S&S Bake: Cranberry Pecan White Chocolate Cookies

It feels like just yesterday when I was munching on last month’s snow flecked brownies, which were helplessly sitting on my dining table for 2 weeks, waiting for me to finish them and it is already time for the next bake. Unlike last couple of bakes, I baked this month’s Sweet & Simple Bake when I had guests over. So, this month my cranberry pecan white chocolate cookies disappeared in a day. Once we started eating, none of us could stop ourself. I liked these cookies better than the oatmeal chocolate cookies we baked back in march.

I followed the Cranberry Pecan White Chocolate Cookies recipe exactly as given. I had to bake them in 2 batched and the first batch I baked for 13 – 14 minutes, which were crisp and burnt. The second batched I baked for 12 minutes and were little soft, exactly how I like them.

Source: Sweet & Simple Bakes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 12 minutes
Yields: 3 dozen

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 150g Plain Flour
• ½ tsp Baking Soda (The recipe called for baking powder and I misread it as baking soda)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 75g Rolled Oats (Old fashioned)
• 125g Soft Butter
• 75g Dark Brown Sugar
• 100g Superfine Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 75g Dried Cranberries
• 50g roughly chopped Pecans
• 150g White Chocolate Chips

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 180oC/ 350°F/gas mark 4.
• Measure out the flour, baking soda, salt and rolled oats into a bowl.
• Put the butter and sugars into another bowl and beat together until creamy.  I used my hand electric mixer and then beat in the egg and vanilla.
• Beat in the flour, baking powder, salt and oat mixture and then fold in the cranberries, chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
• Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into a ball with your hands, and flatten it a little and then place them on an aluminium lined baking sheet.  I used 3 baking sheets but had t bake them in 2 batches, as my oven could take in only 2 sheets at a time.
• Bake them of  for 12 minutes.  When ready, the cookies will be tinged a pale gold, but be too soft to lift immediately off the tray, so leave the tray on a cool surface and let them harden for about 5 minutes. Remove with a spatula to cool fully on a wire rack.  Oven temperatures vary from oven to oven. So don’t go with baking time.

I wish my fellow S&S Bakers a very Happy New Year! I am suppose to post this bake on 2nd January but going ahead and posting it 2 days early as I will be away for the next 3-4 days. I won’t be posting any anything for at least 4-5 days.

Have fun and Wish you all a Happy New Year!

S&S Bake: Snow Flecked Brownies

This month’s Sweet & Simple Bake is Snow Flecked Brownies.  I am a chocoholic and ever since I saw the bake for this month, I was eager to bake it.  However, I was preoccupied with other stuff and could not bake it until this afternoon.  Even today, when I woke up this morning, I was not sure if I could bake these and hence,  decided to skip this month’s bake.  That decision did not last too long.  Me skipping chocolate?  No way….  I rushed to the store, picked up all the required ingredients and here I am with these lovely, yummicious brownies… And for me, anything made of chocolate is always yummicious .  I followed the recipe given here, except for the chocolate.  I could only find 300 gms of dark chocolate, so I substituted the other 75 gms with bittersweet chocolate.  Also, I did not dust my brownies with icing sugar, so I guess my brownies are not snow flecked…

Preparation: 15 – 20 minutes
Baking Time: 25 minutes
Yields: 3 ½ dozens
Source: Maria of S&S Bakes

S&S Bake: White Chocolate and Orange Cookies

It is the beginning of the month and time for yet another Sweet & Simple Bake.  This time is White Chocolate and Orange Cookies.  I followed the recipe as given and presenting you chocolate orange cookies right out of the oven.  I made them this evening.

The Original Recipe is here and I followed it exactly as given, with no substitutions what so ever.

Baking Time: 8-10 minutes
Yields: 3 Dozens (varies on the size)

White & Brown Chocolate Chip Cookies

I followed the recipe on the packet of Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies.  The recipe called for semi sweet chips but I used combination of semi sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.  I made ½ the recipe that was on the packet.

Total Time: 25 minutes
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 8-10 minutes
Yields: 2 – 2½ Dozens (This is an approximate count. I did not count)

Savory Corn Muffins

One day, as I was blog hopping, I stumbled on to Dorie’s Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins recipe. The recipe looked interesting and the muffins looked delicious. I bought all the ingredients to bake the muffins and then I saw Suganya’s Spicy Corn Muffins. Her recipe yields 6 muffins, which was perfect and also this recipe calls for only 2 tbsp of oil. So I went ahead baked Suganya’s Muffins yesterday, with a few adjustments. I liked the muffins and Mr.U, being a carnivore in the house, was reluctant to even taste them. So I eat two for brunch, as soon as I baked them. I eat a heavy lunch with left over Biryani and payasam from previous day. I was so stuffed and wanted to skip dinner. Then I again, I knew very well that if skip dinner, I will wake up in the middle of the night and munch on cookies or candy. So I eat two more muffins for dinner. I have the other 2 in the fridge, which I will munch on later in the day.

Here is the link to Suganya’s recipe for spicy corn muffins.  I made a few adjustments to the recipe and I will list Suganya’s  recipe and will strike out the ingredient that I changed the measures for and italicize the measures that I used.  I didn’t use the cheese.

Total Time: 25-30 minutes
Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes
Baking Time: 20 minutes
Yields: 6

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Cornmeal (I used Stone ground)
• 1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 Egg small
• 2 tbsp Vegetable or Canola oil
• 1/3 cup Yogurt
• 1 ½ tbsp Sugar
• ¼ cup frozen or fresh Corn 1/3 – ½ cup frozen Corn
• ¼ cup chopped Scallions or Cilantro 1/3 cup scallions and cilantro chopped (not each but combined 1/3 cup)
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, more if desired ¾ tsp Red Pepper Flakes (adjust to taste)
  
• 4 small Green Chilies chopped (adjust to taste)
  
• ¼ Marinated Feta or Goat Cheese crumbled (optional)

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 375F
• Line the muffin pan with paper cups.
• In a bowl mix together cornmeal, all purpose flour, salt and baking powder. These are the first four ingredients.
• In a large bowl mix egg, sugar, oil and yogurt with a whisk until all the ingredients are mixed well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and whisk gently until dry ingredients are well incorporated.
• Add corn, cilantro & scallions, green chilies and red pepper flakes to form a uniform mixture. Do not over mix.
• Pour the mixture in the muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes. Insert a tooth pick to check if the muffins are done. A tooth pick inserted should come out clean.
• Serve hot or at room temperature.

I am sending these muffins to Tried and Tasted event, hosted by Curry Leaf. Featured blog this month is Suganya of Tasty Palettes. Tried and Tasted is an event started by Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen.

I am also sending this to Ashwini’s Monthly Blog Patrol (MBP): Snacks and Savouries event. MBP is an event started by Coffee.

Cilantro Pesto Pinwheels

I am very happy to share with you all a recipe I came up with.  How I came up with this recipe is a long story.  I tried out a recipe I saw in a magazine. The recipe called for wrapping sausage meat in a pastry sheet, cutting it into ½” circles and baking it. Puff Rolls came out great and the taste was fine too, but I was unsure if the meat inside the puff rolls was fully cooked. So I decided not to share the recipe with you all (there is another story behind that). However, I will share the pictures very soon.  

I had one more pasty sheet in the freezer and wanted to use it.  I thought of preparing the same recipe again, with either cooked sausage or seasoned mashed potato, rather than raw sausage meat, but changed my mind.  Then I thought of spreading either cooked minced meat or mashed potato on the pastry sheet and rolling it into a pinwheel and that didn’t quite appeal me either.  Then I remembered the tri-color cilantro chutney, cucumber and tomato sandwiches.  I wondered, how about spreading cilantro chutney/pesto, sprinkling some roasted red bell which were sitting in my fridge, and some onion.  And here I am with a delicious Cilantro Mint Pesto Pinwheels.

This is my entry for Herb Mania, started by Dee of Ammalus Kitchen and this months theme is Cilantro, hosted by Siri’s Corner. I am also sending this to SnackORama, for her Sunday Snacks: Bake It, Original Recipe event and to EC for WYF: Salad/Starter/Soups event.

Total Time: 30-35 (excludes thawing time)
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes
Yields: 30-35

Ingredients:

• Chutney/Pesto
  • 2 Roasted Almonds
  • 2 Walnuts
  • ½ cup Chopped Cilantro (approx. I didn’t measure it)
  • ½ cup Chopped Mint (approx. I didn’t measure)
  • 3 Cloves Garlic Chopped
  • 5 Green Chilies Chopped (adjust to taste. It is a little spicy)
  • Salt to Taste
  • 2 tbsp Lemon Juice (it is an approx. measure. adjust to taste)
• ½ Small Onion Chopped
• ½ cup Jared Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chopped
• 1 Puff Pasty Sheet (Pepperridge farm box comes with 2 Pastry Sheets)
• 2 tbsp Mozzarella Cheese (opt. I used it today but won’t use it next time)

Preparation:

• Thaw pastry sheet for 40 minutes, as instructed on the box.
• Grind all the ingredients listed under pesto.
• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Cut the pastry sheet into two, lengthwise.
• Spread the pesto on the sheets. Sprinkle onions, bell peppers and cheese.

• Roll the pastry sheet lengthwise.

• Cut it into ½” rolls. Arrange in a aluminum foil lined baking sheet.

• Bake for 20-25 minutes until they turn golden brown.
• Remove form oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Serve it as an appetizer or a snack, as it is or with your favorite sauce or dip.

These colorful, delicious Cilantro Pesto Pinwheels are making their entry to Original Recipe, WYF: Salad/Starter/Soups, Sunday Snacks: Bake It!, Herb Mania: Cilantro events.   

Edamame

I did not participate in last months JFI event and this month, I could not make up my mind on what to send. First I thought of tofu. I am not a big fan of tofu, but I do eat it.  However, I don’t cook it very much at home, because I am the only one who ends up eating it. Then I thought of Soya chunks. This is not a regular food in my kitchen either. I have eaten it at my relatives and friends places, but whenever I cook it at home, it never turns out good. I use to get the soya chunks in a plastic bag, which doesn’t have cooking directions. So this time, I bought Nutrela soya chunks, which has cooking directions on the box. I followed the directions and cooked it couple of times. I once added it to beans stir fry and was good. The second time around, I added it to spinach and wanted to blog about it. I took the pictures but, for some reason, I didn’t feel like putting it in my blog. So, I was back to square one, and nothing to send to Sia for JFI – Soya.

Two three days ago, when at the frozen section in a grocery store, edamame caught my eyes. That suddenly reminded me of Edamame at Nobu, a Japanese restaurant in midtown Manhattan. They steam or boil the soya pods in salted water and serve it as an appetizer.  Edamame is served as an appetizer in most of the Japanese restaurants and that was the first time I have been to one. I usually avoid Japanese cuisine, because the first thing that comes to my mind is sushi and I don’t like sushi.  Anyway, I picked up the edamame from the freezer section and knew what my entry would be for Sia. Edamame is young Soya bean inside a Soya Pod.

Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

• ½ lb Edamame
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Boil 3-4 cups of water in a sauce pan. Once water boils, add salt and soya pods and boil it for 5 minutes.
• Drain the water and serve hot or cold as a snack or an appetizer.
• Split the pod, eat the soya beans and discard the pod.

This quick, easy, tasty and healthy edamame is making its entry into JFI: Soya hosted by Sia. JFI is a monthly food event started by Indira of Mahanandi.

Tuscan Mushrooms

When I saw Dee’s announcement for this month’s Herb Mania Basil, I decided I was going to send something this time for her event. I missed her last month’s event and never participate in Herb Mania before. I don’t use basil very much in my cooking and I had no idea what I was going to send. If I did not find any interesting recipe with basil, I thought, there is always Basil Pizza. I googled for Italian basil recipes so that I can send it to both herb mania and AWED – Italiano. I also wanted an easy recipe that does not require lot of cheese. Nothing interested me and the search was of vain. I went to my recipes folder on my hard drive, where I have a lot of recipes that I saved, but never tried them out. I came across Tuscan mushrooms recipe and the picture of it was very tempting, in fact, that picture is more appetizing than mine here The recipe called for red bell peppers, olives, cheese and scallions for filling and basil for garnish. Initially, I was a little skeptical about it’s taste but decided to try it out anyway. When I tried and tasted it, it was better than what I had expected. If you are a mushroom lover like me, you will love it. I modified the recipe a little to my palate.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network
Total Time: 30 minutes
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 20 minutes
Yields: 12 (depends on the size of the mushroom)

Ingredients:

• 10 oz white small mushrooms peeled, stemmed and cleaned
• ¼ cup jarred roasted red bell peppers chopped
• ¼ pitted olive slices chopped (original recipe called for green olives)
• ¼ cup grated mexican blend cheese (I had this in my fridge)
• ¼ cup basil chopped
• 1 scallion chopped
• 2 green chilies seeded and chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp salt

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In bowl mix all the ingredients except mushrooms.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the mushrooms on the sheet with cavity side up.
• Fill each mushroom with the filling, about 1 tsp per mushroom.
• Bake it for 20 minutes until mushroom is cooked.
• Serve it hot.

Note:

• Don’t wash the mushroom. Wipe them with a paper towel to clean them. I washed mine and when i baked them, there was lot of water in the baking sheet.
• Use green olives, tuscan mushrooms will look colorful.

Tuscan Mushrooms are my entry to Herb Mania: Basil, hosted by Dee of Ammalus’s Kitchen and AWED: Italiano hosted by DK of Culinary Bazaar.

   

Makha Butta with Ellipaya Miram

Makha butta or corn on the cob is one of my favorite food, prepared in any form. Whenever I see fresh corn in the stores, it reminds me of street side vendors back home. During the corn season, these vendors are every where selling fresh corn or roasted corn. They roast the cobs on coal in front of you and rub it with some salt and lime juice. It is simply delicious. It is even better when eaten with ellipaya miram or garlic chili powder in butter. Yesterday I picked put some fresh corn on the cob and this morning, corn was my breakfast. I wanted to grill it on the stove but in the last minute, I got lazy and boiled it instead. The combination of ellipaya miram with corn on the cob is heavenly. This goes to Sia of Monsoon Spice for her WBB – Summer Feast event.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Corn on the Cob
• Garlic Butter Sauce
  • 3 tbsp Butter unsalted
  • 1 ½ tsp Crushed Garlic
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder (adjust to your taste)
  • Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Boil corn in a large pot with some salt. After the water boils, it takes about another 10 minutes for the corn to cook.
• In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter for 10 seconds. Add rest of the ingredients and mix them. Microwave for another 20 seconds and mix well. Thats it. Ellipaya miram is ready.
• Once the corn is cooked, drain the water and serve it with ellipaya miram.

Chicken Pakoda / Chicken Fritters

Chicken pakoda is my entry to the Hot and Spicy Pakora Contest hosted by A perfect bite...  I am reposting this recipe for the event.

Total time: 30 minutes
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken cut into small pieces (boned or boneless)
• 1 ½ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 ½ tsp Coriander Powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Lime Juice
• 1 small Onion chopped
• 1 Green Onion chopped
• 6 Green Chillies chopped
• 10 – 15 Mint Leaves chopped
• ¼ cup Cilantro chopped
• 2 tbsp Besan/Bengal Gram Flour
• 1 tsp Rice flour
• ¼ tsp Baking Powder/ Baking Soda
• 1 Egg
• Oil for deep fry

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients except oil to make a batter.
• Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the chicken pieces on medium – medium high flame.
• When pakodas turn golder brown, remove from oil, drain on a paper towel.
• Serve hot with any sauce of your choice; chili sauce , hot sauce.

Note:

• You can add some spinach to the chicken batter.