Tahini Cookies with Hazelnut & Chocolate

This is the 2nd recipe I've tried from The Big Book of Treats by Bombay's most well known pastry chef Pooja Dhingra.  I made one small change - I used hazelnuts instead of almonds because I didn't have any, and I added chocolate chips.

It doesn't get cold in Bombay, but I imagine this would be great for places that do get cold. It would go perfectly with a cup of hot chocolate.

You'll need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup castor sugar
2 2/3 cup flour (I used gluten free brown rice flour)
180 gm Tahini* 
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup milk
100 gm hazelnuts (I used them whole but you could chop them up)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (another 1/2 cup if you plan to dip the cookies in chocolate)

*I had a store-bought bottle of it but if you can't find one, lightly roast white sesame seeds on a pan and once it's cool, blend it with 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp warm water till you get a smooth paste

Wash your hands before starting because you won't get this done with a spoon.

In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, butter, and sugar till the mixture is crumbly and looks like breadcrumbs.

Add the tahini and lemon juice and again mix well.

Add the milk and mix again till you get a pliable dough.

Finally, put in the hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

Roll the batter into golf-sized balls and then flatten it out about1/4 inch thick.

Place them on a greased baking tray and bake at 165 deg C for 15 minutes.

*For Convection Microwave - I baked at 170 deg C for 20 min on the convection setting

As soon as I took it out of the oven, I found the cookies to be very crumbly (could be because of the gluten free flour), but I gently lifted them onto a wire rack to cool and it set well as it cooled.

Usually I find that cookie recipes turn out to be too sweet for our liking so I reduce the sugar amount. So with this I used just 1 cup but found that I should've added the entire amount required because it wasn't sweet enough. So I dipped the bottom of the cookie in melted chocolate (melted in the microwave in 30 sec bursts) and kept it chocolate-side up till it set to add some sweetness to it. It worked!

Makes: 20 cookies

Chewy Oat Cookies with Candied Fruits

I had some candied ginger and cherries from my last holiday that I thought would go well with oat cookies. They made for a nice breakfast.

1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/2 cup of candied cherries and ginger
1/4th cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4th cup butter
3/4th cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
2/3rd cup flour
2 cups (250gm) porridge oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp boiling water

Melt the butter in the microwave and the sugar and syrup. Mix well. Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients, and add the egg at the end.

Arrange spoonful of the batter on a baking tray and bake at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes. (For a crispier cookie, bake at 160 deg C for about 25-30 min.)

Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 12
to 15 cookies. Store in an air-tight container once cool.

Ginger Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal is not very appetizing on its own...but with a little help from butter and sugar, it magically transforms itself as the best thing to munch on in the mornings.

Dissolve 2 tbsp flax seed powder in 1/4 cup of warm water and keep aside.

In another bowl, mix together:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Now add the flax seed mix as well.

Also add,
1 tsp vanilla
1tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp ground star anise (optional)

Sieve into this mixture the following ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Fold it in the wet mixture, then add 2 1/2 to 3 cups of oats and mix well.
Put this batter in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Then, line a baking tray with paper, and put a spoonful of the batter on it. Make sure to keep a gap of 2 inches between dollops as the batter will spread when heated.

Bake for 15 minutes in an oven pre-heated at 180 deg C.

Cool on rack for 20 minutes before digging in.

Chocolate-Chip Cookies

I have nothing against eggs, but sometimes I just don't have them at home when I want to make something. Moreover, many people I know don't eat eggs or are averse to the smell - even in baked goods. So here's the eggless version of the evergreen favourite.

You'll need:
3 tsps flax seed powder soaked for 5 min in 3/4 cup of warm water (OR 3 eggs)
1 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 and 1/2 cup flour (I use regular wholewheat)
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I use 2 chopped chocolate bars)

Optional stuff:
2 tbsp cocoa powder 
Handful of chopped walnuts

Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl till smooth. Add the flax seed mixture and stir till well blended. Then sieve in the flour, Cocoa (if using), salt and baking soda and mix well. Add the chocolate and walnuts.

Keep this dough in the fridge for an hour or 2 before baking.
Put spoonful of dough on a greased sheet 2 inches apart then bake it for 15 minutes at 180 deg C.

Cool on a wire rack before devouring.

Makes approximately 25 cookies.