Garlic Cheese Smashed Potatoes | GF meals in 30 minutes

You guys know I love potatoes….I do! I may not share too many recipes with potatoes in them, but the Lord above knows my love for these spuds….and my love for them is shared by my hubby!! Talk about marriages being made in heaven…..for us, it’s more like a spud-farm 🤣🤣🤣😂

Breakfast to dinner, I can live on them. Start your day with some scrumptious Aloo ke Parathe (potato stuffed Indian flatbreads). These are are absolutely awesome and very mildly spiced to start your day with these parathe and you will full almost up to lunch time…I serve them with some home made yogurt, some mango pickle and a lot of butter on top of these….the butter melts all over these piping hot beauties 😍…Mmmmm!

Not looking for something so heavy early in the morning….then you can try my super-yum….brilliant beyond brilliant Baked Potato Wedges 😉 We, the spud-lovers are particularly partial to it and can never share it…hence we make ourselves two whole trays of them, beauties……one for him and one for yours truly 😜

Next, if your looking something Indian…curry style for a proper supper, just go with the Aloo Dum, pair it with some Pooris (fried flatbreads) or Laccha Paratha or even some rice, a quick home style salad (sliced red onions + chopped tomatoes + chopped cucumber + salt + a bit of lime juice) on the side and just step into the food coma …..it’s that good 😍  For something a bit less spicy…look out for my Rassedaar Aloo (potatoes and tomatoes simmered in a thin gravy with little spices),  just a few easy ingredients and it’s ready in under 30 minutes?

You must also try my Aloo Ki Kachori if you love a good North Indian fare 😉 It’s easy to put together and works well for brunches!

Anyways…..that’s a whole lotta potatoes recipes for you guys…not to mention that I’ve not even included a few  here…they are all there in the blog archives ➡️➡️ …go, look them up!

So…about these crisp, gorgeous looking smashed potatoes…well, I have been meaning to share this recipe for a while…I have many other variations for these, but the one which I’ve here today, is like the best way to have potatoes 😍😍 they are just everything one looks for in a side dish … a bit of spice from the chilli flakes (or, you could use smoked paprika), that comforting warmth from the garlic, a bit smokiness as I’ve used smoked sea salt (you could always use regular salt or even plain sea salt)…..spicy becaaaaaause…I’ve added my favourite spice mix in the whole wide world….yeah! Peri Peri spice powder and that last bit off oozing good in the form of Mexican blend cheese  😋 Yes please!!!

Let’s see how can we get you to make these babies….

Yield: serves 2

Equipment: baking tray, measuring cups/ spoons, pressure cooker, cooling rack.

Ingredients:

300 gms baby potatoes

sea salt to taste

1 tsp peri peri spice mix (store bought)

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp garlic powder (use fresh minced garlic if you don’t have garlic powder)

3 tbsp oil

1/4 cup Mexican cheese mix (store bought, easily available in any supermarket or hyper stores)

some fresh green coriander to garnish

Method:

Take 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker, add a pinch of regular salt to it along with washed baby potatoes. Cook them for about 10 minutes or one whistle is good enough. We need to soften them but not turn them into a watery mush!

Once cooked, drain the water and let the potatoes cool down a bit. Then, grease the baking tray with about a tbsp of oil. Roll the boiled potatoes in the oil on the tray. Spread out the potatoes and use a fork to smash them a bit.

Pre-heat the oven @200’c.

Now, drizzle some more of the remaining oil over the smashed potatoes. Sprinkle sea salt, garlic powder, peri peri spice mix, chilli flakes and the cheese and some oil if you like.

Bake these at 200’c for 12-15 mins or until the cheese bubbles and the top of these potatoes turns a bit crisp using both the upper and the lower heating rods/ elements.

Garnish with some chopped coriander and sprinkle some more cheese if you like 😉 Serve these piping hot with some drinks or just as it is!

They will melt in your mouth😋😋😋😋 so tempting…and so easy to put together!

Love,

Shreya💕

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Eggless Tutti Frutti Cake

I prefer tea cakes over frosted cakes, however, that wasn’t always the same….as a teenager or for that matter even in my early twenties…I had a great love for all things Chocolate. This included a major drool situation for a Chocolate cake with a hearty slathering of chocolate frosting 😍😍😍😍😍 I just couldn’t resist them!

But with time, I have begun to appreciate other flavours which are slightly milder and yet so amazingly delicious. Tea cakes are one of them. If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know what I am talking about. Simple, moist sponges are my go to cakes for any occasion. Besides, they are so easy to put together😊😊. This one has no butter, no eggs! 👌🏼

You must try ⬇️⬇️

Banana Muffins/ bundt

Chocolate Peanut Butter banana bread  (egg free)

Chocolicious Butterscotch and Banana breakfast bars

and many more….click here. I have a few pressure cooker cake recipes on the blog too, look for them in the archives😊

What I find particularly comforting about such light tea-cakes is that they don’t weigh you down and there always room for another slice 🤗. Oh, not to forget…how easy they can be for experimentating with new flavours!

This recipe is just as easy and calls for yogurt instead of eggs. As most of my readers look for egg free options, I try to keep their needs in mind. However, if you wish replace the yogurt in this cake, just take out the yogurt and instead add 1 large egg. Also, minus the baking soda if working with egg in this recipe. It will turn into a beautiful cake ☺️

Why I like using yogurt over hot water or even sour cream….it’s because the taste of sour cream is slightly too tart for our liking whereas using yogurt makes just as moist a cake as the sour cream one. And besides, let’s be honest….most would prefer going for the yogurt as it’s readily available in nearly every Indian household and there’d be no need to bother to go find sour cream.

I love practical recipes! The one’s where I just peek into my pantry and come out with a big pile of everyday ingredients to make something delicious! This recipe is one such 😍 Spontaneous is my middle name….I hate having to plan a list of groceries specific to what I plan to share here on the blog unless it’s something that was on my bucket list for a while 😂

Isn’t the texture just awesome! This cake literally melts in the mouth…and I make it nearly every fortnight! But never was able click even one decent picture as I usually bake this in the evenings just before the mister gets back from work…so that he can have a slice of warm goodness with his cuppa 😍

So getting on with the recipe…

Yield: one 7″ loaf

Equipment: a large mixing bowl, a manual whisk, a rubber spatula, measuring cups/ spoons, baking tin, parchment paper, cooling rack.

Ingredients:

1 cup All purpose flour (Maida)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup powdered sugar (I used icing sugar)

1/4 cup + 2 tsp oil

1/4 cup thick yogurt (or use 1 large egg instead of yogurt)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp milk

1/2 cup mixed tutti Frutti

Method:

Preheat the oven @ 180’c. Line the baking tin with the parchment paper. Set this aside.

Now, take yogurt, sugar, baking soda, baking powder in a mixing bowl. Stir these ingredients together for a minute. Leave it aside for a couple of minutes to let the baking soda work with the acidity of the yogurt. The mixture will become little frothy after a few minutes.

Now, add the oil and vanilla extract to this frothy yogurt mixture. Whisk well to make a lumpfree mixture. Next, sift in the flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour into the wet ingredients. Do not beat or whisk the batter. Once the flour is well incorporated, add the tutti Frutti bits and fold them into the batter. (Tip: Add milk only if the batter is too thick else skip it).

Now, pour the batter into the ready tin and sprinkle some tutti Frutti on top of the batter too.

Bake the cake @180’c for about 30-35 mins using the lower heating elements/ rods. Once the cake is baked, insert a toothpick in the centre of the cake to check readiness. The toothpick must come out with a few moist crumbs. If the cake is under cooked, bake for a further 5 mins.

Remove the ready cake from the oven and place the tin on the cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely before unmoulding and slicing. This cake stays fresh in an airtight container for about 3-4 days.

Hope you try this soon and don’t forget to share your feedback with us 😀

Love,

Shreya 💝

 
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Cumin Cookies | Jeera Biscuits

The baking bug has bitten me for quite sometime now and there days when I am baking around the clock! It’s fun to do so little and I still get to enjoy big treats😍😍…besides, baking all my meals sounds like a doable thing in these summers when standing in front of the stove is next to impossible!

I bake things which my hubby and I both enjoy apart from experimenting new recipes or recipes which I’d bookmarked earlier….dinner last night was a batch of my Baked Spring Rolls which I served with some homemade Schezwan Sauce and glasses after glasses of my Tropical Iced Tea to cool things down 😁 I still have a bottle of the tea sitting chilled in the refrigerator for tonight….planning to pair it with my mixed lentil Adai and Tomato Chutney….mmmm!

So while all this kept happening, my hubby reminds me about something I used to bake in the early days of my experiments with baking…almost over 2 years ago…he says why haven’t I revisited my Bakery Style Cumin Cookies a.k.a. Jeera Biscuits! I was stumped 🤔…been over a year I made them for HIS teatime 😜😂😂 obviously, the poor chap must’ve been missing them!

And these happened a while back…just for him…he came back home to an amazing aroma wafting out of our home and he’d already known that I’ve baked these Cumin Cookies. He says…come on, give me some straight away😋…didn’t wait for his tea or anything…..and I was super satisfied 😍

These bakery style cookies are so easy to put together, mildly sweet and tad bit salty..and the flavour of the roasted cumin seeds/ jeera seeds are something so earthy and yet addictive! Besides, they lend the crunch to them. The original recipe which I had first used called for eggs but I have worked around to avoid eggs just as I avoid eggs in my Sugar Cookie recipe.

Let’s start…

Yield: 24 cookies of 2″ each.

Equipment: electric whisk, measuring cup/ spoon, rolling pin, baking tray, parchment paper/ butter paper, cooling rack, cookie cutter/ knife, mixing bowl.

Ingredients:

1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour (Maida)

1/2 cup / 1 stick unsalted butter (if using salted butter then skip adding any salt in the recipe)

1/4 cup icing sugar (I use icing sugar as it helps the cookies hold better shape, you can use regular powdered sugar)

1/4 tsp salt

a pinch of baking powder

2 tbsp jeera (Cumin seeds)

3-4 tbsp milk (if needed to bind the dough)

Method:

Take cumin seeds in a pan and roast them until they are slightly brown and fragrant. Set them aside to cool.

Line the baking trays with parchment paper/ butter paper. Lining the tray avoids having burnt bases and edges with the cookies and ensures they colour evenly even at the bottom and the cookies don’t spread too much.

Now, in the mixing bowl, cream together the butter and icing sugar until they are smooth and well incorporated.

Next, seive in the flour and add salt. Whisk again until the flour is well incorporated into the creamed butter. Add baking powder and the 1 tbsp roasted cumin seeds. Make a smooth dough with your hands, you can add 1-2 tbsp milk if the dough needs some moisture to come together. It’s optional, I always add 2-3 tbsp. Smoothen the dough and set it aside for 10 mins.

Next, dust your work surface (I prefer silicon mats) with some flour and roll the dough to a thickness of about 3mm and cut them in any desired size and shape.

Place the cut out cookies an inch apart on the lined baking tray. Sprinkle some roasted cumin over each cookie. Place the baking tray with the cookies in the refrigerator for 10 mins to set the cookies before baking.

In the meanwhile, preheat the oven @180’c for 10-12 minutes.

Once the cookies have set in the refrigerator, bake them @180’c for 12-13 minutes using both upper and the lower heating elements/ rods. They will turn slightly golden on the edges once ready. (Every oven works differently so adjust the baking time and temperature according to that)

The base of the cookies…a perfect golden brown 😍

Once baked, keep the tray on a cooling rack and let the cookies crisp up on the tray as they continue to cook for a few minutes on the hot tray. Remove them from the tray and place them on the cooling rack to let the cookies/ biscuits cool completely before storing in airtight boxes, they keep well for upto 3-4 days.

They taste best when served fresh with some tea/ coffee or simply as a munchy😀

You can add more sugar or salt, as per your choice. But be generous with the cumin!

Love,

Shreya💖

 

Eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake in Pressure Cooker | Vegan Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe

I am back with another easy pressure cooker cake recipe! Yayy! Yayy….because it’s eggless this time! Yup….I know most of my beloved readers out there wanted to learn to bake an eggless cake in the pressure cooker the last time when I’d posted my Mom’s Vanilla Sponge Cake in the Pressure Cooker recipe….. I also know that I am a bit late than I thought I would be…but better late than never, right!? 😄 A ONE BOWL WONDER….

The best thing about this cake is that it can be baked as well. So, it ain’t necessary that you must bake it in a pressure cooker only. I use the same recipe to bake some muffins in my OTG from the leftover batter as this cake baked in the pressure cooker….and this what it looked like…perfect flat top! You can frost it like a pro!

It was just perfect…this is my go to recipe whenever I am planning on an eggless, vegan chocolate cake😍 I had discovered this recipe long ago..although it had butter originally but I have been using oil …and it stayed with me. Works like a charm….perfect texture!

I have used this recipe even for a proper frosted cake. It’s easy to slice in layers and frost well as the crumbs do not just fall off either. It stays fresh for 2-3 days at room temperature too.

Since I’ve raved so much about it…it’s only fair we look at recipe now😀

Yield: a 6″ square cake (in pressure cooker) and 4 medium cupcakes (baked)

Equipment: a mixing bowl, measuring cups/ spoons, baking tin, a large pressure cooker, a spare steel bowl, a cooling rack, parchment paper/ baking paper.

Ingredients:

1 + 1/2 cup All purpose flour (Maida)

1 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup oil (I used regular cooking oil)

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp lemon juice / vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method :

Line the cake tin with baking paper/ parchment paper. Dust it with a bit of flour.

In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.

Next, add lemon juice, oil, vanilla extract, warm water. Mix everything well but do not over mix the ingredients as that results in a heavy cake.

Heat the pressure cooker on high flame for 10 mins. Place a stand/ bowl or plate inside at the bottom. DON’T ADD WATER IN THE COOKER.

Fill the batter in the ready tin upto half its capacity and place the tin in the heated pressure cooker on the bowl/ stand kept at the base. Cover the pressure cooker with it lid but remove its gasket and weight. Bake on medium flame for 40-45 mins.

Do a toothpick test and check if the cake is ready after 40 mins, it should come out with a few moist crumbs, if your cake is ready then remove from the cooker using kitchen tongs and cool the tin on cooling rack for 15-20 mins before unmoulding the cake.

If the cake in undercooked, then let it cook for another 10 mins. It should be ready by then. Slice and serve.

To bake the muffins, fill each muffin mould upto 3/4 th of it’s capacity. Then, I pre-heated the oven @180’c for 10 mins. Next, I  baked the muffins for 20-22 mins @180’c. (Each oven works differently so please adjust the baking time and temperature). Do take a toothpick test. Cool them for 15 mins on a cooling fack before unmoulding. Enjoy!

This cake keeps well in an airtight box for 2-3 days.

Make this soon…because it hardly takes any time! Sounds cheesy…well…I can’t help it!! 😂

Love,

Shreya💗

Glutenfree Strawberry Crumble

Remember how I told you guys that I was almost literally rolling in strawberries when I shared my No Pectin 3 Ingredient Mixed Berries Jam recipe sometime last week….well this is another proof that I was actually more than rolling 😂😂 🍓🍓 still have so many more…I have frozen some and the rest I keep chomping on as I keep going about my chores!

They are sweet and so so refreshing… I can’t really put it into words..and while I am hooked to them berries, my hubby loves his muskmelons! Eating seasonal I guess! Besides, the temperatures have soared in the last few days and it’s only the first week of March 😩 …. I think we will live on Watermelon Green Tea Coolers and some Kiwi Agua Frescas or a sorbet on second thoughts ☺️ Well, I don’t mind that in all honesty!

Anyways, so when I am not having these beauties as they are or freezing them…I think of healthier and more delicious ways to have them as desserts. So, I came across something online which so good and had just 140 calories per serving! My hubby would love it! He likes his strawberries cooked or stewed…rather than as a fruit. But sadly, the recipe called for All Purpose Flour 😑😑….. Thinking about replacing it gave me an idea to make it Glutenfree! Simple ingredients and so easy to make….I couldn’t stop grinning 😉

You can use APF if you like that, but I have replaced it with Cornflour or Cornstarch. You won’t even know the difference in flavour! This recipe also includes oats and nut flours (if you are allergic, please avoid them).

So, shall we make ourselves some Glutenfree Strawberry Crumble?!…..

Yield: serves 2

Equipment: ramekins or individual cupcake tin moulds, measuring cup/ spoons, cooling rack, baking tray, 2 small mixing bowls.

Ingredients:

1 cup roughly chopped strawberries (frozen or fresh)

1 tbsp cornstarch/ corn flour

1-2 tbsp sugar (use more or less as per your taste)

1 tbsp cold and cubed unsalted butter

3-4 drops vanilla extract/ essence

a pinch of salt

4 tbsp rolled oats (powdered in a blender, basically oat flour)

3 tbsp almond flour

a few whole strawberries and some fresh mint leaves to garnish

Method:

Preheat the oven @180’c

Use some oil to grease the ramekins/ individual cupcake tins.

In a small mixing bowl, add chopped strawberries with vanilla extract. Mix well. Divide equally  into the two greased ramekins/ tins.

In another mixing bowl, add corn flour/ cornstarch along with the sugar. Mix well. Divide equally onto the portioned strawberries. Mix them once in the ramekin itself.

In the same mixing bowl, add almond flour, salt, cubed butter and oats flour. Rub these together with the tips of your finger until they resemble bread crumb like texture.

Divide this topping equally over the two strawberry filled ramekins/ tins.

Bake at 180’c for about 25-27 mins or until the strawberries start bubbling up and the top crust looks crisp. Mine were done in 20 mins. Every oven does work differently so keep an eye after 20 mins of baking.

Once done, remove from the oven and place on the cooling rack for a few minutes. We enjoyed them warm as they were, but if you wish, serve these with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!! Bliss😍😍😍

Please note:

~I have used glass ramekins meant for baking at higher temperatures. You can use regular white porcelain ones too or just use a single cake tin and bake the whole thing as a large serving and then later divide into 2-3 portions as per your choice. The taste and the method shall remain the same.

~You can serve this cold too. Once baked and cooled, this can stay in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Just ensure you’re covering it well with some aluminium foil.

~follow the same recipe with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc. as well.

Love,

Shreya 💝

Adapted from Diethood.com

Eggless Fudge Brownies (Part WholeWheat)

No, these brownies don’t contain strawberries….but I have been throwing these beauties on everything…literally! To my salads…my desserts..my breakfast…I guess my dal tadka is the only thing that is yet to be introduced to them berries 😂😂😂😂😂…. 

Anyways…we love a good brownie..so much less job than doing a proper cake and a lot more chocolatier than a chocolate cake even! It’s gooey and the flavours are so much more intense….if you know what I mean.

The texture of this heavenly slice speaks for itself, doesn’t it!? And …this also has some Wholewheat flour…I mean I always to make a Wholewheat brownie but wasn’t sure if the texture so I tried using APF (maida) and wholewheat in 50:50 ratio. The first attempt was sad… I didn’t like the look of the brownie and neither was flavour sitting right due to the texture!

In my first attempt, I had obviously over beaten the mixture which resulted in really uneven and gritty (read rough) textured brownies. Also, the butter was slightly too warm than necessary and that too was an issue.

So, my second attempt which followed the first one in just 2 days, as I was curious to make it work. And work it did! I kept everything ready as always and kept reminding myself that I need to go slow instead of my quick ways! So, if you do try this recipe please follow the steps carefully. This time I didn’t over beat the mixture and carefully checked the temperature of the butter before proceeding to the subsequent additions.

In my personal opinion, they  could look a little better but working with wholewheat and APF that too with out eggs is a bit difficult for me….needs more practice!

Overall the taste was good and the sweetness just right…I guess that’s what matters the most ☺😁😁

Few things to remember-

Use a good quality cocoa powder in this recipe as that is what adds the real taste.

Line the baking pan well with parchment or baking paper or dust the baking pan carefully with the flour to avoid the brownie to stick to it post baking. There is nothing worse than a good brownie getting ruined because it was sticking to the baking pan.

Never over beat the brownie mixture/ batter. It results in dry brownies.

Never over bake the brownie. That will again make it dry and very crumbly.

Let’s  bake you a brownie!

Yield : 9 large or 12 small square slices

Equipment: baking pan (I used 7″ square pan), parchment paper/ baking paper, measuring cups/ spoons, heat proof bowl (or used stainless steel bowl), a saucepan, large mixing bowl, silicon spatula, a small wired whisk, cooling rack.

Ingredients:

7 tbsp maida (APF)

6tbsp wholewheat flour (I used Aashirwaad select flour)

6+1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (I used Cadbury’s)

7 tbsp butter (unsalted) 

1/2 cup thick yogurt (I used homemade curd which I hung in a muslin cloth for 15 mins to get rid of any water)

4-5 tbsp milk at room temperature (optional, to be used only if the batter gets to thick/ dry)

1 cup powdered sugar (add more or less as per your preference)

1 tsp vanilla extract/ essence

1 tsp baking powder

any nuts or chocolate chips, etc. of your choice can be added to the batter!! 😁

Method:

Line the pan with parchment paper/ baking paper. Alternatively, grease it with some oil and dust it generously with maida (APF). Set it aside.

Pre-heat the oven @180’c.

Heat 1 cup of water in the saucepan, it should not be boiling hot, just gentle bubbles are enough. Place a heatproof or stainless steel bowl on top of the saucepan in such a way that the base of the bowl I’d 2-3 inches above the level of the water below in the pan (method is called bain-mariè).

Add butter in the bowl. Let the butter melt and simultaneously whisk it very gently to give an even texture. Be careful while doing this as the water below must not enter the bowl with the butter.

Once the butter has melted completely, add powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk again. The mixture will first look a little rough but keep whisking gently, it will turn out very smooth. Take the bowl off the saucepan now. Set this bowl aside to cool down for a few minutes.

Then add the yogurt and vanilla extract at this stage. Whisk again and make sure the batter is smooth. Next, seive in the APF and wholewheat flour along with baking powder.

Now keep the whisk aside and use a silicone or wooden spatula and gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Do not over mix. (If you feel the batter is way too thick and dry, add 3-4 tbsp milk in to batter and fold the batter gently. This step is optional, I added 1 tbsp of milk as that much was enough).

Pour the batter into the lined baking pan. Tap the pan a few times on the platform to release any air bubbles. 👆🏼

Bake @180’c for 25-30 mins using just the lower heating elements/ rods. Once it’s ready, do a toothpick test – The test is different here, when the brownie is ready, the toothpick inserted in the centre must come out with some moist batter or crumbs. The toothpick must not come out clean. If it comes out clean, means the brownie has been over cooked.

That is what my brownie looked like just out of the oven 👆🏼

Remove the ready brownie from the oven and set it on the cooling rack for 15 mins. Then place it in the refrigerator for an hour. Then cut in to slices and remove from the pan. (Refrigeration ensures clean slices!)

Wow! I am still drooling at the thought of these….😋😋

If you liked these then you must try Loaded MnM Oreo Bars or Nutties Brownie too!

Looking for something more decadent….try my gooey Brownie Muffins.

Love,

Shreya❤

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread (Eggless)

I guess I can’t keep my hands off the oven…specially when I have to clean out left overs😉😉 I found some peanut butter sitting on one of the shelves in my pantry…and I was like….what can we do with this….. was just about 2-3 tbsps of it….guess it is from my last batch of eggless Peanut Butter and Choco Chip Cookies. Definitely not enough to make a sandwich for lunch. Anyhow, I put it out on the dining table only to notice a few ripe bananas from a copulent of days ago! 😑😑😑 why do I always have bananas when we hardly eat them!!

I will tell you why?! Because they make for some incredibly delicious banana muffins or bread. That’s when it clicked to me that I’d saved a delicious recipe including bananas and peanut butter with some chocolate 🤗🤗🤗 yayyyyy! I knew what I’d do with these. My afternoon project…and something very tempting for my hub’s evening tea 😀

Look at the crumbs…so moist! This bread turned out to be so soft and light….just the way we like it! I am glad I did make this because a girl can never have too many banana bread recipes at hand! My Chocolicious Banana & Butterscotch Breakfast Bars are one of my go to recipes whenever I am in a rush to have something ready for a quick breakfast and have some ripe bananas. I think this Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread is going to be the next.

It’s just been a little over 18 hours since I baked this and almost half of it is gone….we are just the two of us😜😜 some gluttons!!! I baked two loaves, one of 7″ and another mini sized of 6″.

Making mini loaves is a good idea if you have plans to send some to your loved ones. Else you can dump all of the batter in one larger loaf tin and bake a single bread. (**Always remember to fill the loaf tin only to 3/4th of it’s capacity to avoid the batter spilling over as it bakes and also line the tray well with parchment paper as shown in the pictures below).

I did replace the eggs with thick homemade yogurt and the bread still turned out so good! But I will try with eggs the next time around just to see the difference.

Oh that reminds me…summers are around the corner…do try my 2 ingredient Banana Ice Cream 🍦 You can add raisins or some chopped roasted almonds to the ice cream as well 😊

But for now, let’s make us some delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread 👌

Yield: 1 loaf of 7″ and 1 loaf of 6″

Equipment: a large mixing bowl, a small mixing bowl, a hand blender, measuring cups/ spoons, baking tins, parchment paper or butter paper, a silicon spatula, cooling rack.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour (Maida)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 nos. medium ripe bananas

1/4 cup thick yogurt (not sour)

4 tbsp smooth peanut butter

1/8 cup (2 tbsp)  vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 tbsp milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven @ 180’c. Line the baking trays with parchment or butter paper. Set them aside.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda in the smaller mixing bowl, stir them together and set the bowl aside.

In the larger mixing bowl, add chopped bananas, oil, milk, vanilla extract, yogurt and the peanut butter. Using a hand blender, blend these together until smooth.

Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry and using a silicon spatula, fold them together. Do not whisk, just fold them gently. (If the batter looks a bit dry, add 1 tsp to 2tsp extra milk but not too much, the batter must be thick and not runny). Add the chocolate chips next. Fold them in too with the ready batter. (If you do not have chocolate chips, use roughly chopped chocolate chunks of Morde cooking chocolate).

Fill the baking trays with the ready batter only upto 3/4th of their capacity. Tap the trays on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.

Bake them at 180’c for 25 to 30 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

(note – I baked the 7″ bread for 35 mins and the 6″ bread for approximately 27 mins. Please adjust the temperature and duration as per your own oven. Every oven does work differently).

Once the breads are baked, let them be in their tin for 10 mins, then unmould them and let them cool on the cooling rack for 20 mins or so before slicing.

Enjoy them with tea, coffee, milk or just as it is….I served these with some of my eggless homemade Honey Butterscotch ice cream as desserts last night! ……..now you know how it is getting over too soon😂😂

 

Love,

Shreya❤

Adapted from Sincerely Jean.

 

Wholewheat and Oat Sandwich Cookies – eggless

So….the oven has gotten enough time to cool down I guess😉 It’s been sitting idle since my spiced Orange and Cranberry Cake ….and that was one really good cake. Besides, my hubby had been asking me for something to nibble at with his evening tea for almost a week…and I kept putting it off…I am kinda on the slow mode…the climate has made me a bit lazy and I barely do much cooking these days…just the basic stuff and that’s about it! 

Anyways so I thought I’d bake him some cake but I was out of APF and we are not very fond of wholewheat cakes to be honest though my Wholewheat Chocolate Cake is something which we’d happily devour. It was gooey and super soft, something that will go well with tea or coffee. Anyhow, with the cake out of my way, I thought of going the cookie way 😊always a win-win with my hubby😘

Why these cookies? Oats✔️ Wholewheat ✔️ eggs ✖️ easy and quick ✔️ so many reasons to stick with this recipe!

Don’t these look pretty?! The thing is…they need not be pretty at all. You can keep them as simple, plain cookies sans the filling. But I like everything pretty….so I went ahead and added a touch of gorgeousness. I have given them the classic scalloped edge shape and filled them a light and flavoursome lemon icing. We loved them! This is the first time I went ahead with an icing for these cookies. Obviously, you can go for any other flavour here, some butterscotch essence or some good quality vanilla extract, these are the classics and taste absolutely great with tea or coffee.

Yes, I added a bit of bright sunshine yellow colour to the icing, lemon flavour seemed to look the part with a hint of this colour, don’t you think so!?! 🤗

These cookies are extremely crispy and have the most beautiful crumb. Being mildly sweet, the flavour of peppercorns and sea salt in the cookies comes through in every bite and the lemon icing adds freshness. Yes, this recipe has freshly cracked black peppercorns and some sea salt too.

We will have a look at the recipe in a bit, but firstly there are a few things to keep in mind here…
The cookie dough for the this recipe is prepared in the blender! Yes! No whisking butter or rubbing the flour with the butter either. All the ingredients are added to the blender and everything is just easy from there…

Why easy from there? Reason – this recipe needs precision. I have used a weighing scale but you can always google the ‘gram to cup’ measures easily.

The original recipe called for Maida or APF but I have been replacing it with wholewheat flour for the last few times that I’ve made it. Seemed to work fine. However, feel free to use APF instead in equal measures as the wholewheat flour, the results will remain the same – excellent!

Yield: 15-17 Sandwich Cookies

Equipment: a blender, a rolling pin, weighing scale, measuring cups/ spoons, rolling board, cling wrap, cookie cutter, baking tray, parchment paper, cooling rack, a small bowl, a spoon.

Ingredients:

85 gms chilled and cubed unsalted butter (I used Amul cooking butter)

30 gms rolled oats (I used Quaker Everyday Oats)

145 gms wholewheat flour (I used Aashirwad Select)

75 gms light brown sugar

2 tbsp regular confectioners sugar (fine white sugar)

1/4 tsp coarse sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly cracked black peppercorns

1-2 tbsp chilled water

Method:

Preheat oven @160’c for 10 mins. (Please set the oven temperature as per your oven, every oven works a bit differently)

Spread the oats on the baking tray. Let the oats turns golden in the oven @160’c for about 5-7 mins using only the lower heating rods/ coil. Remove the oats from the oven and cool it at room temperature. Once cooled, grind the oats to a fine powder.

Now seive the wholewheat 2-3 times. In a blender jar, add the powdered oats, seived wholewheat flour, butter, sea salt, freshly cracked black peppercorns, light brown sugar and the confectioners sugar. Pulse everything together for a couple of minutes. The mixture should resemble bread crumbs.

Next, add 1 tbsp of chilled water and pulse again. If the dough begins to look like it has come together, remove it on a bit of cling wrap and make a ball and cover it well with the cling wrap. If the dough hasn’t come together, then add about 1/2 tbsp more of chilled water at the most to make the dough to come together. Don’t add too much water else there will be no going back from there.

Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour minimum or even upto 24 hours maximum before rolling and cutting the cookies. (I refrigerated the dough for about 30 hours as I had some other things to do before getting back to these cookies).

Line the baking tray with parchment paper. Preheat the oven @180’c.

Once the dough has chilled for about an hour, let the dough thaw at room temperature for 10 mins. Dust the rolling board and the pin with some wholewheat flour. Roll the the dough to a thickness of about 3-4 mm. Cut the desired shapes and place them on the parchment lined baking tray about an inch apart. Chill the cut out cookies for 15 mins in the refrigerator.

Bake them for 15-17 mins using the lower heating rods/ coil @180’c or until the edges turn golden. This is how they look once baked ⬇️

Chilling the cut out cookies makes sure the cookies never spread much. Let the cookies cool down completely in the cooling rack.

For the icing:

Ingredient:

3/4 cup icing sugar

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2-3 drops of yellow food colour (optional)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together to make a thick icing.

For the Sandwich Cookies:

Spread a bit of icing on the underside of one cookie and place the other cookie over it to make a sandwich. Do the same with the rest of the cookies.

These Sandwich cookies keep well for 3-4 days in an airtight box.

They keep well for over a week without the icing in an airtight box.

That’s it, ready! Ta-daaa! 👌🏼😀

Love,

Shreya❤

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Gingerbread Man Cookies (eggless, no molasses)

Christmas 🎄✨is so close and all I think about is what all I wish to bake for it😋 There’s plenty to be done…I have already finished doing a fair bit in whatever little time I have between so many things…I almost thought I’d have to skip it this year!

The one thing that was on my mind were these gingerbread man cookies!! ☃️☃️ I’ve had these cookie cutters for ages now and i was itching to put them to good use 😂 I mean, I did bake gingread cookies last year too but just regular round ones and hence didn’t even post them on the blog…not to forget, I had baked them for New Years!! Lol!! Well, there’s a good reason being a bit tardy…..will come to that shortly.

Don’t they look crisp, all nice and crunchy!? Well that’s precisely why I didn’t mind waiting for an entire year to share the perfect recipe for an egg free, molasses free version of these cuties. I had tried a couple of recipes last year (I had more time then I guess to keep experimenting)…anyways I didn’t enjoy them as they had egg and also called for molasses. I found all the ingredients easily but maybe it was the flavour that wasn’t quite right. Or maybe it was me..I did something…I don’t know! Those cookies looked great even as a typical round, flat version but obviously they lacked the snap and crunch in every bite.

After hunting for another version which would be eggless and molasses free, I did stumble upon a great keeper of a recipe!

The texture of these gingerbread man cookies is just how it’s supposed to be, crunchy and keeps fresh for upto 2 weeks in an airtight container. They have wonderful snap of them and the aroma…well it’s smells like Holidays in my home 😍 These best part, no electric heater or whisk is needed, no fancy equipments either…just make the dough and roll it out, use a cookie cutter of any shape you like, a star or some Christmas trees or even little mittens if you get hold of them. Bake these and ice them or enjoy them just like that.

Do read the recipe carefully before starting out. Also keep all the ingredients ready on the work surface, it will save you time and you will definitely avoid missing out anything important.

Also note that every oven works differently so please monitor trhe temperature and the baking time as per your oven. 

Yield: 16-18 cookies (I used medium sized cutters and rolled the dough a bit thick)

Equipment: a heavy bottomed saucepan, a wired whisk, measuring cups/ spoons, a large mixing bowl, cling wrap, cookie cutters or knife (if you’re going for simply square or rectangular cookies), baking pan, parchment paper/ baking paper, cooling rack.

Ingredients:

1+1/4 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 cup milk (you may need a bit extra)

2 tbsp corn syrup (use honey if you can’t find corn syrup but I have not tried honey in this recipe so far)

a few golden or silver sprinkles to decorate the gingerbread men cookies (I ran out of icing sugar🙄😑)

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, seive together the flour, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, ground nutmeg and the baking soda. Set these aside.

Now, place butter, corn syrup, milk and sugar in the sauce pan and turn on the heat. Let the butter melt and the sugar dissolve completely on a low flame while stirring it continuously with a wired whisk. Once the sugar has melted, turn off the flame. Let the mixture cool for just 5-7 mins but not more as it thickens because of the corn syrup.

Next, add this butter and sugar mixture into the sieved flour and spices. Mix well using the whisk. The dough will come together very easily, if not add just 1/2 teaspoon of milk and bring the dough together. If needed only then add a few more drops of milk. If you add too much milk, the dough will turn out to be extremely gluelike and won’t hold a good shape. 

Now, wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 10-15 mins. Please do not refrigerate the dough for longer as it will become too hard to roll out.

Preheat the oven @ 180’c.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, place it between two sheets of cling wrap, dust it with very little flour and roll it out to a thickness of 4 mm approx (I like them thick, you can roll them to a thickness of 3 mm too). Use a cookie cutter or knife to cut them out.

Line a baking pan/ tray with parchment paper or baking paper and place these cookies a little apart from each other on it. Push  the sprinkles in place where you want to make the eyes and smile for the gingerbread man. Or else do an icing later. The sprinkles won’t melt while baking or fall off later.

Tip: roll and cut all the dough at once because this dough gets a bit sticky. If you have a small oven and can bake only 10 cookies at a time, keep the remaining cut out cookies on a plate in the refrigerator until you have to bake them. Please do not freeze the dough, it will become rock hard and will not come to a good texture to roll them later.

Bake the cookies @180’c for 13-14 mins using the lower rod for the first 11 mins and the upper and the lower, both rods for the last 2-3 mins to ensure a good colour. (My cookies cracked a bit as some of the sugar wasn’t melted well , but they still turned out crisp and didn’t spread much).

Keep an eye while baking them. Cool them on a cooling rack. Click here to learn how to make and use eggless royal icing to ice and decorate any cookies.

So it’s the corn syrup that replaces molasses and makes these cookies crisp.

Making this is a lot of fun and you can also include your kids while rolling the dough or icing the cookies later 😚

Love,

Shreya😍

Adapted from art of dessert.

Rose and Pistachio Cookies

It just dawned on me last weekend that Christmas is very close🎅🎄☃️❄️🎁…yeah, overload with the emoticons…but can you blame me…. this is the only time around the year that I can actually use them😂 LoL!! Anyways…so Christmas…what do you guys do for Christmas?! I’d love to know….I mean, in India, there is no snow in most parts of the country and all…but still I love the Christmassy air around me…probably my Convent days remind me of carols and decorations and parties…☺️🎉🎊….I wish I could make a snowman outside my porch and have a beautiful snowfall on Christmas Eve….

Anyways….that wish will have to wait..won’t it, now?! So the husband was travelling last week…and I obviously had a lot of time on my hands…besides, I knew he’d love coming home to something sweet and delicious…made by yours truly! What better than some exotically flavoured cookies to go with his tea!?

We really love freshly baked shortbread cookies…they are crisp, mildly sweet and the perfect base recipe to experiment with a ton of flavours. And that’s exactly what these Rose and Pistachio Cookies are all about.

Some of my readers wanted to know a little bit about a traditional “shortbread” when I had shared the recipe for my Almond Shortbread Cookies earlier this year….they could be great for your Christmas Cookie box too. They make for an ideal gift as well.

First baked in Scotland in 1736, shortbread is very popular around Christmas, the English refer to it as a biscuit, cookie for the Americans is traditionally made with 3 parts all purpose flour, 2 parts butter and 1 part sugar. Although, modern recipes even call for cornflour which gives a more stable texture to these cookies. However, it is added when you are making an eggless version, cornflour helps in keeping the shape of the cookie.

Shortbread is always baked at a low temperature until it’s very slightly golden around the edges…crumbly when just out of the oven but sets and becomes firmer as it cools down. It can be shaped as one prefers, round or square or simply hand rolled and pressed down with the tines of a fork. I personally like the scallop-edged ones☺️

The best part about these cookies is that they have such a mild fragrance of rose, you’ll almost miss it…not at all overpowering and then comes a welcome crunch from the Pistachio slivers….a perfect fusion of Mediterranean flavours with the old world charm of these very English biscuits 😀

Yield: 12 medium biscuits

Equipment: electric whisk, measuring cups/ spoons, baking paper, rolling pin, cookie cutter or knife, mixing bowl, baking tray, cooling rack, cling wrap.

Ingredients:

1+1/4 cup Maida  (APF), plus some extra to dust while rolling the dough

1/2 tbsp cornflour

1/4 cup+1 tbsp castor sugar

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp rose water

2-3 tbsp Pistachio slivers

dried rose petals to garnish (optional)

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until the sugar combines completely with the butter and the mixture turns white and very fluffy, took me about 3-4 mins of whisking on high speed setting.

Next, add the rose water, cornflour and maida (APF) to the sugar-butter mixture and whisk once again until everything is combined well.

Wrap the cookie dough in some cling and refrigerate for 30 mins or put it in the freezer for 20 mins.

Preheat the oven at 160’c for 10 mins. Line a baking tray with baking paper and dust it with some maida (APF).

Once the dough is set post refrigeration, dust the dough with some maida (APF) and roll it between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 3 mm. Sprinkle the pistachio slivers and rolls once again slightly to ensure that the pistachio slivers are embedded into the dough.

Now, cut them into any shape of your choice. If using cookie cutters then dip them into some maida (APF) before using them to avoid unevenly cut cookies.

Place the cut out cookies in the refrigerator for another 20 mins or in the freezer for 10 mins. Then bake @ 160′ c for 12-15 mins or until the edges turn slightly golden. You have to use only the lower baking element for the first 10 mins and then turn on the upper heating elements in the last 5 mins to give a little colour to the top of these cookies. (Note: every oven works differently so please keep an eye while baking these cookies).

This how they look fresh out of the oven. They crisp up as they cool. Let them rest on the warm baking tray for 10 mins then transfer to a cooling tray for them to cool completely.

This is what the base of the cookies looks like post baking and cooling completely. These can now be stored in airtight containers or cookie tins. They remain fresh and crisp for around 3-4 days.

Note: the cookie dough can be frozen in a cling wrap for upto a week. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight, keep in room temperature for 10 mins and then roll, cut and bake them as per the above recipe. This recipe uses cornflour, it is very reliable as it stops the cookie from spreading too much as does the refrigeration. So please, follow all the steps correctly and you will have a perfect cookie☺️

My hubby loved these flavours, as did I. You can use this recipe as the base and incorporate any flavour of your choice.

Love,

Shreya💗

Adapted from wallflower kitchen.