MERINGUE KISSES

Hello everyone

Though i am not a fan of baking with eggs but sometimes, few things attract you to such an extent that couldn't stop yourself from doing that. One such tempting thing was meringue kisses for me. Whenever i see these beauties , they lure me to make them. So finally i overcame my baking without egg rule and tried these awesome gorgeous beauties . And to my surprise they came out almost perfect, not only in look but in texture too. I am jumping with joy to see them. My kids are super happy to have these and are proudly sharing with their friends too. 
I am sharing my recipe here and hope you all will love to try it. It is so simple to try with minimum required ingredients.

MERINGUE KISSES

Time: 2-3 hrs
Yield: 40-45 pieces, depending on size

Ingredients

2 egg whites ( at room temp)
1/2 cup fine granules sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla essence
Gel food colours of your choice

Method:

First of all take eggwhites in a big bowl and beat at low to medium speed with a hand beater till it becomes little foamy. Add lemon juice and continue beating.

Add sugar little by little with your beater on. Now increase the speed of beater and beat till stiff peaks are formed.

Refer below pic for understanding stiff peak.

**Never over beat your egg mixture otherwise it will become runny .

Now take a big piping bag fitted with big round/star nozzel.

For colourful pattern , take little gel colours with toothpick and make vertical lines at some distance, inside the piping bag. Now fill it with prepared meringue.

On a baking tray lined with butter paper, pipe 1 1/2 - 2 inch size meringue kisses.

Now bake it in a preheated oven at 100°C for 1 hr 30 mins or till it can be easily lifted without sticking to the butter paper.

Let it cool inside the oven with door slightly open.

When it cooled down completely , store in an airtight jar.

*It will remain good at room temp for 3-4 days. You can keep it in refrigerator or freezer for longer life.

*If you want your meringue kisses of one single colour then can add colour while beating.

So bake these beauties and enjoy with your tea or give in kids snacks box. You can prepare a big batch and store in freezer and enjoy chilled crispies whenever you want.

Do try this simple yet delicious recipe and dont forget to share your experience with me. Your comments and suggestions meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS ALMOND CHOCO COFFEE COOKIES

Hello everyone

Today I have a very delicious crisp chocolate cookies recipe with goodness of almonds and depthness of coffee flavour. If you are a chocolate as well as coffee lover then it is surely for you. you can have it any time without guilt as it is loaded with almond. Most intrestingly it's eggless too. Not only elders but kids too love this cookie.
You don't need any fancy equipment to prepare it. It is a wonderful gift for your loved ones.
Stepwise Recipe is given below. do try and share your experience with me.

EGGLESS ALMOND CHOCO COFFEE COOKIES

Time: 30 mins
Yield: 25-26 medium size cookies

Ingredients


1 1/2 cup all purpose flour / chapatti flour
1/2 cup butter ( at room temp.)
1/2 cup ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar ( you can increase as per taste)
2 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp freshly ground flaxseeds + 3 tbsp warm water ( leave for 10-15 mins)
1/2 cup chocolate chips


Method:

First of all preheat oven at 180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Mix almond powder, flour and baking powder well . keep aside till needed.

Take butter in a bowl and cream it. Now add coffee powder and both sugar. Again beat till mixture become creamy.
Now add flaxseed gel and again beat till well incorporated.

Add flour and just fold. Now add choco chips ( reserve some for decorating) and just mix to get nice dough. Don't over mix the dough.

Make small balls of dough and flatten like peda. Place on baking tray at 2 inch distance between each cookie.

Place some Choco chips on each flattened cookies and place the tray in refrigerator for half an hour or in freezer for 10 mins.

Now bake it in preheated oven @180°C for 12-20 mins as different oven take different time for baking. So keep an eye after 12 mins.

When its base starts getting brown , remove from oven and let it rest for 5 mins. Then transfer on a wire rack and let it cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

It will remain good at room temp for .a week ( If left) and for a month in refrigerator.

* You can add more sugar if want more sweeter cookies, as mine are mild.

* If you dont have brown sugar then replace it with white one.

* If baking for small kids then you can omit coffee powder, as some kids don't like it's flavour.

*If using strong coffee like expresso then add only 1 tsp. as it may turn cookies bitter.

So bake these divine cookies at home and surprise your loved ones. It's perfect snacks for your morning/evening tea or for kids tiffin. Enjoy whenever you want. Hope you all will love this simple yet delicious recipe and will definitely give it a try.

Do share your experience with me, as your feedback motivates me to serve more and more interesting delicacies to you. Your comments and suggestions meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS BANANA CHOCO COFFEE CAKE

Hello everyone

My son is too fond of bananas. This is one of the very few things he like to eat, but sometimes he start doing nakhrey in eating these too. And as a result I end up with some over ripe bananas in hand. Generally I use these bananas in baking banana breads. This time tried to add some more flavours to make it more interesting and flavour full. As everyone in my family is fan of coffee flavor snacks. So made banana choco coffee cake , it turned out so soft, moist and yummy that no one can resist eating another serving. Best part of it is , that it's eggless too. You can make it any time you have over ripe bananas in hand , and don't want to throw it. It's vegan too, if you don't add milk yogurt and replace with soya yogurt. Easiest recipe with handful of ingredients and result is awesome delicious beautiful stripped cake.

Stepwise recipe is given below. Do try and don't forget to share your experience with me.

EGGLESS BANANA CHOCO COFFEE CAKE

Serves: 4-5 

Time: 50 mins

Ingredients 

2 cup all purpose flour/ chapatti flour 

2 big bananas, over ripe

1/4 cup thick yogurt 

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water

1/4 cup unsweetened  cocoa powder

Method:

First preheat the oven at 180°c.

Mix flour, baking powder  and salt together, keep aside for later use.

Add baking soda to yogurt water mix and give a quick stir. Keep it aside for 5-10 minutes.

Now mix mashed banana, vanilla essence, sugar and oil together till sugar dissolves and mixture become smooth and fluffy.

Now add yogurt mix to it and fold gently.

Mix dry and wet mixtures together and fold to get lumpless  batter for cakes. It will be little thicker but add water after dividing it . As coffee mix is already going to dilute it.

 

Now divide the batter in three equal parts and add cocoa powder to one, coffee mix in another and  third one plain.

* Add some water in Cocoa and plain  batter to get same consistency of all the batters. 

* Consistency of batter should be like idli batter.

In a greased and dusted baking loaf pan , pour one big spoon of one batter length wise and tap the pan to spread .then pour  one big spoon of other batter over it and again tap the pan and do it alternatively till batter finished. 

Then bake it for 35- 40 mins. But keep an eye after 30 mins on it as baking time may vary oven to oven.
I baked on convection mode for 42 mins.

Check it with knife or skewer by inserting in middle of cake ,for doneness. If knife/skewer comes out clean then cake Is done otherwise bake for some more minutes.

Let it sit for 5-10 mins then invert on wire rack and let it cool completely.

* You can add more sugar if like. As I kept mild but try it first, it's perfect for tea time snacks with perfect sweetness.

Its so soft and moist cake that you cannot have just one piece.

* You can easily double or half the ingredients as per your requirement and availability.

Enjoy this scrumptious Cake and do share your experience with me. Your valuable comments and suggestions are always welcomed, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS PATTERNED BANANA SWISS ROLL WITH NUTELLA FILLING

Hello everyone

Being a sweet tooth fellow I used to experiment with different dish dishes in different ways. I had a banana lying on my dining table for long and got over ripe, no one is now going to even touch it. So thought to make cake out out it but making cake with only one banana in hands seems lil funny. Again idea struck to give a try to Swiss roll with banana. So here is my version of patterned banana Swiss roll with Nutella filling. It's turned out so soft and moist that got vanished in seconds. 

Do try this eggless version of Swiss roll and don't forget to tell me your experience.

Stepwise recipe is given below.

EGGLESS PATTERNED BANANA SWISS ROLL WITH NUTELLA FILLING

Serves: 2-3

Time: 20 mins ( leaving refrigerating time)

Ingredients 

1/2 cup all purpose flour / chapatti flour 

1 big over ripe banana

2 tbsp yogurt mixed with 1/2 tbsp water

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 pinch of salt

1 tbsp sugar ( you can use more)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Few drops edible red colour

Method:

First of all add salt and baking powder in flour and mix well. Keep aside for later use. Now add baking soda to yogurt mix and give a quick stir. Keep aside.

Now mash banana with a fork. Add vanilla essence, sugar and oil. Mix well till sugar is dissolved.

Now take 1/2-1/2 tsp of yogurt mix and banana mix in a separate bowl. Add 1 tbsp of flour mix and red colour, stir  to make a lumpless smooth batter. If needed , add few drops of water to get nice smooth batter. 

Transfer this to a piping bag and make desired pattern on a rectangular/square baking tray lined with butter paper. Keep it in freezer for atleast 6 mins and maximum 10 mins.

** You can make pattern on only half the tray as only this will be visible. I had extra batter in hand so made on full tray.

** Don't decrease the freezing time otherwise pattern will not be so clean. I removed earlier that's why my pattern got smudged a little.

Now take the patterned tray out . Now add yogurt mix in banana mix followed by flour. Mix everything together to get smooth lumpless batter. If needed add some water to get nice cake like batter.

Now pour this batter on patterned baking tray. Spread it evenly and tap to release any bubble trapped.

Now bake for 8-10 mins at 180 degree C in a preheated oven. 

** Always keep checking for doneness by tapping on its top. If it feels spongy and non sticky then it's done. Over baked rolls get cracks while rolling.

Remove from oven and carefully invert on a kitchen towel dusted with powdered sugar to avoid sticking.

Now reinvent it carefully on dusted towel to get patterned side downwards.

Roll it carefully along will towel and make a log. Refrigerate for 1/2 - 1 hr.

Now open the roll carefully and spread Nutella all over it. Again roll to make log. 

Now cut in desired thickness roll and enjoy these beauties with family and friends.

** You can make any filling of your choice like cream, jam, hung curd etc.

These are not only yummy but also an eye treat for everyone. 

Do try this easy yet super tempting eggless delight and don't forget to share how's it turned out for you.

Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot....

Happy cooking....

FOUR DIFFERENT BREADS FROM SAME GARLIC HERB DOUGH AND PANEER ZATAAR FILLING

Hello everyone

I had some thick water drained from my biryani rice and don't want to throw it as was full of aroma and flavour. So thought to bake some bread and use this in kneading my dough as it was long I baked any bread. But then I thought why not to give it some artistic twist and bake some more flavours and designs of bread from this perfect dough. I saw some patterned bread pictures few days back, on Internet . Keeping that in my mind , I tried to make these four types of breads, which are loved by everyone in both taste and look. So here is the technique and tips with step wise pics for baking these cuties. Hope you all will definitely give it a try and come up with your feedback too.

FOUR DIFFERENT BREADS FROM SAME GARLIC HERB DOUGH AND PANEER ZATAAR FILLING

Serves: 3-4 ( each bread)

Time: 1 1/2 hr ( leaving proofing and resting time)

Ingredients

For dough :

4 cup all purpose flour / whole wheat flour/ chapatti flour
1 tsp active dry yeast 
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp oregano 

2 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic

1/2 tsp thyme leaves(optional)

1/2 tsp rosemary leaves ( optional)
2 -3 tbsp oil 

1 cup warm water to knead dough ( I used drained water from biryani rice)

Milk to brush

Ghee or butter for final brushing 

For filling:

1 cup crumbled cottage cheese ( paneer)

1/2 cup Zataar mix

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

1/4 tsp chaat masala powder

Salt to taste

*** You can use any filling of your choice ( potato filling, paneer filling, Nutella filling etc)

Method: 

For dough:

Add sugar in warm water and then mix yeast in it and let it rest for 10-15 mins or till it become frothy.

Add salt, garlic powder or garlic, oregano, thyme , rosemary leaves and oil in flour and knead with yeast and warm water till it become soft, shiny and nonsticky dough. 

It may seem very sticky at the beginning but will become manageable after 6-7 mins of kneading. 

It will take 8 to 10 mins or even more ,to get perfect dough . apply some oil on it and cover with damp cloth, let it rest for 2 -3 hrs in a warm place like in closed microwave/oven or till it doubles it volume. 

Now punch the dough, again knead for 4-5 mins and cut in four equal parts.

Till then mix all the filling ingredients together . Keep aside for later use.

Cut the dough in four equal parts for four breads.

**** While making one bread , keep rest of dough covered.

SUNFLOWER BREAD:

First of all take 1 part dough and cut it in two equal size dough. Roll a little thick chapatti from it , place it on a baking tray lined with butter paper and spread paneer zataar filling on it evenly , leaving edges. 

Press it firmly to stick on the dough.Now make another thick chapatti from another part of dough and place it over filling, covering it fully. 

Now press the edges to seal. Using a big round bowl you can cut it to get perfect round shape flower.

 Now Place a small round cookie cutter or bowl at the center and make cuts on the dough as shown in pic.

Now twist each cut part as shown . Sprinkle some sesame seeds all over it and cover . Place at some warm place for second rise for at least 30 - 40 mins . 

Till then prepare for another bread.

Now brush it with some milk and bake for 15-20 mins at 220 degree C in a preheated oven or till desired colour it acquired. 

Remove from oven and brush some butter or ghee to get nice shiny finish and soft bread for long time.

Enjoy warm with hot cup of tea or coffee.

You can prepare this for any b'day party or in evening snacks or for kids tiffin too, they will love to relish on these beautiful paneer filled breads.

ROSE BREAD:

Now take 1 part of dough and cut it in gooseberry size small doughs. Take one dough and roll it to round chapatti and using a 3-4 inch diameter cookie cutter or bowl, cut round shape. Now make four equal size cuts on it as shown in pic. 

Place 1 tsp filling at the center and fold cuts as shown in pic. Your rose shape is ready. Place it on a baking tray lined with butter paper. Similarly make all the roses and sprinkle some sesame seeds on it.

*** Always keep prepared roses at some distance during second rise ,to avoid sticking on rising and baking. Otherwise it will ruin the shape of roses.

Now cover it and let it rest for 30-40 mins at a warm place. Now brush it with milk and bake at 220C for 15 -20 mins or till desired colour is acquired.

Remove from oven and brush with some ghee or butter.

 Now let it out and cool on a wire rack.

 Your savory yummy rose bread is ready to be served with a cup of tea or coffee. 

Kids will also enjoy it with some sauce . You can prepare it for your kitty party or for tiffin snacks too.

STAR BREAD:

Take 1 part of the dough and cut in two equal halves. Roll one part to a thick round chapatti , place on a baking tray lined with butter paper and spread filling on it evenly, leaving edges. Press it firmly to stick on dough. Now roll another half of dough to thick round chapatti of same size and place on filling, covering it completely. Press the edges to seal. Now place a small round cookie cutter or bowl at the center and make cuts as shown in pic.

Now hold two cut strips in both hands and twist them in opposite directions. Now stick their edges together. Similarly do with all the strips. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on it.

Now cover it and let it rest for 30-40 mins. Then brush it with milk and bake it at 220 degreeC for 15 -20 mins.

Remove from oven and brush with some butter or ghee.

 Now let it cool on a wire rack and your star bread is ready to be served to your kids.

Enjoy this lovely bread with your tea or coffee..

BRAIDED BREAD:

Take the last piece of dough and any left over from other doughs, cut in four equal parts. Now roll each dough in long ropes. 

Now tuck one end of each rope together and make braid as shown in pic. Place on a baking tray lined with butter paper. Sprinkle some sesame seed all over it. 

*** If you are not comfortable with four rope then go with three. And make braid as we do with hair.

Now cover it and let it rest for 30-40 mins then brush it with some milk and bake at 220 degree C in a preheated oven for 15-20 mins or till it become nice golden.

Now remove from oven and brush it with some ghee or butter.

Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, to get neat slices.

Your yummy garlic herbed slices are ready to be served with butter or to be toasted.

Enjoy with hot tea or coffee.

**** Never divide bread dough by stretching,other wise the gluten formed during kneading will damage, just use knife or dough cutter to cut dough in pieces.

So bake these cuties and please your kids and family with your creativity. I tried to explain all the tips and tricks but if any thing left then please let me know by dropping down your queries and suggestions in comment box below. Your comments and suggestions meant a lot.

Happy cooking....