Nutella Fantasy cookies

This a really simple recipe for a really amazing cookie. Very recently, it was World Nutella day and since I'm a really big fan of nutella and anything that has hazelnut in it, I decided to make these moreish, gooey biscuits.

Be prepared for your house to smell of heavenly gorgeous chocolate biscuits. You can tweak this as per your requirement by even adding some chocolate chips into it. I decided not to . 

Children will love it, since its that magical surprise in the middle. you can also freeze this dough for months and make it as and when you want to . 

Ingredients

( makes about 20 cookies) 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup Cocoa powder ( Cadbury)

1/2 cup nutella

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, continue to beat until well combined.

2. Place the sifted flour, cocoa powder and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients ( the dough must look like chapati atta and must be smooth)

3. Scoop a large spoonful of dough and flatten it into the palm of your hand. Add in some nutella into the middle, about 1-2 tsp. Then fold cookie dough back up so that it seals and covers the nutella entirely.

4. Bake for about 10-14 minutes or until the cookies feel slightly firm on the sides and squidgy on top. (Be careful while checking as they can be hot. check by tapping a spatula on top of the cookie.if you can hear the tapping sound its done. if not keep it in the oven for another 2 minutes ) 

Remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Honey Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

V had  to go to the airport to pick up a relative, late one night  and since I wasn't sleepy I decided to make these yummy cookies :)
Sometimes I'm an owl and sleep doesn't come very easily when I have something on my mind.. Hence i decided to make a batch of these at 11 pm...
Oh, how wonderful the house smelt after these babies came out of the oven... Here is my recipe of this classic recipe.. ( everyone has their own recipe, so you can adjust/add/minus, any ingredient you wish to, without altering the basic recipe )

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1/2 cup - butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup - granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup - honey
• 1 large - egg
• 1 teaspoon - vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups - quick cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup - whole wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon - salt
• 1 teaspoon - ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon - baking soda
• 1 cup - raisins, chocolate or butterscotch chips

• 
  DIRECTIONS : 

  In medium bowl, beat butter with sugar until thoroughly blended. Blend in honey. Blend in egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth. In separate bowl, mix together oats, flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda; blend into honey mixture. Blend in raisins or chips. Drop dough by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 180°C for 12 to 14 minutes until cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool 2 to 3 minutes before removing from baking sheet. Cool completely then store in an airtight container.

  TIP

  High altitude adjustment: Increase oats to 2 cups and decrease whole wheat flour to 3/4 cup.

• 
  

Garlic Pull Apart Rolls

I think I have been looking longingly at this recipe for more than a year now, tempted to make it but somehow put off by the process and basically worried about how I would handle the yeast.

Yesterday I thought to myself that no more procrastinating, and unless I tried my hand at it how would I ever know, right? So I set off rightaway, armed with my ingredients! Firstly, it was much easier than I imagined. The dough behaved and even tastewise I was happy with the result :)

I will mention at the outset that I have referred to many recipes but ended up adapting it to my taste and preferences. So the below recipe, is really mine :D

Ingredients for the dough:

1.5 cups of flour (I used normal chapati atta, whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1.5 tbsp of yeast (active dry yeast)
1 cup warm water (not hot, just warm)
1 tsp of baking powder ( this is only just in case you are worried the flour won't behave, as it's not self raising i.e maida)
Olive oil, as needed
4 tbsp of milk

Ingredients for the garlic filling:

4 cloves of garlic - finely crushed
Butter or mayo - as per preference
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Mix all dry ingredients together (yes, including the yeast). Now add warm water and knead into a soft dough. Add a touch of olive oil as and when needed but make sure the dough isn't too oily. Now cover with clingfilm and set aside in a warm environment for around 45 minutes so that the yeast can work its wonder and the dough will double in size.

Meanwhile, combine well all ingredients for the garlic filling together and set aside. Grease a small loaf pan and set aside too

After 45 minutes to an hour, take the dough and punch the air from inside by knocking it. Divide into two parts. Take one part and spread it on a floured surface and roll into a semi-thick rectangle. Now spread half the quantity of the garlic mixture thoroughly to cover the rectangle. Roll it from one end to another (via the length) and cut into four parts. Preheat your oven to 180C (Mine is a convection so I heated it to 200C).

Place the rolls with the cut size up, into a loaf pan. Brush the rolls lightly with milk. Repeat this procedure with the other half of the dough (rolling out, applying filling and rolling in again to cut up into parts).

Bake for around 35 minutes, until the top part of the rolls appear to brown and the rolls feel like bread. Serve with your choice of a side, I just sauteed some potatoes to add to the flavour ;) Enjoy!

Butterless Eggless Chocolate Muffins

My first attempt at baking muffins and wow they do look yum..don't they?  Actually Samarth has been asking for chocolate muffins for the longest time ever. I have been promising him and procrastinating at the same time. Finally today I had some extra time in the kitchen so I thought I will get set and bake...only to realize that I have run out of butter. 

Here is a quick recipe for butterless and eggless muffins that are made from wholewheat chapati flour (which makes them healthier as compared to those made with all purpose flour).

You will need:

1.5 cups of flour (chapati aatta)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of choc powder (I had nesquik lying around)

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp vanilla powder

1 cup milk

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

A few pieces of milk chocolate

Get baking:

Sift the dry ingredients together and make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients. Make sure you don't mix it too much. Add the pieces of chocolate and combine together.

Preheat the oven to 230C. Pour tthe mixture to only half of the silicon mould and bake for around 20 minutes. I have a small tray and only 7 moulds could  go in at a time. Plus mine is a convection oven so I had to adjust the baking time accordingly.

If you are a newbie like me...keep checking the muffins as they swell and settle. Poke with a skewer and if it comes out clean then the muffins are done.

Edited to add :  Tastewise.... very very moist and just the right degree of sweet!!! Am motivated to try more recipes now

Upside down mango cake

Ingredients
Sliced ripe mango- 2cups
Lemon juice- 1tbsp
Butter- 1tbsp
Brown sugar- ⅓ cup

For the cake:
Milk- 1 cup or 250ml
Granulated sugar- ¾ cup
All purpose flour- 1-1/2 cup
Custard powder- ½ cup
Baking powder- 2tsp
Baking soda- ¼tsp
Vanilla extract- 1tsp
Butter- ½ cup

Instructions:
Pour lemon juice over the mango slices and let them stand for 15min. Melt butter in an 8″ cake pan and add the brown sugar. Cover with mango slices and set aside.

For the cake, Sift the flour along with the baking powder and baking soda and keep aside. Heat milk in a pan and add the sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and set aside to cool. Once the milk has reached room temperature, add the custard powder and vanilla extract and mix. Stir in the butter and mix again. Pour the prepared milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix well until there are no lumps. Pour the batter over the mangoes and bake in a pre heated oven at 180C for 45min or till an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5min. Remove and turn it upside down on a plate. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Microwave Oreo Nutella cake

I am the queen of microwave baking simply because it is so easy and most importantly economizes on time! I tried this easy and super yummy cake last month when my inlaws were here and everyone polished it off in no time. My parents also visited us and mom specifically requested me to bake it again so that she could take it back to India with her!!

Here are the ingredients you need to keep ready:

Cake flour - 1.5 cups (all purpose flour) + 1 tsp baking powder, sift together

1 cup of Sugar, powdered well

2 tbsps of Nutella

12 Oreos

200 gm of butter plus a little that is melted to make the base

1 Egg

Get started!

Melt a little butter, crush 4 Oreos into a coarse powder and mix together. Press firmly into the bottom of your pre-greased baking dish and set it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to chill well.

Melt the butter in a microwave safe dish and add the powdered sugar, mix well. Now break the egg into this and whisk well for at least 15 minutes by hand or using the electric beater. 

Add the flour-baking powder to this mixture and whisk well. Divide the mix into half. Spread the first half over the Oreo base you have prepared. Separate 3 oreo biscuits and arrange in the way as below, keeping one full oreo biscuit in the middle. 

In the second half of the mixture, add 2 tablespoons of nutella and mix well. Now spread it over the first layer which was prepared. Cover well.

Here's my cake all set to go into the oven. Upturn a tea saucer on the turntable in the microwave (This is to ensure the cake bakes evenly) before you set the dish over it. Bake on High for 6-7 minutes and keep an eye on it constantly. 

...There it's done!!

Maltesers 'Cake in a Cup'

Yep you read it right, it is cake in a cup! I didn't ever think it was possible until I made it and saw for myself how easy it is! I've tweaked the original recipe a little so here goes my version :)

You'll need:

4 tbsp self raising flour
4 tbsp castor sugar
3 tbsp oil [any will do, I used sunflower oil]
1 medium egg
3 tbsp Nutella [here I melted a small bar one of my fave hazelnut chocolate and used it, you can use plain milk chocolate if you like]
4 tbsp milk
...and one small packet of Maltesers.

Whisk together all ingredients except the maltesers, until it is well combined. Now in 3 medium coffee mugs, pour in the batter in each cup just up to half level as the cake will rise when it is  getting baked. Tip 3-4 maltesers into each cup and push it a little inside so that it is covered by the batter.

Set it in the microwave on high power for a minute but check after 30 seconds. Mine were done in less than a minute. You have to get the mug out when the cake is still moist as it will settle after it is cooled. Serve warm with strawberries/cream/icecream - or ALL :)

As you can see I haven't bothered clearing the gooey chocolate at the edges of the cup - just for the heck of it !!

Enjoy this yummilicious dessert and trust me it's so easy that you'll keep it at the top of your mind for an instant dessert :)

Eggless Chocochip cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Teaspoon of No Egg - Natural Egg Replacer ( can be purchased by clicking on the link) 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.

Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Banana, walnut, cinnamon loaf

Ingredients :

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon pwder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter - softened

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 bananas - mashed 

1/2 cup walnuts - chopped

Method :

1.Cream the butter with the sugar till it becomes nice and pale. 

2.Mix flour, salt, baking soda,baking powder and cinnamon pwd in another dry bowl. Add this to the butter mixture,   alternating with a little milk at a time and beat until nicely blended. Add the flour and milk alternately as you   keep whipping the batter so it gets nice and fluffy. 

3.You can even use a food-processor for this. Keep scraping the sides as you blend or beat the mixture. Add a little   more milk(half cup more) if the batter looks too thick.

4.Add the mashed bananas and vanilla essence. Finally add in the chopped walnuts, folding in just to mix it well.

5.Grease a Loaf shape tin, or use muffin molds for individual cakes. I used a Loaf pan. Fill them only 2/3rd full as this needs more room to rise. Even if you use a cake pan, do not fill more than half of it. Sprinkle some chopped walnuts on top as well.

Preheat oven at 175 deg celcius and bake for 20 to 25 minutes (muffin size) or 30 - 40 mins ( loaf tin) until cake springs back when lightly touched near center, and the sides pull away from the pan.

Put a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean, your cake is ready to come out of the oven. 

 If you are using a cake pan, it may take a little longer, but keep checking if its done after 20 mins. Allow the cake to cool a little on the wire rack,Dust with Icing sugar then serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

 

Hazelnut-Banana Microwave Cake

The softest, yummiest cake ever, and yes, made in a microwave in about 10 minutes baking time! Don't believe it? Try it yourself today! :)

Ingredients:

Hazelnut-chocolate paste : 2 tsp ( You can use Nutella, or any other)

Milk: 1 cup

Eggs: 1

Maida or all purpose flour: 1 and a half cups

Pureed banana: thick puree of 1 banana

Powdered sugar: half a cup

Melted butter : 50 gms

Sift the dry ingredients together and mix. Add the egg and beat the mixture really well. Add the milk, hazelnut paste, banana puree and melted butter. Beat it either by hand or use an electric mixer, until the mixture is really smooth and well combined.

Grease a microwave safe deep dish and pour this mix into that. Invert a saucer upside down on the microwave turn table and place the deep dish over it. Microwave on high for 15 minutes, and keep checking at 5 and 7 minute intervals and do prick a fork into it as an indicator if it has baked well and is done. 

Easy Eggless Cooker cake.

Check out my Post on making an Easy Eggless cooker cake !!!!