Checkered Cookies- A Christmas Treat!!!!

My friends came over for a Christmas party and we had a potluck lunch, then we made ugly sweaters together and did white elephant by stealing and keeping the gifts. It was so much fun with them. While they were leaving I wanted to give them some christmasy gifts and cookies, so I wrapped snow globes and I was googling for cookies. I wanted to make some cookies which I never posted in my blog and so I made these checkered cookies which is very different from the normal cookies and which will be liked by all because of the cakey texture of the cookies.

I got the recipe from here and I double the ingredients as I have to make a big batch to give to my friends and save some for my kids. These cookies look tedious to make but it can be done within no time if you make these with your friends or family. My kids were helping me in making these and it was so much fun. These cookies are buttery, festive, delicious and a simple one with a choice of chocolate or vanilla. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Butter- 2 Cups
2. Sugar- 1 1/2 Cups
3. Eggs- 2 
4. Vanilla Essence- 2 tsp
5. Baking powder- 2 tsp
6. All purpose Flour- 4.5 Cups
7. Cocoa powder- 1/3 Cups

Method:

1. Cream the butter along with sugar and add the eggs one by one and mix well. 
2. When they are combined add the vanilla essence, mix then add all purpose flour and baking powder in small quantities and mixing in between. 
3. When everything gets combined well, divide the dough in half and in one half add the cocoa powder and give it a nice mix.
4. Form each dough in a square log and wrap both the dough in cling film and place it in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Make sure both the cookie dough should be of the same shape and length.
5. After 30 minutes, take it out of the refrigerator, using sharp knife slice the dough into thirds longwise, turn it ones and cut into thirds again. We will get 9 strips.
6. Repeat the process with the other dough. Whole together we will have 18 strips of dough.
7. Place one stripe of vanilla dough, chocolate and then vanilla on a flat surface. On top alternating with the strips and then on top repeat the same process till we get a square log. Press this dough together tightly, keeping the square shape.
8. Meanwhile place a parchment paper on a baking tray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
9. Refrigerate again for 15 minutes. Take it out and slice into 1/4th inch pieces. You can see nice checkered pattern. 
10. Place them on a parchment paper and bake for 12- 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!!!

Stained Glass Cookies- Holiday treats

These sugar cookies are buttery, crisp with a candy center. This tastes as good as it looks. A perfect holiday classic. This is the first time I am trying to make these cookies. Actually my daughter made these from scratch for her youtube channel as Christmas cookies. She decorated the cookies using royal icing and the second time, I thought of giving it a try by making them as stained glass using Jolly Ranchers. This was a hit among family and friends.

You cut a shape from the cookie dough, transfer it on the baking sheet and cut a smaller shape and fill it up with crushed jolly ranchers. Bake them and when the sides turn light brown in color, take it out of the oven and an evenly baked striking cookies are ready to be served.

This is a perfect treat to make and gift to your friends. For making the perfect stained glass cookie is the time. I kept them exactly for 12 minutes a minute her or there it would end up over cooked or under cooked. These cookies make beautiful Christmas tree ornament by just hanging them using a ribbon. My kids enjoyed making these and they also enjoyed eating them.

I have only seen these cookies in magazines and other blogs but now these cookies are here in my blog which I never thought I could make. If I can make these, so can you. Try this out and let me know how this turned out.

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour- 3 Cups
2. Baking Powder- 1 tsp
3. Butter- 1 Cup
4. Sugar- 1 1/2 Cup
5. Egg- 1no
6. Vanilla essence- 1 tsp

For Stained Glass Effect:

• Jolly Ranchers- few

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a baking paper on the tray and keep this aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar till they blend well. Then add the egg and vanilla essence and beat well.
3. Mix the baking powder to the all purpose flour and add this little by little in the wet mixture and beat slowly.
4. When all the flour mixture is added to the butter mixture, it will form a dough. Roll these using a rolling pin and using a cookie cutter shape cut into desired shapes. Cut a smaller portion in the center and arrange them in the baking tray.
5. Keep this tray in the refrigerator for 15- 20 minutes, then crush different colored jolly ranchers in a zip lock bag and add this in the middle of the cookie and bake for about 12 minutes.
6. Enjoy the stained glass cookie.

Stained Glass Cookie Ornament:

• Before placing the cookies in the refrigerator, make a small hole in the top of the cookie by using a straw, then follow the next steps to bake.
• When the cookie is baked, hang it as an ornament by tying with a rope on the Christmas tree.

Kerala Bakery Style Egg Biscuits/ Coin Biscuits/

These biscuits are popular snacks which can be found in almost all the bakeries in Kerala. As a small kid, I used to eat these often whenever we go to Kerala for vacations. While coming back to Andhra, my mom used to bring big packets of these and always a big jar in my house is filled with these cute little bakes. These biscuits never lasted in my house for too long. These are devoured in no time.

These are mostly available in the shape of coins. That is why they are also called coin biscuits. These are also known as bean biscuits as some of them are in the shape of a bean.
The process of making the batter, piping them evenly in the same shape and baking them perfectly is an art. These melt in mouth delicacies are simple and an easy to make snack which will be loved by all and can munch at any time. Hope you all will try this out and please let me know.

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour- 3/4 Cup
2. Sugar- 1/2 Cup
3. Eggs- 2 Cups
4. Vanilla Essence- 1 tbsp
5. Butter- 1 tbsp
6. Baking Powder- 1/2 tsp
7. Yellow Food Color- 1 Tsp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat the eggs along with sugar, vanilla essence, yellow food color and melted butter.
3. Mix the flour and baking powder together and add this in batches to the above egg mixture. 
4. Pour the batter into the piping bag or ziplock cover and squeeze small drops of batter onto a lined baking tray.
5. Bake for about 20- 22 minutes. Let it cool completely before removing from the tray. Enjoy delicious biscuits.

Tutti Frutti Shortbread Cookies

Tutti frutti refers to candied raw papaya, which is brightly colored small cubicle pieces. These are generally
used in cakes, cookies and even in ice creams.

The dough can be prepared ahead and kept refrigerated when needed thaw the dough and bake. These cookies are a feast for the eyes because of the colorful candied fruits. The bright red and green colored candied fruits add an extra shine to the holiday treats. Kids will love these colorful treats. as the festive season started, these cookies are perfect for gift family and friends. It is optional to add chocolate chips.

We can also make Karachi biscuits using tutti frutti, which is a popular dessert in India. After seeing many
blogs with Christmas treats, I baked Christmas fruit cake/ plum cake and these shortbread cookies which
are my kid's favorite.

.

These shortbread cookies are filled with lots of tutti frutti and chocolate chips which are very easy to make.
My daughter enjoys helping me with baking these cookies. She loves to add all the ingredients especially tutti frutti and to cut them into desired shapes. She loves everything about cookies. Hope you will also try
and enjoy these.
Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour- 2 ¼ Cups
2. Sugar- 1 Cup
3. Butter- 1 Cup
4. Vanilla Essence- 2 tsp
5. Tutti Frutti/ Candied Raw Papaya- 1 Cup
6. Chocolate Chips- ½ Cup
7. Baking Powder- 1 ½ tsp
8. Eggs- 2 nos

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat egg till they turn creamy and fluffy using a blender. Beat the butter and sugar in a separate mixing bowl till everything gets well blended.
3. Add the beaten eggs in the butter- sugar mixture, along with vanilla essence.
4. Sieve the all purpose flour along with baking soda and add little by little in the above mixture. Mix well.
5. Add the tutti frutti and chocolate chips in the above made cookie dough and mix well.Shape them into logs and wrap them in clingsheep tightly and refrigerate for 2- 3 hours.
6. Take out the dough logs and cut into desired shapes. Place them on greased cookie tray and bake for about 9 minutes.
7. Enjoy the delicious tutti frutti slices and store in airtight container.

Oats Lace Cookies

Who wouldn’t like a crispy, lacy, scrumptious cookies? These oats lace cookies are one of our favorite cookies which will get over within minutes of baking. These thin, crispy oatmeal cookies will be the star among all the other delicacies in parties.

Just melt the butter and sugar, then once cooled add all the other ingredients and bake for less than 10 minutes. Simple and easy cookies can be made within no time and with very fewer ingredients.

The cookies, while baking, will spread so bake them in batches. This quantity will make about a whole lot of cookies, which can be gifted to friends and also can be enjoyed on cold evenings. Just try this one and I guarantee that you just cannot stop on one as they are buttery and so addictive.

Ingredients:

1. Rolled oats- 1 ½ Cups
2. Sugar- 1 Cup
3. All-Purpose Flour- 2 tbsp
4. Butter- ½ Cup
5. Vanilla Essence- 1 tsp
6. Eggs- 1 no

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. Heat butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stirring frequently until the butter and sugar have melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the flour and mix well.
3. Remove the pan from heat and drop in the vanilla essence and let it cool for 10 minutes.
4. When the mixture is warm, add the egg and stir till it combines. Drop the oats stir until well distributed.
5. Spoon 1 tbsp of the batter on to the parchment paper, leaving about some space between each one.
6. Spread using the back of a spoon into a single layer. Bake for about 6-8 minutes, watching closely from over baking. They will turn golden brown. Bake the cookies in batches as they spread.
7. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the parchment paper. Store in airtight container when cool.

Karachi Biscuits

Karachi biscuits are the most popular and famous biscuits of Hyderabad, which is loaded with full of tutti frutti and which is enjoyed with a good cup of tea and if it is a masala tea then nothing to beat the combination. These are quite addictive. In my house, a box full of this biscuits is finished within no time. These biscuits will always be refilled in my house as soon as this is over. In my house, everyone including my 2-year-old is a big fan of these biscuits.

These biscuits are made with a combination of all-purpose flour along with custard powder and are fully loaded with tutti fruitty, which are candied raw papaya pieces and cashew nuts, which is infused with the lovely flavor of rose by adding the rose essence. Nothing can beat these biscuits in texture, flavor or taste. All the ingredients are well blended and the finished product will be perfectly baked biscuits.

Everyone, from small kids to adults will love this and no one can eat just one. Just follow the recipe and you will get exactly the taste of the store bought biscuits, just that when you cut the dough after taking out from the refrigerator, make sure that they are thin, not thick biscuits. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour- 2 Cups
2. Custard Powder- ½ Cup
3. Butter- ½ Cup
4. Sugar- 1 Cup
5. Baking powder- 1 tsp
6. Milk-3 tbsp
7. Salt- a pinch
8. Tutti Frutti- ½ Cup
9. Cashews- ½ Cup
10. Rose Essence- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar, till light n fluffy.
2. Sieve the flour, custard powder, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the above butter, sugar mixture along with milk.  If you feel the dough is too dry, just add enough milk.
3. Mix the tutti frutti and cashews well without any lumps. Roll the prepared dough to form rectangular logs or any other desired shape and cover it using cling wrap and freeze it till they are firm. Once firm, remove the dough and cut into even sized biscuits and arrange them on a parchment paper lined a baking tray with a 1-inch gap.
4. Bake for about 15 minutes. When done, cool them and store in airtight container.

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love anything made out of oats and my daughter will fall head over heels for these cookies as this contains all of her favorite ingredients like the chocolate chips, raisins and most importantly oats. She loves homemade granola bars, which I made earlier and always asks me to make batches as soon as they get over.

These oatmeal cookies have turned right by which I mean soft, chewy and perfectly baked which are loaded with the generous amount of chocolate chips and also raisins. Kids will hang around these cookie jars till it gets over and will demand more.

Old fashioned oats have a lot of health benefits including low cholesterol and reducing certain diseases. They are nutritious food that can easily be incorporated into your daily diet. Include oats in your life and feel healthy.

This cookie recipe is a no-fail dish and do not overbake them. Just try this out and everybody will love this.

Ingredients:

1. Butter-6 tbsps
2. Sugar- ¾ Cups
3. All-purpose Flour- ⅓ Cup
4. Whole Wheat Flour- ⅓ cup
5. Baking soda- ¾ tsp
6. Oats- 1 ½ Cups
7. Salt- a pinch
8. Egg- 1 no
9. Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
10. Raisins- ½ Cup
11. Chocolate Chips- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Beat butter and sugar till creamy and fluffy.
2. In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, oats, and salt.
3. Combine the butter mixture with the dry ingredients, and add egg, vanilla, and raisins. Fold in chocolate chips. Mix well and spoon.
4. Scoop out small amounts on the parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes, until tops are dry to the touch are cookies become brown

Honey sesame biscotti

I am really excited to post today’s recipe. It is a part of a monthly challenge, which a group of bloggers will be posting the different variety of dishes from a selected blog. This is the first challenge and the recipe which we are posting here is an amazing food blogger, a doctor by profession. In her blog, every small detail of an ingredient is very well explained. The food pics are like a feast for the eyes. Perfect, crisp pics and mostly middle eastern dishes. She is Sawsan blogger at “Chef in Disguise”. Check her blog, you will instantly fall in love with her food pics.

It was very hard to select one dish from her blog, for the challenge, as there were many delightful and mouthwatering dishes and was very confusing to choose which one to try. After lots of searching, I got one which I was longing to try.

Biscotti is one of my favorite baked snacks. I have tasted almond biscotti and thought of giving it a try. But for this challenge, I found this honey sesame biscotti, which looked very different and thought of giving it a try.

Biscotti means twice baked, which will become dry while baking the second time and so it can be stored for long periods of time.

Ready to get baked second time

A perfect refreshment during tea time. A crunchy, caramelized topping of honey, with sprinkled sesame, is a classical cookie liked by all. In this, neither butter or not much sugar is added, which I loved the most. A healthier version which can be had without any guilt. Just try this out and you all will love this. My 2-year-old is a big liker of this biscotti. What else I want… :)

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour- 2 cups
2. Baking powder- 1tsp
3. Olive oil- 1/3 cup
4. Vanilla essence- 1tsp
5. Sugar- 3/4 cup
6. Eggs- 2 nos
7. Anise seeds powder- 1 tsp
8. Fennel powder- 1 tsp
9. Sesame seeds- 3tbsp

Topping:

1. Honey1/2 cup
2. Sesame seeds-1/4 cup

Method:

1. Preheat
   the oven to 359 degrees C.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs, vanilla essence and sugar well using a hand blender.
3. Add the anise seeds powder, fennel powder, and sesame seeds. Blend well.
4. Sieve the flour and baking powder and add this to the above-made mixture and mix well.
5. Place the parchment paper in a baking pan and pour this mixture into the baking pan.
6. With wet hands spread this mixture evenly. Over this pour honey and spread with a spoon. Sprinkle with sesame seeds by covering the top.
7. Bake for about 30 min or a skewer inserted comes out clean.
8. When it cools, using a serrated knife cut into pieces.
9. Keep the cut side up and bake for 8 min n bake the other side for another 8 min n enjoy when cool.