OATMEAL ALMOND COOKIES

Oatmeal cookies is always a favorite with both kids and adults. This cookies is so easy to make and  a delicious treat for everyone.  In fact you can add chopped nuts, chocolate chip, sesame seed or cranberries to the basic recipe and it always turned out great.

For this recipe, chopped almond and raisin are added along with rolled oat. These have a  wonderfully chewy and flavorful cookies you enjoy biting into them.

OATMEAL ALMOND COOKIES
Yield    :    40 cookies

1/3  C  fine sugar
1/3  C  brown sugar
1/2  C  softened butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4  C  all purpose flour
1  C  rolled oat
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 C  raisin
1/4  C  toasted chopped almond/nuts
1-2 TB  milk if needed

METHOD

Beat butter,  fine sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended using mixer or by hand..

Mix in flour and oat, beat well.

Hand stir in raisin and walnut,  Preheat oven @ 160 C.

Shape into 1 in ball, flatten slightly and place onto baking sheet. If still crumbly add 1-2 tablespoons of milk.

Bake for 20 minutes, let sit in the pan for 5 minutes.

Cool on rack, when completely cool, store in an airtight container.

SEMOLINA COOKIES / BISKUT SUJI

Since Eid is just around the corner, most of my neighbors have started baking for this special occasion. It is so intoxicating with pleasant aroma  of baked goodies came from their oven.

One of my favorite cookies or biscuit is Semolina Cookies. These cookies can be done with or without semolina, both are additive and delightful.  In fact I had shared this suji cookies  earlier which is done without semolina. Both have the same shape, soft  and buttery but this one is a bit sandy since semolina is added to the dough.

The dough is so easy to work with and mixing is done manually. These are  not so sweet yet delicious. Prefer to make my cookies in small batches but you can double or triple the recipe according to your need. Semolina Cookies is really easy to prepare so there is no excuse for not making them.

SEMOLINA COOKIES / BISKUT SUJI
Yield     :   50 cookies

200 g  butter melted
200 g  self raising flour
200 g  semolina
100 g  fine sugar
Glace cherries for decoration

METHOD

Combine butter and sugar, beat well.

Now add the flour and semolina to the butter mixture.

Forms into soft dough, shape into small balls and place an inch apart on baking sheet. Preheat oven @ 160 C.

Bake for 15-20 minutes and transfer onto rack to cool.

When completely cool, store in an airtight container.

YEAST BANANA BREAD

This banana bread is totally different from your regular quick bread since it contains yeast and takes a little bit longer time to prepare.  Yeast Banana Bread  is worth to wait, this yeasted bread produces a more flavorful and beautiful bake.

Yeast Banana Bread  is so moist  but importantly contains no egg, milk or nuts so is great for kids with allergies. Instead of adding chopped nuts to the dough, I have scattered silvered almonds on the base of the cake pan.

REAL COCOA DRINK

A refreshing but nourishing drink. Cocoa has nearly twice the anti-oxidants of red wine and up to 3 times those found in green tea. Cocoa has about 1/3 of a gram of fat per one cup serving compared with 8g of fat in 40g chocolate bar.

So it is time to enjoy this healthy drink from your own pantry and skip those pre-packed mixes  from your supermarket . They're laden with too much sugar and other additives your body does not need. You can also use low fat milk for this recipe.

REAL COCOA DRINK
Serves      :       4-6
Adapted from  Chocolate Chocolate
by Mary Norwak

4  TB  cocoa powder
3  TB   sugar
150 ml  boiling water
900  ml  milk
pinch of salt

METHOD

Mix cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Add water and mix to a paste. Simmer for 3 minutes.

Add milk and heat slowly to just below boiling point. Whisk well and pour into hot mugs/glasses.

Serve hot or cold.

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SYRIAN BREAD

This Syrian bread is almost similar to pita bread, the only difference is that this is without pocket.  Practically the preparation is the same as other yeast bread.

The dough is so easy to work with and these turned out amazingly fluffy and very tasty. In fact, I have pan fried half of the dough and it has puffed up beautifully but have been eaten before the photo shoot.  They gone in no time !

SYRIAN BREAD
Servings    :    8

3 C  all purpose flour
1 and 1/8 C warm water
2 TB  vegetable oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
melted butter

METHOD

Place flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir with wooden spoon.

Add in oil  and gradually add the water until it forms into a dough.

Knead dough by hand for 10 minutes and transfer onto greased and covered bowl. Let sit for 1 hour.

Pinch dough down, divide into 8 balls. Roll out each ball into circle about  6 in diameter. Preheat oven @ 200 C.

Brush tops with melted butter and bake 2 at a time for 8 minutes then flip,  apply melted butter and cook for another 5 minutes.

Transfer onto rack to cool. Serve warm.

Source     :       Allrecipes

Linking to  Yeastspotting 8-19-11  

PEACH GALETTE

A traditional French galette is a flat,   round and free- form  pie or tart with a crisp crust  It has either sweet or savory filling..The best part of galette is that the dough is  folded around the edges exposing the filling in the center.

This rustic crust is so easy to put together and I had used canned peaches for this recipe. Make sure you drain the peaches well before adding other ingredients. It is best served warm right after it has been out of the oven, simply irresistible!

PEACH GALETTE
Servings      :     6

CRUST

1 and 1/2 C all purpose flour

2 TB sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C butter cut into small pieces

3-4 TB  ice water

Extra butter for glazing

FILLING

3-4  peaches cut into eights

1 TB lemon juice

1 TB corn flour

2 TB brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

METHOD FOR FILLING

Toss all the ingredients and let macerate for 10 minutes.

METHOD FOR CRUST

Combine sugar, salt and flour in a mixing bowl.

Add butter,  process until it resembles course meal either using food processor or by hand.

Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time until a soft dough is formed. Wrap the dough  in plastic wrap,  chill 30 mins -1 hour.

TO ASSEMBLE

Preheat oven @ 190 C. Take the dough out of the fridge, roll out dough into 12 in round about 1/8 in thick, transfer onto baking sheet..

Place the filling in center, leaving about 2 in border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal.

Brush the edges with butter, bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer onto rack to cool. Cut into wedges to serve.

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YEAST COFFEE CAKE

Coffee cake is a sweet cake leavened  either using baking powder or leavened by yeast, normally topped with nut, raisin, fruit and glazed with sugar or frosting, traditionally served for breakfast and brunch with coffee.

Coffee cakes are so versatile and may be baked in any type/size of pan but most popular are bundt, tube, fluted or loaf pan. They can also be baked in braid, ring, twist or whatever shape you like.

Originally this a bread machine recipe but now I have prepared them manually. They are easily browned so watch out during the end of baking time.

YEAST COFFEE CAKE
Adapted from  here

2 and 1/4 C bread flour/all purpose flour
1/4 C  sugar
1 tsp  salt
2   tsp  rapid rise yeast
1  C  milk
1  TB   butter
1  egg yolk (optional)

TOPPING
2  TB  melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C  sugar
1/2  C  chopped almond/pecan/walnut

METHOD

Warm the milk and butter until just warm to touch.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast sugar and salt.

Add milk mixture to the flour, forms into a dough.

Transfer onto floured board, knead by hand for 5-8 minutes. Transfer onto oiled and covered bowl, let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

In a small bowl combine sugar, cinnamon  and almond, keep aside.

Pat dough into round greased pan or shape as desired and let sit for 1 hour. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven at  175 C.

Brush melted butter over top, sprinkle with the topping.

Bake for 20-25 minutes on until golden brown.

Transfer on rack to cool.

Linking to Yeastspotting 8-12-11  

HOT & SOUR SOUP

Hot and sour soup is a light and filling dish, you can use any meaty fish such as thread fin, sea bream or mackerel if you intend to add the fish in your soup.  It has tangy and spicy flavor which can be adjusted to your liking.

Since the fish doesn't need longer time to cook, quickly remove from heat once the fish is cooked. Hot & Sour Soup is a warming, satisfying and flavorful meal that goes well with rice.

SWEET POTATO JELLY

This is a  quick and easy dessert  that are good to look at and fun to eat too.

Actually you can add all sorts of things with jelly, it is the ultimate flexible dessert. For this jelly, it comprises of 2 layers, one is using agar powder while the another layer makes of mashed sweet potato and agar powder.

Make sure the bottom layer is almost set before pouring the top one. You can use either individual jelly mould or pour into a  large serving dish. This is so refreshing and yummy!

VEGGIE PIZZA

While most of us love chicken or seafood pizza either home baked or take away. I simply adore vegetables pizza.  They are endless choice of vegetables to choose from but this time used what are available in my fridge.

Instead of regular tomato based sauce, sour cream takes the turn to be the sauce. You can also turn them into mini pizza and used different topping on each according to your preference. This pizza is quick, easy and tasty!

VEGGIE PIZZA
Servings     :     2-3

2 C  all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 tsp  rapid rise yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 TB oil
3/4 C warm water (more if needed)
1/2 C  sour cream
ground pepper to taste

TOPPING
1  onion sliced
2 tomato sliced
fresh basil leaves
1 medium capsicum cut into thick strips

METHOD

Place the flour, salt, yeast, sugar in a mixing bowl.

Gradually add the water and oil to form into a dough.

Knead by hand for 5 minutes, transfer into covered and greased bowl, leave to rise for 1-2 hours.

Punch the dough down, roll out dough into 12 in. round, transfer onto baking pan. Preheat oven @ 190 C.

Spread with sour cream and sprinkle with black pepper.

Arrange the onion, capsicum,basil  and tomato slices on top of sour cream.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the border  has nice golden color.

Linking to Yeastspotting 8-5-11 

CHOCOLATE SEMOLINA PUDDING

This is the easiest dessert you can make,  though it involves a constant stirring on stove top, to satisfy your sweet craving. Made of semolina,  unsweetened cocoa powder, low fat  milk and condensed milk. Adding the condensed milk is optional but it does improve the flavor of this Chocolate Semolina Pudding.

Dry roast the semolina to remove its raw taste and any lump until it turns slightly darker color. This pudding is so much healthier since the sugar is kept to a minimum. This creates  a deliciously smooth , slightly sweet  and satisfying  dessert!