♥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 ;)

It's tart time! ♥Buttery Jam Tarts♥

Jam tarts and my brother are the best friends! He can gobble up the whole batch in just one go...like how he did this morning :) I remeber baking a separate batch for him otherwise I would be left with just 1 or 2 to carry with me back to the hostel :P This has been an all time favourite with our family. Roshini, my cuz ♥ who is here with me for a week now wanted to learn to bake these jam beauties. And I am never hesitant to help someone with baking :P! And what you see here now is our effort ( LOL! it was a breeze making it actually) :)

These will melt in your mouth and they are so simple n easy to prepare. It hardly takes 20 mins right from preparation-cooking-eating time :)

And I have something very happy to announce today! This is my last day at work! Woo hoo!! So Ria will be an unemployed blogger from now on! :)♥♥

♥Jam Tarts♥

Makes 12

Ingredients:

Flour-115g

Butter-60g [chilled ]

Baking powder-1/2tsp

Water-4-5 drops

Jam

Method:

• Mix flour and baking powder together.
• Add the butter and rub it with your fingertips till it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Line the tart tins and fill 2/3 of the tart with jam. ( I divide the dough into 12, and spread in each tart tin separately by rotating the tin and spreading the dough at the same time)
• Bake at 180 degress for 15 mins or till done.
• De-mould when cooled (be careful, the hot molten jam with fall out on your hands otherwise! I had done it once! OUCH! )

If you are a jam-treat ♥ lover like me...be prepared to fall in love with these :) They are delicious to the last bite! Nom nom nom! :)

Happy weekend everybody!! It's the best weekend ever for me :) Just kidding! Love my work but had to re-sign so that I can start SHOPPING for my♥ wedding♥ which is on ♥15 Feb 2010 ♥

♥Surprise Surprise!!♥ It's a Pink Surprise! ♥

It's been a WEEK since I last blogged???? That's exactly how I reacted this morning when I opened my blog. I got a bit busy having my cousin around .So I was determined to type out a post today no matter what!! :P So here I am with a SURPRISE for y'all, a Pink Suprise :)♥

Do you want to surprise your guests? Do you want to impress them? Then this is the recipe for you! Serve them as soon as they have comfortably settled in your homes and be ready (maybe carry a bucket too! :P ) to fetch the compliments they are going to shower upon you! :P :P :P But trust me, they will be floored! :) [Is Ria exaggerating?? Why don't you try it and find out for yourself?? :P]

This is a simple, quick,make-ahead drink which has been made over n over again in our house.

♥ Pink Surprise ♥

Recipe by my mom

Ingredients:

Black grapes- 1kg

Sugar-750g

Water-16 glasses

Method:

• Boil water and sugar together.
• Add washed grapes into it. Let it boil.
• When the grape skin starts to break open, stir and take it off fire. ( don't worry if 5-6 grapes stay adament and do not open up! :P )
• Strain the grapes and let it cool.Reserve the strained juice.
• Peel away the skin and squeeze the skin. Collect that juice and add it to the strained juice.
• Take another vessel which can hold that amount of juice.
• Pour the juice into that vessel from a height.( Yes! It will splatter a bit ...but go ahead! )
• Repeat this for another 3 -4 times.This will help to de-seed the grapes.
• Refrigerate the juice and use within 4 days.
• Pour into tall glass and serve. You can see the skinless,seed-less grapes floating on top.
• Now go ahead and surprise your guests! :)

Sip! Sip! Sip! and ENJOY!! ♥♥

♥Crunchy Peanut Buttons♥ How we ♥ thee!

Am I on a cookie spree? ♥ Maybe yes! Been baking a lot lately actually... I am definately not cribbing here now instead feel very proud of myslef ;) I mean who doesn't! Infact my cousin Roshini is coming down all the way from Trivandrum i.e; travelling nearly 600 kms (one way)to spend a week with me! And all what we are going to do is BAKE ♥ BAKE ♥BAKE! Phew!

When life gives you peanuts

Make cookies out of 'em!

We had been planning this meet since MAY! Ah! Waited too much! Been revising our list of to-do things every week almost! And I guess we have pretty much finalised it! :)

Now onto the recipe, this is a one bowl very simple highly satifying cookies! The crunch in it is just AWESOME ♥ And I would dare say 'No one can munch just one'! :)
♥Crunchy Peanut Buttons♥

Recipe by my mom♥

Makes 3 dozen cookies

All purpose flour- 250g

Margarine-250g (make sure it's at room temperature)

Powdered sugar-250g

Peanuts ( without the skin) -250g

Method:

• Roughly powder the nuts in a mixie.
• Mix all the ingredients together and form 1/2 lime sized balls.
• Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 180 degrees for 15 mins.
• They might be soft, but will harden once cooled.
• Store in airtight tins.

My dad ,bro & myself line up in queue near the oven whenever Amma bakes this cookie! It's one of those mildly sweet, crunchy ♥ delicious to the last bite kinda cookie ♥

Warning: Super addictive!
♥Hope y'all have a beautiful cookie filled day! ♥

♥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♥

♥Cheese & Chilli Chicken Pizza ♥ O-So-Moreish! ♥

Yesterday while I was pottering around in our kitchen wondering what I should cook today... I saw a bottle of pizza sauce in the cupboard. I got it from Ooty few months ago.
We all LOVE pizza! And it was something I have never made from scratch...especially the base. So after a small brainstorming session with Amma we decided upon making a pizza :) And the happiest person to hear the decision was my brother! :D He just can't resist a good pizza...

I had bookmarked a pizza base recipe from Smitten Kitchen long back and never got to try it till date...so thought of trying it out today! :)

♥ Cheese & Chill Chicken Pizza♥

Things you'll need:

Pizza base- 1 no. ( recipe follows)

Pizza sauce- homemade/store bought

Cheese-100 g ( I used Cheeza from Britannia)

Chilli chicken-1 portion (recipe follows)

Chilli flakes-2-3 tbsp

Pizza base

Recipe adapted verbatim from Smitten Kitchen

Makes enough for one small, thin crust pizza. Double it if you like your pizza thick and bready.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
1 tablespoon olive oil

• Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump all clumps and floury bits onto a lightly floured surface and knead everything into a homogeneous ball.
• If you are finding this step difficult, one of the best tricks I picked up from my bread-making class is to simply pause. Leave the dough in a lightly-floured spot, put the empty bowl upside-down on top of it and come back in 2 to 5 minutes, at which point you will find the dough a lot more lovable.
• Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl where you had mixed it — one-bowl recipe! — dump the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.
• Dump it back on the floured counter and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.
• Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like.
• Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered and impossible to resist.

Chilli chicken

Recipe adapted from Nita Mehta

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken/Chicken breast -100 g cut into 1/2" pieces

Red chilli paste or red chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Soya sauce- 1 tsp

Salt & pepper to taste

Cornflour-2 tsp

Oil for frying

Method

• Marninate the chicken pieces with everything except cornflour and leave aside for 30 mins.
• Drain the excess marinade , add cornflour and mix well.
• Fry the pieces in oil.
• Mix with 1 tbsp of the sauce to keep the chicken succulent.

Assembly:

• Roll out the base.
• Smear the sauce, grate some cheese over it.
• Sprinkle some chilli flakes over it.
• Arrange the chicken pieces.
• Grate some cheese over it again.
• BAKE!!! :)

The pizza was over in 3 mins FLAT!! Need I say anymore?? :D We actually had a fight (me n my bro) for more wedges :P I was trying to save atleast one for my dad and he was eyeing that as well! All this happend in less than 3 mins and by the end of it...I was tired BUT very happy! :D

The base was super good and the chicken pieces remained soft & juicy! Even before my bro had his 2nd bite... this was the conversation:

Bro:Is it difficult to make?

Me:No(I knew what was coming! :D)

Bro: ( a very very broad grin)

Me: (was very happy cos that meant 'Please make it often')

Off it goes to YEASTSPOTTING !