Tag: baking


Sep
2013

M&M Oreo Cookie Bars

categories: Baking, Bars & Blondies, Desserts

M&M Oreo Cookie Bars1

Hello Oreo lovers! Hello M&M lovers! Let’s get united 🙂

These bars are heavenly for texture-lovers! Every bite is filled with crunchy chopped Oreos and M&M’s contrasted with soft, buttery, moist dough. They are dense, thick and biteful. I have used dark brown sugar in the recipe which gives a beautiful caramel-ish flavor mixed with chocolate Oreos.

These bars come together in 1-bowl, just under 5-minutes, and without using mixer! These are ready under half an hour. Perfect to satisfy those sudden sugar-cravings! It is so quick, easy and of course, no dough chilling required.

M&M Oreo Cookie Bars2

Another advantage is, this recipe is very accommodating. You can use anything you like as fillers. So bookmark this one as your base recipe for bars and blondies. Feel free to sub Oreos with any other left-over cookies, peanut butter cups, pretzels, chocolate chips. Do not shy away from experimenting. Instead of M&M’s, arrange the top with lots of mini marshmallows. It will be heavenly! I’m going to do marshmallow version soon! Till then enjoy this 🙂

M&M Oreo Cookie Bars3

M&M Oreo Cookie Bars
Yields: 9 to 12 squares | Prep Time: 5-10 minutes | Cook Time: 20-22 minutes | Total: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup Graham cracker crumbs
  • Pinch of salt
  • 15 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped (I used chocolate Oreos)
  • 1/2 cup M&M’s (Nestlé Smarties, Cadbury Gems or any other chopped candies can be used)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with aluminium foil, grease with oil or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. In a large, microwave safe bowl, add butter and place in microwave for 1-minute on high power.
  3. Wait a minute before adding the egg so that it does not scramble. Add the egg, sugar, vanilla and whisk until smooth.
  4. Add the flour, Graham cracker crumbs and salt. Stir until just combined. Do not over-mix.
  5. Stir in the Oreo chunks.
  6. Turn the thick batter out into prepared baking pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula or back of the spoon.
  7. Evenly sprinkle the M&M’s over the top, lightly pressing them down with your finger, a spatula or back of the spoon.
  8. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Bars will keep for up to 1 week at room temperature stored in an airtight container, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
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Sep
2013

Skinny Banana Chocolate-chip Dutch Baby

categories: Baking, Breakfast, Fall, Pancakes, Quick Fix

Skinny Banana Chocolate-Chips Dutch Baby4

I know I went MIA AGAIN and you must think that I do not take the blog seriously but in my defense, life happened. It so happens that life loves to throw unlikely surprises my way! So what happened you ask… Well, my in-laws arrived in town 3 weeks back and due to the super-dramatic climate-change here, both caught Mono. Next in queue was my hubby dearest!

So in the midst of house-work and multiple visits to the clinic on daily-basis, I could squeeze in time to blog only 2 previous recipes. I was definitely active on social media. I did check-out what my other blogger friends were writing about but I did not have patience to write down a recipe or to edit pictures for the post. It’s not like I did not have recipes to post or I was not cooking. In fact, I was cooking more regularly than ever! At least 3 different meals were being prepared on a daily basis. And now that everyone is fit and fine, I’m going to take a little breather from home-cooking and going to eat-out little bit more and of course, start posting here regularly!

Skinny Banana Chocolate-Chips Dutch Baby1

I bring you today another easy skinny pancake recipe. It is perfect for breakfast or Brinner, serves a small family perfectly that too without the hassle of flipping individual pancakes! You know I’m lazy and love quick-fixes more than anything right?! 😉

The Dutch Baby is another name for German pancake which is baked in a cast-iron skillet or a metal pan and its puff falls soon after being removed from the oven. This pancake is ready in a record time of 20-25 minutes from start-to-finish! Made with minimum ingredients, this is a perfect recipe for days when your refrigerator has scarce ingredients. You just need 2 eggs, little flour, some milk and 1 banana to be in business! Rest of the ingredients are your usual suspects.

I do not own a cast-iron skillet so I baked this in a 10-inch metal pan I have. Brown sugar, banana and cinnamon is a match made in heaven. The result is perfectly caramelized banana topped pancake topped with chocolate-chips. Your house is going to smell delicious for next few hours! Whattay way to start mornings or end work-laden days! Enjoy! 🙂

Skinny Banana Chocolate-Chips Dutch Baby2

 

Skinny Banana Chocolate-Chips Dutch Baby3

Skinny Banana Chocolate-chip Dutch Baby

Makes: 1 big Dutch Baby | Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 banana thinly sliced
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk (skim milk, soy milk or almond milk)
  • 2 or 3 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2-3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips (Use more as per your liking)
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
  2. Prepare a 9-inch oven-safe skillet by spraying with cooking spray or greasing it. Place butter in the skillet. Put skillet in the oven to melt the butter. You can do this while oven is still in preheating mode. Once butter has melted, in about 2-3 minutes, remove the skillet from the oven and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, add eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and whisk to combine.
  4. Add the flour, cinnamon, salt and whisk until smooth and free from lumps.
  5. Pour the batter on to the skillet and evenly top with banana slices. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and puffy. Mine was ready in 15 minutes.
  6. Slice and serve optionally with a dusting of powdered sugar or a pour from maple syrup.
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Aug
2013

Pina~Colada Cake-Mix Cookies

categories: Baking, Cookies

Pina~colada Cake-mix Cookies1

I have been known for my love of eating my drink! You must have seen this and this! (< These are must try! They are simply loved by friends and family and most viewed recipe on my blog till date!!)

So now I want to take a plunge and start drinking my cookies! 😉 Who is with me on this?

When you incorporate a drink in baked goods, the flavor gets enhanced and intensifies. In my opinion cupcakes/cakes are more forgiving in a way you can play with liquid as the consistency of batter is not much of a concern. While it is trickier to be able to incorporate a drink in cookie-dough as it has to be just right, not overly runny or sticky else it goes straight in to the trash.

I am a very guarded person.. I hate disasters in the kitchen more than any other person. Just can not handle them. I know it is part-and-parcel of the game but non-salvageable disasters just make me crazy! Yup.. still dealing with my failed attempt at Mountain Dew cookies.. But I have not lost on them yet! I am sure I’ll come up with a winner recipe 🙂

Hence for this second drink-cookies expedition, being an overly-cautious person that I am, I decided to use cake-mix. They are just convenient and I could focus on the liquid~cake-mix ratio completely rather than focusing on flour-sugar ratio first. These were success at first attempt so I will be more confident while baking my next Pina-colada cookies from scratch. I will definitely update the recipe when it happens in future but till then enjoy these cake-mix cookies as they were the best cake-mix cookies I have baked so far and I have baked many!!

Pina~colada Cake-mix Cookies3

The batter comes together easily. In one bowl. With a spoon. No mixer required.

We are using cake-mix which virtually guarantees a success! They are soft, fluffy and yet chewy.

These are studded with the bits of dried pineapple and glazed cherries. And when we are talking Pina-colada how can we miss coconut so in goes shredded desiccated coconut. Feel free to add rum and adjust the liquid ratio accordingly if you are in cocktail-cookie mode!

These are perfect holiday cookies. I haven’t been able to take vacation this summer but drinking these cookies definitely felt like sipping a drink on a beach. So go ahead and bake these golden nuggets of sunshine to brighten up you day!

Pina~colada Cake-mix Cookies2
Before going to the oven

Pina~Colada Cake-Mix Cookies

Yields: 2-dozen regular-sized cookies or 1-dozen large cookies (Needless to say I baked mine large)

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3 and 1/2 Tbsp Pina-colada squash/cocktail-mix
  • 250 gm Vanilla cake-mix (I used Pillsbury)
  • 3-4 Tbsp all-purpose flour (or less)
  • 1/2 heaping cup grated desiccated coconut
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped dried pineapple
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped glazed cherries (dried cherries or cranberries would work too)

*If want boozy cookies, add 1 Tbsp rum and reduce Pina-colada squash/cocktail-mix ratio to 2 and 1/2 Tbsp.

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF. Line baking sheet with a parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine butter and Pina-colada squash/cocktail mix and stir by hand or with an electric mixer till combined.
  2. Add the cake-mix and stir until the batter is smooth. Add the flour one spoon at a time, as needed to solidify the dough. Add as little as possible to get chewy cookies. Adding more flour will make it cakey so add little-by-little.
  3. Fold in the coconut, pineapple and cherries and put the mixing bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes. Do not skip this step as chilled dough spreads less during baking.
  4. Using a Tablespoon or ice-cream scoop, drop 1-inch dough-balls on prepared cookie-sheet, allowing for adequate spacing. These cookies do not spread much and retain its puffier shape. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are barely browned on the bottom. The tops will look undone but they will continue to set on the cookie-sheet even after out of the oven. They will firm up as they cool so do not over-bake. Allow the cookies to cool on cookie sheet before attempting to move them. Store them in an air-tight container for up to a week at room-temperature.
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Jul
2013

Fresh Peach Fluffy Pancakes Cake

categories: Baking, Cake, Cakes, Summer

Fresh Peach Fluffy Panacakes Cake1

Another fruit cake you’ll say, eh? But I just can’t let the amazing plethora of summer fruit pass by just like that. Without a dessert tribute at least!

I was too lazy to bake muffins or flip the pancakes so I went an easier route. My favorite buttermilk cake route. I know I have given you this and this this month but this recipe is different from those. Of course it uses buttermilk but it tastes like a cross between muffins and pancakes without having to actually make them! How do you like that! 😉

Fresh Peach Fluffy Panacakes Cake3

Just like my previous recipes, this recipe does not require electric mixer and the batter comes together in like 5 minutes total. Seriously! The result is fluffy and tender cake like a perfect pancake should be!

Fresh Peach Fluffy Panacakes Cake2

So how this cake is different from my previous buttermilk cakes? The batter resembles the pancake batter unlike my previous recipes. So no heavy duty mixing for this cake. In fact, you leave the lumps in the batter. Only gentle folding does the job. Another difference is.. Unlike topping the cake with the fruits in our previous recipe, we fold in the fruit in the batter to get peach in every bite! Yum!!

Fresh Peach Fluffy Panacakes Cake4

It’s a gorgeous weather in Bangalore today, I’m having a slice of it while writing this and I just can’t tell you how good it tastes the next day too! I had one slice with the dusting of confectioner’s sugar and another with vanilla ice-cream.. Delicious both ways!

You can replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour to make it healthier. Rest, you just got to deal with the sugar! 😛

You have to make this!!! Just be sure to use ripe peaches. Peel them, remove the pit, chop in a bite-sized pieces and you’re ready.. Only 2-3 peaches required!

Fresh Peach Fluffy Pancakes Cake

Prep time: 5-10 mins | Baking time: 35-40 mins

Yields: 8 pieces

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • Salt, a pinch
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup white granulated sugar
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup full-fat yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2-3 medium peaches, peeled, thinly sliced (or a combo of stone-fruits)
  • Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line 8×8 inches square baking dish with a foil and grease it.
  2. In a large bowl, sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt.
  3. In another bowl, whisk egg and sugar together. Add buttermilk, yogurt, oil, vanilla and whisk.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients slowly and fold in gently. If you get lumps in better t is all right.
  5. Gently fold in peach cubes. Bake for 35-40 minutes or till the top and sides are golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
  6. Let the cake cool in a baking dish for half hour. Slice it and dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve it plain or along with ice-cream.
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Jul
2013

Breakfast just got better! ~ Banana Almond Butterscotch Chip Cookies

categories: Breakfast, Cookies

Banana Almond Butterscotch Chip Cookies1

Oh yes! Your breakfast just got a whole lot better with these cookies in your life! Made with the goodness of almonds, oats and whole wheat. So gooey because of the melted butterscotch chips! Deee-vine!

Banana √ Almonds √ oats √

Cookies taste best with a glass of Milk so √ 😉

What more you need for breakfast!

They are so soft and tender because of bananas, you will hardly notice the cookies are egg-free! Hence  perfect for non-egg-eaters too! √ that!

So simple to make that it will be ready in 25 minutes flat! Yes, no need to chill the dough in refrigerator. We are going to use chilled mashed banana for cookie-dough. Just mash the banana nicely with the help of fork and refrigerate for half an hour before using… That’s it! No waiting before baking! It rhymes.. LOL… I know I’m such a crack-pot! 😛

Banana Almond Butterscotch Chip Cookies2

So not that these require any coaxing but promise me you’ll make them!

Banana Almond Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Prep time : 15 mins | Baking time: 10 mins

Yields: 15-16 cookies

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup almonds, ground
  • ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp soft-rolled oats
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
  • 4 Tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 banana, mashed and chilled (1/3 cup approx)
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • ¼ cup butterscotch chips, plus more for topping (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together ground almond, wheat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add banana puree and almond extract to it and whisk.
  4. Slowly fold in dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix till flour pockets have disappeared. Fold in butterscotch chips.
  5. Drop 1 Tbsp of cookie-dough onto a baking sheet at 1-2 inches apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Mine were ready in 10 minutes. Let it cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then transfer on a cooling rack to cool completely. At first, the cookies will be soft in center but will firm up once cool.

*Store them in an air-tight container for 3-4 days at room temperature.
*You can replace butterscotch chips with any other nuts or chocolate chips too!

 

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