Exotic Sugar Flowers

First post for the new year - 2015. There is much happening around us, lets hope for peace all over the world. I have made a few resolutions to myself and am working on them. However, 2014 ended with a short vacation,fun time with folks and luck by chance I got myself enrolled for a 3 day EXOTIC SUGAR FLOWERS WORKSHOP. And then I learnt to make all of these.....and can't stop feeling proud every time I look at it.

Pic courtesy - FONDBITES

Chocolate and Walnut Bars

It's been a real long while that I have blogged.....some commitments  take away all your attention sadly.However, it is always delightful to write a new post when in reality the drafts are full of posts that need to see the light of the day. Here, I present Chocolate and Walnut Bars....every bite is yumm..... as seen in the picture.

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

Dutch Coffee Buns............Kofieebroodje

2014 is here already ...........Hope this year brings us all lots of joy, peace and prosperity......
Back to baking too .........and look forward to bake some interesting challenges here. So, I start the year with Baking Partners challenge -  Dutch Coffee Buns...Kofieebroodje. Nothing complicated about this .....yet a soft and sweet bun straight out of the oven in few hours.....

Marshmallow Nut Brownies

A good break from the cakes and breads I bake...here's brownies. They are so easy to put together when you have all the ingredients in hand and tastes heavenly too. I made this previously to celebrate two of my aunts who became grandmas...so brownies have an emotional story to it .. and this is how I made it..

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

I have been baking a lot of breads lately and the experience has been truly amazing. When you look at the baked beauties, its overwhelming. So here comes October, the Halloween month proposing a challenge from the Baking Partners and here is the lovely bread baked with a star ingredient - Pumpkin.

Honeycomb Buns or Bee’s Hive Buns - Khaliat Nahal

From the desert summer to the rains back home, a  2 month get away has made me home sick like never before. Back to base and nose deep into routines,I kept myself away from baking. And,here I rise up to the
We knead to bake Challenge no.9 -  Honey comb buns.
 A Middle eastern delicacy,usually sweet and can be made savory too. Khaliat Nahal literally translates to Bee hive in Arabic.The name takes after the way the buns are baked so close to each other forming a honey comb pattern.