Cook By Book - Page 9 of 26 - Let's cook up a storm!

15
Jan
2014

‘Light & Healthy’ ~ Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza Dough

You all remember, we had so much fun swapping cookies during the food blogger cookie swap last year(that was last year??! Humpph..). So, this new year my dear friend Roshni from The Vanilla Bean and I wanted to start something new on our blogs.

After exchanging multiple e-mails, Cook-Along sessions sounded like a brilliant idea to both of us! Yes, we stay in different cities so how exactly do we plan on doing this? Lemme explain. Every month we’ll select a theme and plan a lunch/dinner-dessert menu based on it. After selecting who cooks what cooking will happen in our respective kitchens and on 15th of every month we both will post the recipes and link them. This way you get to enjoy 2 recipes! Total win-win 🙂

Going with the season of new-year resolutions, this month’s theme was a no-brainer. ‘Light & Healthy’ it is! I chose to make lunch/dinner so Roshni chose to prepare a dessert. So get ready as it’s show-time! 🙂

I have a pizza dough recipe for you today. And trust me when I say this, you NEED this recipe in your life. I conquered my fear of working with yeast last year and made these amazing Strawberry Sweet Rolls. The next thing I on my list was making pizza dough using whole wheat flour. It had to be a thin-crust pizza as I love my pizza that way. I started looking for the recipes which did not use sugar and hit jackpot with this fool-proof recipe! I doubled the recipe and did little adjustments. The results were stellar!

You must be thinking why am I putting the pizza in a healthy and light category? When topped with fresh vegetables and minimal quantity of cheese or the toppings coated with low-fat cream cheese can definitely turn it into a more well-rounded and nutritious meal. This version is anytime lighter than the ordered stuff!

So wait no more and make the pizza your way at home! 🙂

Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza Dough

Makes: 2 12-inches or 4 6-inches crusts | Prep time: 15 minutes | Resting: 1-2 hours

Recipe adapted from sugarfreemom.com

Ingredients:

3 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp salt
4 tsp instant dry yeast (I’ve used Gloripan)
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup warm water (around 55ºC/110ºF)
2 Tbsp honey

Directions:

Fit the dough hook attachment to your stand mixer. In the stand mixer bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
In a separate small bowl mix oil, honey, warm water. Add yeast and stir gently with a spoon, tillyeast dissolves. Let it sit for about 7-8 minutes until you see some foam form from the yeast.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined at setting 2 for about 2-3 minutes.
Once combined change to your dough hook and keep setting at 2 and let the machine go for about 8 minutes or knead by hand for 10 minutes.
Remove your dough and place into a bowl greased with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise for at least one hour.
Once risen, knead by hand for a minute or so and spread dough by hand onto a baking sheet sprayed with oil and dusted with flour or use a rolling pin.
Add your choice of toppings and bake in a 400ºF/200ºC preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until crust is golden brown.

*If you don’t own a stand mixer, you may knead the dough by hand.

Now hop on to Roshni’s blog for a fabulous Zabaglione recipe!

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11
Jan
2014

Skinny Banana Blueberry Oats Muffins

categories: Baking, Breakfast, Cupcakes & Muffins

In the past week, I was just rummaging around and found out that the blog has only ONE muffin recipe posted(a great recipe but with REALLY hideous photos)! Whatt??!! How did THAT even happen? I was shocked and needed to change that pronto! Okay, I did post few skinny muffins recipes on my Facebook page before I started this blog but I haven’t been able to post them here. Of course, that is not an excuse. But you can check them out here, here and here!

I was delighted when I chanced upon these muffins on my favorite baking blog. They are skinny and totally healthy, right up my ally! Of course, they don’t taste healthy or skinny… In fact they are quite soft, moist and so dang fluffy!

This recipe is a total bomb! It does not contain any oil or butter! Say what?!! YES… Mashed bananas and yogurt will do all the work here! Trust me, breakfast can not get better! I made quite a big batch for our small family of 2 and froze the extras and re-heated them in micro whenever the sugar cravings hit! They still tasted absolutely perfect. Instant gratification! 🙂

The recipe includes simple ingredients. Nothing fancy-schmancy! Plus, no mixer required! Takes just about 30 minutes start to finish! Such a phenomenal recipe I tell ya! The only change I made was throwing some oats for a bit of bite and texture. And of course, to make it healthier!

The batter will be quite thick so be gentle and do not over-mix, just until the flour pockets are gone. Over-mixing will result in hard and rubbery texture. Also, use super-ripe bananas for unbelievably sweet, moist and flavorful muffins. I could go on and on about them, but I’ll spare you now! Make them and see for yourself! 😉

Happy weekend you all!

Serve warm with a knob of butter… Totally dee-vine!! 🙂

Skinny Banana Blueberry Oats Muffins

Yields: 15 muffins | Prep time: 15 minutes | Baking time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (or mix of whole wheat and all-purpose)
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup mashed very ripe banana (2 large bananas)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup non fat yogurt
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1 and 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF. Spray 15 muffin tins with nonstick spray*. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Toss in oats. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix honey and brown sugar together into a thick paste. Stir in the mashed banana, yogurt, and beaten egg.
Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently fold it together. It will be thick. Add the milk slowly and continue to gently mix the ingredients together. Gently fold in the blueberries. Do not overmix the batter or you will get tough, dry muffins.
Divide the batter equally between 15 muffin tins. Fill all the way to the top. Bake for 17-19 minutes until very lightly browned on edges or a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Allow muffin to cool completely before demoulding. Muffins stay fresh stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.

*Do not use cupcake-liners as muffins will stick to the liners.

Recipe source: Sallys Baking Addiction

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06
Jan
2014

Inside-Out Double Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies ~ Whole Wheat & Eggfree!

categories: Baking, Breakfast, Cookies

Hope the new year started on a wonderful note for you all! I am still trying to recover from the indulgent last week we had. But don’t worry, I am not here to talk about my new year resolutions or boring stuff like that 😉 I love how each new year allows us to have a clean, fresh slate giving us time to reflect upon the past and visualize the future.

I simply don’t believe in dieting. Too much of good things can’t ever be bad now, can it! Plus, I always feel that being fit is certainly not about following a restrictive diet but making a lifestyle choice. And I certainly believe in eating healthy which goes without saying as my blog-post titles almost always include healthy, skinny or light, more than you would like to see may be!

So this year is going to be all about being happy! (You can track my progress on my Instagram) Taking each day as it comes. You all know I am not much of a planner so this is all I am looking forward to this year. Umm, may be a bit more of travelling! 😉

These cookies were developed in 2013 and I never got a chance to share them at that time. I knooow it’s a crime and hence I don’t want to keep this fabulous recipe from you anymore. So I am choosing to showcase these unbelievably soft and chewy chocolate cookies laced with chocolate chips and M&Ms as a first recipe post of 2014! They are perfectly thick and so puffy. With a pop of color too!

I have kept those of you in mind who are resolute to eat healthy this year. These cookies use whole wheat flour, brown sugar and date syrup. Of course, without compromising on taste. Oh, they are eggfree too! To make them vegan, you may replace butter with olive oil and replace regular milk with soy/almond milk. Best of all world indeed! You may use any or combination of your favorite chocolate chips. I would love to use white chocolate chips the next time around because of the brilliant visual effect it will create!

Inside-Out Double Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies ~ Whole Wheat & Eggfree

Yields: Around 30 cookies | Prep time: 15 minutes | Chill time: 30-60 minutes | Bake time: 13 minutes

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp flax seed powder + 4 Tbsp water + 5 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup date syrup
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
lots n lots of M&Ms

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together flax seed powder, water and milk. Set aside for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, sift together whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, with the help of your electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy on a medium speed for about 1-2 minute. Beat in date syrup, vanilla extract and flax seed mixture.
Fold in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add 3 Tbsp of milk to form the dough. Fold in chocolate chips. Chill the dough in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Take about 2 Tbsp of dough, form it into a ball between your palms and flatten them. The cookies won’t spread much while baking so flatten how much ever thickness you like. Press M&Ms on the cookie dough. Bake them for 13 minutes. Let them cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them on cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will stay fresh for 1 week at room temperature in an airtight container.

*For vegan version : Replace butter with olive oil and replace regular milk with soy/almond milk.

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01
Jan
2014

Happy New Year 2014!

categories: Life

I couldn’t help but pop in to wish you all happiest 2014!

I thank you all for every like, comment, pingback, tweet or re-pin on Cook By Book this past year. So blessed to have you all in my life, really!! Keep the love coming!

Have a sparkling 2014! 🙂

~Sent from my iPhone~

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31
Dec
2013

Good Bye 2013 ~ Top Viewed 10 Blog Posts —-> A Toast to Past & Future!

categories: Life

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

― Ira Glass

2013 has been a sweet year for Cook By Book! I feel super-ecstatic as I type. This was a first year of blogging for me. I was thrilled when I started this place in April, 2013. It has been 8+ amazing months of interaction with you all. I loouu you my readers and fellow bloggers! I am so thankful for you all. Really!! Through all the ups and downs of life, I have still been able to post 82 recipes on the blog! Hurraaayyy!!

Another milestone to be thankful for — I was able to achieve 100+ follows from fellow bloggers. Yippiii!! I thank them from the bottom of my heart! You all have been absolutely lovely and soo encouraging with your kind comments! ♥ ♥ ♥

A special thanks to Pinterest too! If you don’t follow my boards there please do so 🙂

The blogosphere is getting filled with ‘Top-10’ posts and I decided to jump on the bandwagon too. It will be a great post to look back to in a future. I pulled out the stats for the past year and made this list. The top post was of course the Homepage and third spot was taken by ‘About Me’ page so they don’t count. Top recipe posts were definitely the ones I had posted in the beginning of the year when I was an amateur (I still am!) so they may not be my best work. I will let you judge!

Here goes the list! Let me know in the comments which one is your favorite! 🙂

10. Kiwi Buttermilk Cake ~ Eggless

9. M&M Oreo Cookie Bars

8. No-Bake Kiwi Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

7. Skinny Zucchini Boats

6. Skinny Devil’s Food Cake Mix Cookies

5. Farfalle with Fresh Coriander and Cashew Pesto

4. Mini Mango No-Bake CheeseCake

3. Microwave Chocolate-Nutella Mug-Cake

2. Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

1. Mountain Dew Cupcakes with Mountain Dew Buttercream Frosting ~ My Favorite & apparently yours too!!

Wish you all a Rocking New Year Eve & Happiest New Year!
Clink Clink! 😀
See you back in 2014!!!