Double Chocolate Bars
This is straight from a friend’s kitchen who is just awesome at baking. Ever since, I was handed over a box of these beauties on christmas eve, I have stopped counting calories 
Do they look tempting?? Well then, lets head straight to the recipe.
You Will Need:
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1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
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1/4 cup cocoa powder
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1/2 cup granulated sugar
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1/2 cup brown sugar
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1/2 cup unsalted butter - at room temprature
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1 large egg
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1/2 tsp baking soda
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1/2 tsp baking powder
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1/2 tsp salt
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1 tsp lemon juice
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1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
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1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Method:
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Pre heat the oven to 350F/175C
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Cream butter & sugar in a large bowl, with an electric blender. Add the egg, lemon juice & vanilla extract & beat well.
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In another bowl, sift together, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture & beat until fully incorporated.
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Fold in the chocolate chips
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Spread in a greased 15×10 inch baking pan.
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Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Yes, the surfaces will crack, but they look nice, Don’t they??
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Allow it to cool completely & cut into bars
Enjoi these chewy chocolate bars with a cuppa coffee & please no calorie counting this time
Roasted Almonds
Do you know, Almonds (one of the few good nuts, we can eat ) are healthy. They are a terrific source of proteins & unsaturated fats. My hands instantly reach out for a handful of almonds when I am hungry.
While I mostly nibble on plain, raw almonds, An interesting way of eating almonds is probably roasting them with some spices.
The other day, I was in the mood for something crunchy. So instead of reaching out for that pack of forbidden potato chips, I went ahead & quickly roasted some almonds. Roasting really does bring out that nice nutty flavor in them.
Here’s what I did
You Will Need:
- 2 cups unblanched, unsalted almonds
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Pre heat the oven to 350F/180C
- Mix all the ingredients until the nuts are well coated
- Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet
- Toast for about 8-10 mins
- Let it cool for about 15 minutes before serving
Munch with some Coffee/Tea . . . Enjoi !!!
This gets done in about 20 minutes in total. They are a great accompaniment to tea/coffee. They go great with some cool cocktails too.
I wanted to keep this simple & bring out that nutty flavor, so I just added some cumin powder for that spice touch. Next time I would consider adding some ground pepper or paprika. Or maybe next time, I will add some lemon juice for that citrusy flavor. Does that sound good?
Oatmeal Cookies
Iam sure baking has begun in most households. Christmas baking must be such fun. I think baking is therapeutic.Christmas brings back memories from school. Since, I studied in a convent school, This was one big event for us.
Cookies are one of the fastest & easiest to make. It such a joy to eat home made cookies along with a HOT mug of coffee. I baked some oatmeal cookies over the weekend. This was the first time I was baking with oatmeal & was a little sceptical about the result. It turned out better than expected.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
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1 cup brown sugar
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1 cup white sugar
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1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
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3 cups oats ( I used Quaker Quick )
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2 eggs
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1 cup shortening
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1 tsp baking soda
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1 tsp salt
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2 tsp cinnamon powder
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1 tsp lemon juice
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1/2 cup chopped cashews (optional)
Method:
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Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C
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In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar, white sugar,vanilla extract & shortening. Add one egg at a time, beat well after each addition.
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In another bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon
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Add this gradually to the first mixture & mix well. Add chopped cashews & add oats towards the end. Cover & chill the dough for an hour.
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Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto a greased baking sheet. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.
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Allow the cookies to stand in the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack & let it cool completely.
Store in air-tight jars. Enjoi !!!
NOTE:
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Use either quick or old-fashioned oats. DO NOT use instant ones.
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You could use butter instead of shortening
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Try substituting cashews with raisins, walnuts or macademia nuts.
The cookies were crisp & chewy. We loved it. The fact that oatmeal is used made it a little guilt free.
We are off for a much needed holiday this weekend. I am all excited. Will be back soon. Merry Christmas to everyone out there. Have loads of fun.
- Chao
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
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2 1/4 cups All purpose flour
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1 cup butter, softened
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3/4 cup granulated sugar
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3/4 cup packed brown sugar
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2 Eggs
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1 tsp salt
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1 tsp lemon juice
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1 tsp baking soda
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2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
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1 cup chopped walnuts - optional
Method:
- Pre heat the oven to 375 F
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
- In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda & salt
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Add chocolate chips & nuts. Mix well until thoroughly combined.
- Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet
- Bake in the pre heated oven for about 7-8 minutes or until the peaks on top of the cookies are just starting to turn brown.
- Let it stand for a couple of minutes & cool before removing them from baking sheets
Dunk them in your mug of coffee, chilled milk . . Enjoi !! Dig In, whenever you feel like.
NOTE:
DO NOT forget to cool the cookies before removing them from the sheet. The cookies will be super soft & will fall apart if not allowed to cool.
DO remember to add Vanilla extract & lemon juice, they lend a very chewy texture to the cookies.
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