Linzer Cookies

February - The Valentine month as the world normally looks forward too... my daughter and me are feb born and we do have our days to celebrate.  Anyways - to spread love and cheer Baking Partners picked these Linzer cookies for the month's challenge, they don't just look good ,they taste super yumm too.

 Linzer cookies are two almond flavored cookies sandwiched together with a tiny blob of jam...........

 Recipe Source :Adapted from Alice Medrich, Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy 

 Ingredients:

•  1  cup + 2 tablespoon  /145g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup/ 63g  ground almonds
• 1/4 cup /50g granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 8 tablespoon of  unsalted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest or 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
• Strained or pureed good quality preserves or fruit spread
• 1 teaspoon + extra Powdered sugar for dusting
  
  
  Method:
  
  
    Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. A quick stir and add the butter and extracts to it. Let them all combine to come together into a dough. Remove the dough , wrap it in a cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours or time permitting allow it rest overnight.
  When it is ready to roll out the cookies - first ensure the dough is out of the refrigerator and is supple enough to roll but firm enough to hold the shape. 
  Preheat oven  to 325F. Roll out the dough in between 2 sheets of wax paper to even thickness. Gently peel away the top sheet and cut out the desired shape and gently place it on the prepared baking tray.
  I have used 2 trays here- first tray had the shape intact. The second one also had the shapes placed. Here, use a small heart cutter and make an impression in the center. 
  Place the cutter at the center of the cookie and with a knife gently remove the inner dough - leaving the shape of the cookie and the center cut out intact. Continue to do so for the rest of the cookies on the second tray. Set to bake for 15 to 25 minutes or use the time which is safe on your oven. Check out if the sides of the cookies are browning -  just turn the tray around to ensure even baking. Once done remove from the oven and place it on a wired rack for cooling.
  
  

   

Now place the second tray cookies on a wax paper and dust them with icing sugar.
Take the cookie from the first tray and place a small blob of jam - I have used mixed fruit jam here.
 Now take the sugar dusted cookie and place it in the jam so that the jam spreads out in the small heart - press gently to sandwich the cookies together.
The cookies are brittle when cooled - so remember to handle them with care so that they don't crack up.

I made them twice hence 2 different shapes here. Linking these yummy cookies to Baking Partners hosted by Swathi Iyer

Torcettini di Saint Vincent (Sugar Crusted Twisted Cookies from the Valle d’Aosta)

We Knead to Bake,of course we need to :) I have never tried cookies with yeast and this challenge taught me how to.One can get a lil skeptical when you see this cookie recipe where yeast is used unlike baking powder which is the norm......make to it believe it- it is simple and sweet.

Adapated from A Baker’s Tour by Nick Malgieri

Honey Glazed Spicy Chicken Wings

Chicken and spice kinda go hand in hand ..........usually churning up a lovely dish in the end. This dish has gravy in it but it coats the wings pretty well and the honey garnish adds a glaze and cuts through the spice....How much spice and how much honey is a personal choice.....keep it subtle i shall say :)

French Macarons

French macaron...who doesn't love it? When you make them there are only two ways to it. You either get it right or you don't. There's nothing in between..the pic here is the result of my fifth attempt !! It is a great sense of accomplishment because I have been trying this since  Jan 2012..

Cornflakes Cookies

Missing in action for one long month......reasons reasons reasons are in plenty......Very happy that I managed to get back my computer just in time to post these Cornflakes Cookies as part of the Baking Partners theme for the month which is Cookies.

OAT COOKIES

This recipe was originally created by my BFF - Pavita - we have been friends from the boarding school days and the bonding has just grown by the day.She has a beautiful home in Coorg where she lives with her husband Ramesh and two lovely girls Malvika & Tarana.

Together they manage Home Stay services. http://www.jagalehomestay.com is their website.
She complained saying that I didn't mention anywhere that she inspired me to bake :)) so, this is my version of her Oat cookies.........dedicated only to her.

Ingredients :

• Two Cups - Oats
• Half Cup Wheat Bran
• One Cup All purpose flour
• Three Fourth Cup Sugar
• Half Cup Fresh coconut grated
• Two Tsp Baking Powder
• Two Medium sized Eggs ( Beaten)
• One Tsp Vanilla Sugar
• Half Cup Salted Butter

Step 1 :

Mix all the dry ingredients, mix in butter and make a dough adding the beaten egg either by hand or in a stand mixer at medium speed.
The mixture/ dough would look like this ........

Step 2 :
Oat cookies need not necessarily have a shape - they can just be dropped with a ice cream scoop. I have just shaped them round . This dough makes about 30 cookies.

Step 3:
Bake them in a preheated oven at 160 degrees ( in a gas oven) for about 45 minutes. Once done , let it cool on a wire rack.

Once cool - they are not just a crunchy bunch of cookies but healthy too.

I rename them - PAULA'S OAT COOKIES :))