SPICED COOKIES

For most of my friends, cookies were served  during festivals  (Eid,  Lunar New Year or Christmas) but not in my household. We are serving them regularly as our tea time treat.

I  recently bake these Spiced Cookies  and my family raved about them because they are unusual and delicious.  However this cookies is my to go. Simple, easy and loaded with warm spices.

Would  definitely prefer to bake in a smaller portion to maintain freshness but you can easily double up the quantity if needed.  I also make use of orange colored sugar  instead of white one.

To speed up the process, you can leave the butter on your counter  for few hours prior to baking or else use your microwave oven to soften it a little.

Another combination of spices could be added to the dough are nutmeg, cinnamon or mixed spices.

GLUTEN FREE BANANA BITES

                                    HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is my first ever post of 2014.  Although none in my family has issue with gluten but I always love to venture into something new. This time trying out Gluten Free Banana Bites.

A gluten free diet strictly excludes gluten in all of its obvious and disguised forms. Gluten is a protein found naturally in wheat, rye, barley and spelt.

As usual I had chosen a recipe that  uses less sugar and   egg free.   If you need to clear your blackened banana, this recipe fits that purpose too. This  gluten free and wheat free bites use corn flour and white rice flour with option to use either whole milk or coconut milk.

Gluten Free Banana Bites  was wonderfully tasty with  moistness from  mashed banana  and sliced beautifully when it was completely cool.  Above all  it is really quick and no fuss to prepare.

CHOCOLATE SESAME COOKIES

Create perfect cookies to grace your holiday table with this recipe. You can experiment with fruits, nuts, seeds for unique cookies flavors.

Am sharing with you my Chocolate Sesame Cookies that use sesame seeds in the dough  also as a topping.   Sesame seeds add extra nuttiness and compliment the cookies perfectly.

You can get around 35-40 cookies if  you roll them  into  1/2 in ball.  Use vegan margarine if you prefer to make them dairy free and suitable for vegans.

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HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CALZONE

If you ask me what would be my favorite and easy to go meal, it  always be  calzone.  For those of you unfamiliar with calzone, they  are  actually stuffed pizza.

While you can certainly make your own dough, most people I know want something a little easier. The easiest solution was to use frozen pizza dough or  refrigerated biscuit dough that comes in a tube.

Using   my best pizza dough   recipe and stuffed with chicken, bell pepper, onion, tomato and spices, these turned out soft and chewy at the same time. These freeze well  so it is a great idea to make a large batch for another night.

Although this recipe calls for chicken,  you can  stuff with a variety of fillings.  For vegetarian, you can substitute chicken with more veggies with cheese.

APPLE OATMEAL CAKE

My family loves  dessert.

Am on a look out for a much healthier version of dessert  but still comforting and delightful. This moist,  not too sweet  Apple Oatmeal Cake which is satisfying falls into that category. Everybody enjoyed this treat and nobody even thought that it might be on healthier side.  Not only it is lighter but also quick to put together

Made with rolled oat, buttermilk and apple that contains no egg at all. Have it for breakfast or as a nutritious snack. This  Apple Oatmeal Cake  is delicious on its own.

HODDEOK (KOREAN PANCAKE)

Hoddeok is a Korean hawker's delight. Made with yeast dough and stuffed with sweet filling,  almost the same as other bread with yeast that requires rising.

After stuffing is done, it is flatten and lightly fried in oil on heated cast iron pan. When it turned brown, flip over and flatten the dough using your spatula. Care should be taken when pressing the dough, otherwise it will burst out.

Normally it was stuffed with brown sugar and nuts but this time I had used peanut butter and jelly as its stuffing.

The contrasting flavor from the plain dough and the sweet filling makes this Hoddeok  a great snack!

HODDEOK (KOREAN PANCAKE)
Yield :   8 pancake

2 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoon oil

FILLING
8 tablespoon peanut butter
8 tablespoon jelly of your choice

DIRECTION

Place flour in a mixing bowl.

Combine warm water,  sugar and yeast.

Pour the yeast mixture onto the flour, sprinkle the salt. Combine until it forms into soft dough.

Place the dough into greased and covered bowl. Let rise for  1 hour or until double in size.

Divide dough into  8 balls, add flour if it is too sticky.  Place  the filling ingredients in a small bowl.

Flatten each ball, place a tablespoonful of filling, seal the edges and shape into a ball again.

Heat little oil in a cast iron pan, place 2 balls on the hot pan, seams side down and fry then flip after the bottom is slightly browned,  flatten the ball using the spatula.  Cook until  golden brown. Complete the rest of the dough.

Serve hot.

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CORNFLAKES COOKIES

Cornflakes Cookies are a favorite during festive times and they are my all time favorite biscuit. Crunchy on the outside and chewy in the center - they're addictive.

This buttery cookies were quite tasty and the crunchy crushed cornflakes added a great texture.

As usual, most of my cookies are super simple and easy. No extra trouble or special thing to use. It actually gives you a nice break to prep the rest of the ingredients.

They are delicious on its own but if you;re adventurous enough, feel free to add other mix ins such as coconut, sultanas, glace cherries or even chocolate chips.

Do you have your favorite Cornflakes Cookies recipe? Please share on the comment section, I love to try it.

MINI PUMPKIN TARTS

This satisfying Pumpkin Mini Pie is the perfect size to snack on by itself or enjoy as an elegant finish to any meal.

I love making pie dough from scratch. It's really not that hard. This  crust was easy to handle and tastes good too. You can use canned pumpkin if you like the traditional thick texture and sweetness but I like  using fresh cooked pumpkin. It is not overly sweet and much lighter. You can freeze cooked pumpkin for many months so you can still make this pie whenever you want.

EGGLESS PEACH CAKE

It's time for a treat that won't make you feel guilty, lightly sweetened, this dessert looks as good as it looks.

I'm using canned peaches but if you can get hold of the fresh ones, it would be much better. Make sure you drained the peaches pretty well before adding it to the batter.  If any of you want to switch out the peach slices for some other fruit, this cake would work with pears, plums and apricots.

An incredibly moist and light cake baked  without  egg. Everyone who has eaten it, loves it!

BANANA PANCAKE W/BROWN SUGAR SYRUP

This  pancake recipe is so easy, just add any fruit that you have at home in the freezer. Banana  is what I have right now so have made use some of them for making this pancake - tastes delicious with brown sugar syrup.

A simple  brown sugar syrup that  I can make while mixing the pancake batter is really easy and it's fast, so much better than bottled pancake syrup.

Everyone has a recipe for pancakes and some of them enjoy it as a special breakfast. Obviously there is a need out here for a good pancake recipe. You can use it for a savory filling too but by far my favorite filling is a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sugar.

You can also make your pancake using seasonal ingredients and enjoy the flavors of each month throughout the year.

BANANA PANCAKE W/BROWN SUGAR SYRUP
Yield     :      5 pancake

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup regular/ almond milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 banana mashed
1 tsp sugar
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 tsp baking soda

SYRUP
1/4 cup  brown sugar
less than 1/4 cup  water

METHOD

Sift flour and baking soda into mixing bowl. Add in sugar, salt, banana and oil.

Gradually add milk, stir until well incorporated. Let rest for 20 minutes.

For the syrup, place brown sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, let it boil for 1 minute. Turn of heat and allow to cool.

Heat a non stick pan/griddle over medium heat. Lightly coat with oil, when heated, spoon 1/4 cup batter onto the pan.

When bubbles appear on top, flip and cook the other side until golden brown.

Complete the rest of the batter.

At the time of serving, drizzle with brown sugar syrup.

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APAM PISANG BAKAR (YEASTED BANANA CAKE)

Banana is quite a common fruit available in most kitchen. It is my habit to turn those ripened banana into a delicious, quick week day dessert.

This recipe yields a moist Yeasted Banana Cake that will make those banana cake haters into big fans.

It combines the sweetness of ripe mashed banana with yeast minus the butter or fat. This  traditional cake is also suited to be steamed.  Like anything baked  with yeast, this requires about an hour to rise.


APAM PISANG BAKAR (YEASTED BANANA CAKE)
Serves  :    8

1+1/4 C  all purpose flour
1 C  mashed banana
1/2 C  castor sugar
3/4 C + 1 TB  warm evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
1+1/2 tsp instant yeast

METHOD

Grease 8 in deep cake pan. Whisk together milk, yeast and sugar in a small bowl.

In a mixing bowl, put in flour, banana and salt. Stir well.

Now add the milk mixture to the flour, stir to combine.

Pour mixture into greased  pan and let sit for 1 hour. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven @  170C.

Bake for 40-45  minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let sit in the pan for 10 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

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HOMEMADE APPLE ROLLS

We are having Homemade Apple Rolls for warm breakfast food in our home. I like to make them from scratch.

As with yeast, for this Homemade Apple Roll, you will need to plan ahead but it's so worth it. The apple filling can be well prepared a day before and keep refrigerated. It is cooked using microwave but could be done on stove top by combining all the filling ingredients, let cook for 10 minutes with  constant stirring. Leave to cool completely before use.

Unlike regular rolls, these rolls are baked as a log then equally slice after baking.

This dough works up beautifully, it is easy to do and they are so good.

SUJI COOKIES

This is the cookies I used to buy from Indian tea stall stored in a glass jar but much bigger in size. Suji Cookies is  pleasantly buttery and  slightly crunchy  biscuit.

Made of clarified  butter (ghee), flour and baking soda, it is quite simple to prepare. The only time needed is rolling them into tiny balls.

If you want softer cookies shorten your baking time and they will remain white even after baking. Feel free to  roll them to your desired size but place them  1 in apart since they will expand a little while baking.

TUNA PIZZA CUPS

These Tuna Pizza Cups are made with my favorite pizza dough. It is stuffed with spicy tuna. They'll spin your idea of just how easy these little snacks are to make at home. They turned out beautifully.

This recipe is a keeper, you can vary the filling according to your choice either sweet or savory and make these amazing cups for your family.  You can easily adopt each individual cup to your preference. Some with veggies, some without or some with cheese and some without. 

For vegetarian, replace the tuna with sauteed vegetables such as spinach, mushrooms, tofu etc.

These clever little bites  are easy when you begin with  this pizza cups recipe baked in a 
muffin tin.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING

This is  a real simple chocolate pudding to be enjoyed as a dessert or just to satisfy the cravings of all you chocoholics out there.

Make sure the baking  dish is deep enough to avoid spilling and easy stirring.  For deliciously dark, low fat and indulgent dessert, this irresistible  chocolate pudding fits the bill perfectly.

If desired, serve each pudding with a dollop of whipped cream or sliced fruit on top.  Hope you'll enjoy, as much as we do!

CHOCOLATE PUDDING
Servings     :      4

3  tablespoon  cornstarch
1/2  cup sugar
2  tablespoon  cocoa powder
2  cup  milk
1  tablespoon butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

Combine corn starch, cocoa powder, milk  and salt in a bowl. .

Strain the mixture into a  deep 1.5 litre saucepan..

Add in the sugar, stir to combine.

Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly  until pudding comes to a full boil, reduce heat, continue whisking until thick for 2-3 minutes more.

Remove from heat,  stir in butter and vanilla extract.  Pour into individual serving dish.  Let cool at room temperature.

Cover surface of each serving with plastic wrap. Chill in a refrigerator till serving time.

Serve each pudding with a dollop of whipped cream or sliced fruit  on top if desired.



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SOFT GINGER COOKIES

These simple cookies are  incredible, whipped up from pantry ingredients.  When you first bite into them, you feel the warmth from ginger  and  a hint of  sweetness from  honey with slightly chewy texture.

 For topping I had used granulated sugar but you can also sprinkle with silvered almond or white chocolate Awesome scent when they are baking. Especially fabulous with coffee or hot cocoa.

Most of ginger cookies recipes call for molasses but this was not available in my kitchen, therefore  had used  honey instead.

These cookies  do really  stay soft.  Soft Ginger Cookies are rolled in sugar before baking,  great  for the lunchbox  or for gatherings.

MY TIPS

Slightly flatten the cookies,  it will spread a little as you bake.

Place them 1 in apart on baking sheet, to give room for them to expand.

DAISY COOKIES/BISKUT DAHLIA

These cookies made their appearance during festive seasons but they are now available all year round during Chinese New Year, Idul Fitri, Diwali and Christmas.

They are basically butter cookies that are light, crumbly and literally melt in your mouth. Daisy Cookies are just so pretty laid on a plate. There are few variations of Daisy Cookies, what make it different is the combination of ingredients used, some use condensed milk, dry milk or custard powder  but my recipe below does not use those.

This lovely shape was obtained using a special mold but if unavailable, a  cookie press will be the best option.

Special care is required for lifting the cookies from the baking sheet since it was extremely delicate.

EGGLESS LEMON TART

The intense lemon flavor and delicate texture of this Eggless  Lemon Tart make it a perfect ending for any meal. Made from scratch, the crust contains less fat than a regular recipe.

Since I really wanted something easy to make that was sweet and bursting with tangy  lemon flavors, I settled on this Eggless  Lemon Tart. It is also an egg free recipe for the filling as well as  for the pastry.

I tried it, my family tried it. We all agreed that it came out pretty darn tasty. It had zing. The only thing that it did not have was a lot of colors for that I have used one or two drops of yellow food coloring in the filling.

So this is my low fat and  Eggless Lemon Tart recipe. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.

FRUITY JELLO

My son has been asking  jelly for quite some time now. I prefer to make my own instead of buying simply to avoid a ton of sugar, artificial flavors and coloring from those ready made ones.

Prepare this Fruity Jello before bed or while you are making dinner for a fast and filling breakfast the next day.  Using mixture of dried fruit. rolled oat and dragon fruit, this jelly is refreshingly fabulous.

You can use this recipe to make just about any kind of jelly. Which fruit to use is totally up to you, feel free to create your own combo of dried fruit and fresh fruit that suits your taste  also make use of unique mold that your kid would love.

*DATE OATMEAL BARS*

Date Oatmeal Bars are a wonderful treat anytime of the day.  Sweet and soft dates are sandwiched between not so buttery oat and flour mixture. They are easy to make, everyone will love them.

Since most of us eat way too much sugar in our diet, I try to use less sugar and more nutritious ingredients such as fruits, nuts and oat. My date bar recipe has these characteristics.  It  is a very nice alternative to have an easy  breakfast or snack instead of going into a fast food restaurant.

This dessert encourages us to prepare a simple meals from basic ingredients instead of expensive and less nutritious processed foods .I have tweaked the recipe as per my preference by omitting sugar in the filling and reduced the amount of butter used.  Really surprised to see that these bars were a great hit with my family.

I hope you will get to try these bars and enjoy them over and over again,