MILLIONAIRE'S SHORTBREAD BARS...for 800,000 hits!

So, this little space of mine crossed 800,000 hits and I want to celebrate it with something sweet,something simple yet something simply delicious. If it has chocolate in it, it's an added bonus!I have a special liking towards shortbreads,especially these Ultimate Shortbreads! I love the fact that they are super easy to bake and it tastes like a piece of heaven! These 3 tier bars are another version of my favourite shortbreads and they are an instant hit whenever and wherever I have served them.It's quite a complicated looking one but trust me, you can pull it off in less than 30 mins (cooking time)!

Now that we both (Jobin & myself) are back to our regular routine,we are enjoying looking at our new home from different angles,keeping things straight , moving the furniture a bit that side just to see if it looks better being closer to the wall, we painted together. Oh yes, we painted 2 walls in our condo, together. One in our bedroom and one in our living room. The bedroom has an olive green paint with white bold stripes and the living room one has a nice ocean blue colour. I hope to stencil my kitchen wall, very soon. I have a pot of mint growing steadily even now and it keeps me company while I roll the chapathi's for Jobin, for his lunch.I always thought I never had a green thumb but the truth is every living plant need some water, every now and then ;-)

This recipe has been mentioned here before but I thought it needed more attention just like my Chocolate Biscuit Pudding, as it is something you all should try, atleast once in a lifetime. OK, so what if you are on a diet? Atleast, make this for someone else so that you can experience what I experienced when I cut into the layers. It's such a monochormatically (?) perfect dessert/snack which is equally heavy on the stomach as it has quite a lot of  butter in it :-) Hmmm, that reminds me of the days in Kannur when there was a butter shortage and I how I used to miss baking then! :-)

MILLIONAIRE'S SHORTBREAD BARS
Ingredients
Base:
120g butter
60g sugar
175 g flour

Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C and line an 8x8inch square tin with foil with some extra foil hanging over the sides.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Add the flour and mix to form a dough.Pat the dough into the tin and prick with the tines of a fork.Bake for 20 mins or until pale golden brown in colour. Keep it aside.

Caramel filling:
120 g butter
60g sugar
2 tbsp caramel syrup (melt some sugar till golden brown)
200ml condensed milk

On medium high,boil all the ingredients together till it starts to leave the sides of the pan. Pour over the baked base.

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Melt and pour 150 g of dark chocolate over the caramel layer. Let it set in the fridge till the chocolate firms up. Cut into bars and enjoy!

I demonstrated these bars for a class of mine in Kannur, a month ago and all of them loved it. Go on, try this immensely satisfying goodie and let me know how you liked them! This is perfect for birthday parties, lunch boxes or even as a midnight snack, which is what I would chose this to be :-)

LEMON SQUARES... so tangy that it will make you smile!

Having never tried a Lemon Bar before I greedily happily reached out for one when Becky offered. I love whatever she cooks/bakes. Mike and Becky (who is a ballerina and is busy writing her first book!) are our friends in Minneapolis, who are more like family to us. We are there for all American Holiday dinners and we are fed upto our nose ! Their whole family talks about food all the time...just like the way I like a conversation to be! :)

On the way to their house, Cory, their son mentioned to me that Becky had baked the most tangiest lemon bars ever and that it was really really good! I couldn't wait till I reached their house :-D My eyes lit up as soon as I took a bite as it was really tangy that I got some weird sensation crawling up my jawline...the exact same one when I suck on a piece of Tamarind.I went for another bar...it was really good. It has a lovely buttery shortbread base topped with a tangy lemon layer. It had a beautiful yellow colour too...very pretty!

Becky mentioned she got the recipe from 'Byrely's' book and she was so gracious to share it with me. They are such a fantastic bunch of people. Becky has been trying out some of my recipes, one being the popular Chatti Pathiri and the other one being the Apple Chips. She's tried a Pear version too, which is equally fab! You just wouldn't miss munching on Potato Chips when you have Apple Chips!

So without much talking (any further), let me share that delicious recipe with you. I couldn't stop licking the lemon layer which is sticky and it will stick to your fingers when you are cutting and transferring them to a plate.

LEMON SQUARES
Recipe source: Becky the Ballerina
Original recipe: Weekend Baking  by Sarah Randell

Ingredients:
Shorbread crust:
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 c powdered sugar ,plus extra for dusting
5 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

Lemon layer:
3 large eggs
1 1/3 c sugar
Zest of one lemon
2/3 c lemon juice, freshly sqeezed
1/3 all purpose flour

Method:
Oil a 7 inch square tin. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
Place 2 wide strips of baking parchment from one side of the pan to the other so that they form a cross (to aid in lifting out). Place a square of baking parchement on top of the strips as you would normally to line bottom of a pan.

Crust:
Put flour, sugar and butter and mix together with fingertips to resemble breadcrumbs. Tip the mixture into the prepared pan and press down firmly with your fingers. Poke holes in it with the tines of a fork and bake for 12-15 mins or until golden brown.

Lemon Layer:
Beat the eggs, sugar and lemon peel together for a minute.Gradually pour in the lemon juice while the beaters are still on.Stir in the flour* and pour over the baked shortbread base.
Lower the oven temperature to 300F and bake for 45 mins. The lemon layer will be set with a crust on it.
Let it cool completely. Cut them into 16 squares and dust with powdered sugar.

*I think I stirred quite a lot after adding the flour which created some foam over the batter. I think that's the reason why my crust is so pronounced.So don't get very excited like me and stir like there's no tomorrow. Here, moderation is the key ;-)

Verdict: We simply love them! That's it! :)

My heart goes out to all the Tsunami & Earthquake victims in Japan. I hope all of you who are living on the Pacific coast takes necessary precautions and stay safe!

♥The Ultimate Shortbreads ♥ The best shortbreads ever ♥

When I say 'the ultimate' it means that there is no other competitor for this simple & humble basic shortbread. The recipe called it 'shortbreads' but I felt it was the 'ultimate' and hence the name :)

This recipe is from a book which my grandmother handed over to me...it's a fab book! This is such an easy recipe and you need nothing more than just 3 ingredients!
But let me warn you ahead...if you are planning to make this for your loved ones be prepared to make it for them every now and then . I made that mistake sometime back :D
♥Ultimate Shortbread ♥

Recipe adapted from The Cookery Year by Readers Digest

Ingredients:

Flour:125 g

Rice flour: 25 g

Butter:100g

Salt:a pinch

Caster Sugar:50 g

Method:

• Sift flour,rice flour and salt into a bowl.
• Add sugar & grate butter taken straight from the fridge into the dry ingredients ( I keep butter in the freezer for easy handling )
• Work the mixture with fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Press the mixture into a 7" straight sided tin* and level the top.
• Prick it with fork all over and mark it into 8, cutting through to the base.
• Chill it for one hour and then bake in the centre of the oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour or until pale straw coloured.
• Cool it in tin and then over the wire rack and break it into wedges.

* I have been using a round tin for a while so for a change used a rectangular tin and cut them into bars.
Warning!! This recipe yields high satisfaction & addiction! But it's good to surrender to it once in a while ;)

♥Espresso & Chocolate Shortbread Cookies♥

Shortbreads fascinate me ♥ that crunch, that melt-in-the mouth feel...hmmm...it's an all time fave of mine♥ :)

It was just few days ago that Avanika n myself were chatting about Raksha Bhandan goodies that she was planning to make for her brothers . And that lead to some Shortbread discussions and eventually she sent me a link of one. And the moment I read through that...I knew what my next attempt would be :D

It is a very simple recipe which is done in a slightly different manner where you need to roll out in a plastic /zipper bag and trust me... that makes life much easier♥ :) For all you coffee ♥-ers this will win you over!♥

♥Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies♥

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours & re-adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 32 cookies

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Method:

• 1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.
• 2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.
• 3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
• 4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
• 5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
• 6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
• 7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

They were really delicious and is perfect with a cuppa♥ coffee especially on a rainy day♥

MILLIONAIRE'S SHORTBREAD

You need not be a millionaire to make /eat a Millionaire's Shortbread :) It is a very simple recipe but a very delicious one! This evilish shortbread's were introduced to me during my 'hostel days'! I'm so sure anyone following my posts till now would realise how important 'hostel' was in my life. Those were the days! I mean... so much mischief.. which includes sneaking into each other's rooms in the night, mid night feasts, scaring others ( that was my fav past time!!! ) and the icing of it all were these kinda 'tucks' that we all used to load our bags with, every time we returned from our homes.


Shortbreads basking in the early morning sun ;D

I got rich when my friend Rosina a.k.a Ochi shared her fav cousin Rosy's recipe with me. So I dedicate this post to Rosy Chechy who is getting engaged to Job on 2 May 2009 :)

Congratulations Rosy Chechy!!

So now let's get rich!! ;)

Ingredients for being rich ;)

Base:
Butter-120g
Sugar-60g
Maida ( All purpose flour)-175g

• Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Mix in maida and gather it together into a ball.
• Line a pie dish/loose bottom dish , prick it randomly with a fork and bake it at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

Toffee caramel:
Butter: 120g
Sugar:60g
Caramel syup:2 tbsp
Condensed milk:200 ml

• Boil all the ingredients together till it starts leaving the sides of the pan.
• Pour over the base and let it set.

Topping:
Plain chocolate:150g
Butter:20g

• Melt together and pour over caramel.Let it harden.
• Cut it into squares using a sharp knife and serve!

So we all are Millionaire's now ...ain't we?? ;D

-Ria