Eggless chocolate covered hearts
                                                

Love is in the air. Not only is it valentine's day soon but today is the marriage anniversary of a very special friend and a top notch food blogger Antara. I dedicate this recipe to Antara and all the love birds. Whatever is the occasion a little bit of love never fails. So put on your baking hat and get started

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter at room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable shortening/dalda

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup fine brown sugar or plain sugar

1 cup chopped chocolates for the chocolate cover on the cookies

1. Preheat oven at 180 C. Add the milk and the lemon juice and let it sit till the milk separates to form butter milk. In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients except for the chocolate. Slowly knead the cookie dough adding the butter milk. Wrap the dough in a plastic foil and refrigerate it in the fridge for at least 5-10 minutes.
2.  Flour the surface where you will be rolling the dough.Roll the dough depending on how thick or thin you like your cookies. But do keep in mind that the cookies will rise a little bit when you bake. Cover your baking tray with baking paper.Dip a heart shaped cookie cutter in flour and start cutting the cookies and placing them in the tray. Once you get the maximum number of cookies from the dough, roll the dough again and cut the cookies. Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes. Once done take them out of the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes in a cooling rack before dipping them in chocolate.
3. Place the chopped chocolate's into a glass bowl and microwave for less then a minute,approximately 70-80 seconds. Chocolates easily burn so make sure they are not overheated. At this stage, most of the chocolate chunks should melt. Take a spoon and start stirring wild the melted chocolate. This way the rest of the unmelted chunks will dissolve. If it doesn't then reheat for a couple of seconds to get the perfect melted chocolate sauce.Cover a tray with baking sheet. Submerge the cookie's in the chocolate sauce one at a time. Use a fork to remove the cookies from the sauce. Tap the cookies to the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate and place them in the baking sheet. Repeat the process until all the cookies are covered in the sauce.
4. Use your imagination to decorate the cookies for e.g.: I dusted mine with some dessicated coconut. Keep them plain if you want to. Refrigerate the cookies in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes and it is ready for munching.

                              Whole wheat almond and cherry slice with flaxseed

Are you looking for that perfect tea time partner that is tasty and yet healthy? Well look no further as I present you the perfect guilt free slice. It is made from whole wheat flour and cut into bite sized squares which will help you control your portion.Wait!! it doesn't just stop here,the goodness continues.These slices have flaxseed which is a good source of fibre and omega 3 and a great antioxidant.All fun and no guilt!!!

Makes 12-14 slices
Preparation time 15 mins
Cooking time 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 spoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 tablespoon milled flaxseed 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup cherries de seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup almond flakes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  4 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180 C. Mix the milk and lemon juice and let it sit for at least 5 minutes until the milk separates and you get butter milk. In a bowl beat the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the rest of the wet ingredients including the butter milk. Mix in the dry ingredients except for the almond flakes and start folding until you get a sticky and thick batter. Add the chopped cherries and give it a last mix.Take a medium sized square brownie baking tray which is about 1/1.5 inches thick. Either spray or brush some vegetable oil and pour the batter.Tap the tray in the counter a few time so that the batter is evenly spread out.Evenly sprinkle the almond flakes on the top and bake for approximately 10-15 minutes until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Before getting it out of the tray, let it cool down completely. After, it has cooled down cut them into squares and enjoy!!

                                                    Almond toasted butter cookies 

Looking for something that just pleases your taste buds and would force you to have one of those yummmm moments? Well here you go, a classic butter cookie recipe but with a perfect almondy twist.

Preparation time 15 minutes

Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter kept in room temperature 
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 egg
• 1 cup fine brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• Finely cut almond flakes

Preheat the oven at 180 C and line a baking tray with baking sheet.Cream together the butter, vegetable shortening, sugar and egg until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla essence and the flour and make a dough. Form equal balls and press it in between your palms to give that disc shape. Place the almond flakes on top of each cookie and press it a bit so that it sticks to the cookie. Bake them for 10-15 minutes, until the sides of the cookies go a very light golden. Cool them in a cooling rack for at least 30-40 minutes before serving them with a nice cup of tea. Enjoy!!
  

                                Pecan and Oatmeal cookies with roasted coconut

January is a month of over ambitious new year resolutions, lets not talk about what happens in the following months. Anyhoo, lets's keep up to the spirit of January resolutions and get starting with some amazing oatmeal cookies. This cookie has the goodness of oats, wheat germ, coconut and pecan. Wheat germ is easily available in the market. It is the embryo of  the wheat kernel and is a rich source of vitamins.This cookie also benefits from the goodness of coconut oil.Coconut oil is not just hair and skin food. Coconut oil, used in moderation in the kitchen is very good for balancing your cholesterol  and helps in improving your immune system.A good source of fibre and vitamins, this cookie is a great way to start your day.

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients 

• 1 cup plain oats
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 1/2 cup low fat butter or any low fat spreads available in the market
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup roughly chopped pecan
• 3 quarter of a cup brown sugar (adjust sweetness as per taste)
• 2 eggs (Although eggs adds a rich texture to the cookies, you can alternate them with 1/2 cup butter milk in the recipe)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional)
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil

Preheat oven at 180 C and line a baking tray with baking sheet.

Cream together the eggs, butter,sugar and coconut oil and make a fluffy mixture. You can either use a wire whisk or a electric beater. Fold in the rest of the ingredients and mix the batter well. Unlike other cookies, there is no cutting involved in this one. You simply spoon it into a baking tray and divide it equally into individual cookies. Keep enough space between each cookie, allowing it to spread once it comes in contact with the heat. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until you see the sides turning a tad bit golden. I like my cookies, a lil bit crusty outside. If you like it that way then turn and bake them in both sides. After 15 minutes of baking, take them out and cool them in a wire rack. Do not over bake your cookies as it will turn very dry and hard later. Don't blame me then!!!

                 Royal English Scones served with clotted cream and maple syrup

Traditionally Scones originated from the English county of Devon, served with jam and clotted cream. But trust me, have them with maple syrup instead and you will instantly forget all your sorrows. So in order to get your sorrows draining, note the ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 3 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature 
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening at room temperature
• 1 egg beaten to be used as egg wash
• Maple syrup and clotted cream for serving 

Preheat your oven at 180-200 C . Now lets, get cracking with making the butter milk for the scones first, mix the milk and the lemon juice together and let it sit while you prepare for the rest of the recipe. After 15-20 minutes you will see the milk separating slightly and that's when you know your butter milk is ready.

Mix all the dry ingredients together with the butter and the shortening. Knead it well and add the butter milk little by little until you get a nice smooth dough. If your dough turns out to be too wet, sprinkle some flour on your worktop and work it well until you get a dough that is manageable.Pat the dough into a round about 4 cm deep. You can now, use your creativity and use any cutter of any shape but about 5 cm deep and smooth edged to get a clean cut so that the scones rise better. Dip the cutter in some flour and get cutting.Once you get the maximum number of scones from your dough, take the remaining dough and repeat the process. Place the scones in a well greased baking tray. Now, brush the egg wash mixture i;e the beaten egg into the top of each of these scones. The egg wash will give a very nice colour to the scones. Bake them for 15-20 minutes until the top is nice golden colour. 

Serve them hot with some maple syrup and a generous portion of clotted cream. This is the best tea partner and am sure everyone in your family and friends will thoroughly enjoy them.

                                                   Classic nutty chocolate cake

For those who completely go nuts on nuts, this is the perfect cake recipe that goes perfectly well with your evening cup of tea, coffee or even as a dessert served warm with a nice dollop of vanilla ice cream or even with clotted cream. Whichever way you prefer here is the list of ingredients you will need for the cake.

• 3 and 1/2 cups plain flour sifted well
• 5 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon  baking soda
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup unsweetened good quality cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoon original vanilla extract
• 1 cup roughly chopped cashew nuts
• 1 and 1/2 cup sugar (adjust as per the demand of your sweet tooth)
• 1/2 cup butter milk
• 1/2 cup cold filter coffee(save some from your morning cup of coffee)
• 1/3 cup butter kept in room temperature 

Preheat oven to 180 degree C , grease your cake tin with a vegetable spray or simply brush vegetable oil into your tin.Keep that aside. In a separate bowl cream together the butter,sugar and eggs. Now add rest of the wet ingredients and fold in the dry ingredients together except for the cashew nuts. Mix that well with a spatula or you might even use a electric egg beater. Using a beater gives a very different texture to the cake which I prefer personally. Do not over mix the batter, as this will prevent the cake from rising. Now pour the mixture to your cake tin and on top of the batter evenly distribute the chopped cashew nuts.  Adjust the heat of your oven. The best baked cakes are not baked at a very high temperature. So bake it in approx 150 degree C for about 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Aaahh, hold on don't be greedy , let it cool and then you can cut it to your preferred size and shape.

Wallaaa you now have a delicious roasted cashew topped chocolate cake, that is completely out of the world. Enjoy!!!
P.S If you do not know how to make butter milk at home,don't be lazy move your fingers , get typing and Google it plz. Its a very simple recipe of milk and lemon juice. Don't blame me later if you get this wrong and your cake goes SERIOUSLY nutty. Also, invest on a good quality cocoa powder and vanilla extract to get the best results.