away to uni, the demand has ‘fallen’. The son for some good reason is counting calories these days. Salads and stir fries are in, so are smoothies and fruits! The cakes and sweet treats are few and far between! Is good. I kinda like it.

[print_this]Recipe: Wholewheat Cocoa Almond Biscotti

Summary: Wholewheat Cocoa Almond Biscotti … what’s not to love about a crisp twice baked chocolate cookie. This is a wholegrain healthy version with roasted almonds. You could use toasted walnuts instead and make a brownie biscotti!  Use a good-quality cocoa powder as that really makes the difference to how deeply chocolaty the biscotti will be.  Makes 30-35 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 120g wholewheat flour
  • 65g plain flour
  • 65g cocoa powder
  • 3/4t baking soda
  • 1/4t salt
  • 65g unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 175g brown sugar
  • 1 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely-chopped

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake a cookie sheet with baking parchment.
  2. Place the flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly to mix
  3. Add cubed chilled butter. Process briefly until you get a breadcrumb like mix.
  4. With the machine running on low, add the eggs and process until the mixture begins to clump together.
  5. Turn into a big bowl, add the almonds, mix well and then bring the dough together into a 2 firm halves.
  6. Turn onto work surface and shape into 2 logs, pressing firmly together.
  7. Transfer to prepared cookie tray, and bake for 25 minutes.
  8. Allow to cool slightly, about 15-25 minutes.
  9. Slice and place sides down on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, turning the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies feel mostly firm.
  10. Cool completely and store in an airtight box.

[/print_this]

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Baking | Wholegrain GF Amaranth Brownie Biscotti … #bloggerstuesday #hbg #glutenfree #cookie

“Bake with love…”
Manuela Kjeilen

Wholegrain GF Amaranth Brownie Biscotti. Today I have one of my favourite recipes for you. I developed this for my better half who is trying to stay gluten free and loves biscotti. I shot it in a hurry as he was leaving for HKG and loves to carry ‘the taste of home’ with him.

I am super inspired with whole grain baking and still can’t figure out why plain flour formed my first few years of baking. It’s never too late to shift gear though. I did, and happily so. My baking now is mostly whole grain and I am LOVING it. You will find oats, amaranth, wholewheat, nut meals in my recipes.My other love, fruit, finds a lot of place in my blog too. I have also now shifted to using raw sugar, honey and brown mineral sugar in the kitchen, and sometimes natural fruit substitutes a part of the sugar. I hope I have inspired you to shift gears a little too. Do ‘think out of the box’, push your boundaries and always stay inspired!

This post is headed for Bloggers Tuesday at Home Bakers Guild.

 

[print_this]Recipe:Wholegrain GF Amaranth Brownie Biscotti

Summary: Deep, dark, comforting … all the goodness that biscotti promises to be in this gluten free avatar. Wholegrain GF Amaranth Brownie Biscotti offers a gluten free alternative to this delicious twice baked Italian classic cookie.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 70g amaranth flour
  • 25g rice flour
  • 40g almond meal
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 75g dark chocolate chips
  • 50g walnuts, roasted, chopped
  • 2eggs
  • 100g butter
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 1tsp vanilla extract

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the amaranth flour, rice flour, almond meal, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and toss well to mix. Reserve.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients from the reserved bowl and bring together with your hands to make a firm dough.
  4. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly oiled surface, pat one half together firmly and roll into a log. Flatten gently. Repeat with the other half.
  5. Transfer the logs gently onto the baking sheet, evenly spaced apart, brush with the reserved egg white, and sprinkle with sugar.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes, until the dough feels firm to the touch. {Keep a close eye as the oven is quite hot and the chocolate can burn}
  7. Remove pan from the oven and cool 5 minutes. On a cutting board, use a serrated knife to diagonally cut the cookies into 1/2-inches slices.
  8. Reduce heat to 150C. Lay the cookies cut side down on baking sheets and return to the oven for 35 minutes {or more if you like your biscotti crisper}, turning the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies feel mostly firm.

[/print_this]

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Please wait...

Subscribe to my newsletter

Want to be notified when the article is published? Do enter your email address and name below to be the first to know.
SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER NOW
Exit mobile version