National Doughnut Day!!! #RecipeRoundUp

Whether you prefer doughnut over donut or fried over baked doesn’t really matter, because these glazed, filled, sprinkled, and all around glorious treats are uh-mah-zing no matter what you call them or how you make them! In honor of National Doughnut Day today, I’m sharing some of my favorites (which are all of them!) from the archives.

So, take out your donut-pans and get your sweet donut craving on!
Go get baking! 🙂

Baked Lemon Doughnuts with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

Baked Banana Donuts & Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cake Donuts

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Doughnuts

Baked Chocolate Banana Doughnuts

Baked Apple Cinnamon Doughnuts

Fudgy White Chocolate Lemonies {Lemon Brownies}

 

Lemonies… It sounds so exotic and poetic. Some genius thought of this cool name for lemon brownies, I am not sure who did but genius, nonetheless! A simple reason for not calling them brownies has something to do with their color (They are not brown!!). These are pale yellow beauties adorned with bright yellow zest and white chocolate chips in each bite. They are so fudgy and buttery, dense yet light, just how I like my brownies.

These are the perfect treats for summer (or round the year, who am I kidding!?!) and totally irresistible. The lemon flavor really shines through and pairs wonderfully well with all that white chocolate. Be sure to use a white chocolate bar and not white chocolate chips for the batter. It makes all the difference! And have them chilled, straight from the fridge. You’re welcome. 🙂

Have a fun weekend!
xx

 

 

Fudgy White Chocolate Lemonies {Lemon Brownies}

Yields: 12-16 slices | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: about 35 minutes| Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 9-oz block of white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp white chocolate chips, to sprinkle on top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºF / 350ºC. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan; line base and sides with parchment paper and grease with butter/oil (I used foil).
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter in a microwave for 1-2 minute, stirring every 30 seconds. The mixture should be lump-free and glossy. Rub lemon zest and sugar together with the fingers and whisk in to the chocolate mixture. Set aside and let cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Once chocolate mixture is cooled down, whisk in eggs (one by one) and lemon juice until well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour and salt and fold into chocolate mixture with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. Pour the batter in a baking pan, sprinkle chocolate chips on top (optional) and bake for 33-35 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in pan over a cooling rack. (If you’re in a hurry, throw it in a refrigerator or freezer for a while for easy cutting.)
5. Lift up the ends of parchment or foil liner, transfer the brownies to cutting board and cut into 9 or 12 squares. Store it covered in an air-tight container for a week in refrigerator. It tastes best chilled.

Skinny Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding & Pops – Raw! ~ For Two

 

 

Okay, so I”m ashamed to EVEN call this a recipe but in actuality it is! However simple it might be. Sometimes simple is all we need. Simple is beautiful. We are experiencing summer at full force and I want to spend minimum time in kitchen that too away from stove and oven. Of course, still wanting extraordinary food to appear magically on my plate so I’m all about quick recipes nowadays. Cold salads, iced coffees/teas, cold cereal, smoothies and frozen fruit treats are what my days are made of.

A raw pudding. And pops. Same ordinary ingredients with just a bit of tweaking gets transformed into two incredibly delicious desserts. Desserts which are healthy and skinny at the same time. All you need is a high-speed blender. And some chocolate, cocoa powder to be specific. And avocado and banana. Avocado-haters, do not fret. You can not taste avocado. Promise! My husband truly hates avocado from the bottom of his heart, if used in anything other than guacamole and he couldn’t tell! Yes, I didn’t tell him beforehand and he couldn’t make out. Win! Also, you can totally have these for breakfast! 😉

 

 

Each recipe serves two but you can easily double, triple or quadruple the recipe to serve more people or have bigger portions. Stay cool this summer with these cool recipes up your sleeves!

Happy Monday you all!

Raw Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding:

Serves: 2 | Prep time: 2 minutes | Chill time: 3-4 hours

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 ripe (large) avocado
• 1/2 ripe (large) banana (fresh or frozen)
• 3 Tbsp honey/maple syrup/date syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10-12 dices of fresh, ripe mango, for garnish

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a blender (place dry ingredients in the bottom so they don’t stick to the sides of the blender) and whip till you get completely smooth consistency. Divide the pudding between two ramekins/bowls and refrigerate covered for at least 3-4 hours. Serve, topped with mango dices.

*Consume the pudding within 1 day of making it.
*Instead of mango, you may use strawberries/raspberries.

Raw Chocolate Avocado Banana Pops:

Serves: 2 | Prep time: 2 minutes | Chill time: 8 hours/overnight

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 ripe (large) avocado
• 1/2 ripe (large) banana (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup honey/maple syrup/date syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a blender (place dry ingredients in the bottom so they don’t stick to the sides of the blender) and whip till you get completely smooth consistency. Divide between two Popsicle moulds. If you do not have Popsicle moulds then divide between two paper cups like I did and cover with tin foil, poke the center of the foil with the Popsicle stick. Chill in freezer for at least 8 hours/overnight, demould and serve immediately.

P.S. Want to make these Pops even more chocolaty? Cover them with the chocolate magic shell just like a professional by following this easy-peesy tutorial.
P.P.S. Use white chocolate for these Pops! 😉

 

Oreo Chocolate Brownies

2 months into this year and 2014 has been spectacular so far! In the beginning of the year, Amrita (most popular as a bacon jam lady!) & I decided to do a little food exchange. She being a queen of all things yummilicious, I had a hard time deciding what to send. Just around that time, I had re-made these (Fudgiest!) Chocolate Brownies and sneaked in some Oreo cookies in them. They were epic! Oreo + Chocolate lover’s dream. I decided this was it but was still a bit skeptic.

 

Photo Courtesy – Amrita Kaur

 

Imagine my relief when she said she totally loved it! She blogged about it too and thanks a ton to her, the recipe became so so popular. I got so many mails and messages from all you lovely people who tried and loved these beauties! I thank all of you beautiful readers who attempted the recipe and reported back. I lou you all. It definitely deserves a spot of its own on the blog so here it is!

Happy Baking! 🙂

Oreo Chocolate Brownies

Makes: 9-12 squares | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: Approximately 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 250 gm / 9 oz dark chocolate, roughly sliced
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, roughly sliced (approximately 115 gm)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, cold
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp Rum
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
• 16 Oreo cookies, plus more for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºF / 350ºC. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan; line base and sides with parchment paper (I use foil).
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate, butter and brown sugar in a microwave for 1-2 minute, stirring every 30 seconds. The mixture should be lump-free and glossy. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Once chocolate mixture is cooled down, stir white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and rum into it.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and cocoa powder and fold into chocolate mixture with wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Pour half the batter in a baking pan and arrange whole 16 Oreo cookies on it in a single layer (do not press them down). Pour rest of the batter and sprinkle few pieces of Oreo on top. Bake for 33-36 minutes, until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in pan over a cooling rack. (If you’re in a hurry, throw it in a refrigerator or freezer for a while for easy cutting.)
5. Lift up the ends of parchment or foil liner, transfer the brownies to cutting board and cut into 9 or 12 squares. Store it in an air-tight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or refrigerate for a week.

Baking 101 & Raspberry Banana Bread ~ A Guest Post on The Tummy Tale

 

For many of you, baking can be quite overwhelming at first. A lot of beginners will burn a few (or a lot) of cookies, flatten some cakes or over bake brownies.  So when Elson asked me if I could do a post on baking basics, I was anxious (this kind of post is my first attempt!) and excited!!

I am reproducing that guest post ~ ‘Baking 101’ and the recipe of Raspberry Banana Bread for my readers here but hop onto The Tummy Tale blog for some good reading. While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out Elson’s fabulous recipes. Elson believes in using simple ingredients to create special dishes and his forte is Mangalorean cuisine. Also, do check out his ‘The world on my plate‘ series.

If you spend enough time in the kitchen baking, you quickly begin to pick up the dos and don’ts. I am far from a professional pastry chef or even an expert baker but with these tips and tricks, I’m hoping to make baking an easier, more enjoyable experience for you all. So, here it is – baker’s dozen tips & tricks!

1. Take your time and read the recipe thoroughly from beginning to end before you start. Many baking failures come from not reading and understanding the recipe, not from poor recipes! Remember, cookbook authors and bloggers REALLY want to help you bake masterpieces. They know and understand the limitations of home kitchens. So have faith in the recipe and read the notes.
2. Get your mise en place started. Measure out all the ingredients mentioned in the recipe to exact amounts first before you proceed further. There is nothing worse than reaching halfway and realizing you’re out of an important ingredient. Prepping is very very important.
3. Unless otherwise stated, use room temperature ingredients. If something is meant to be used cold then a recipe should state that, otherwise make sure your eggs, butter, yogurt etc. are at room temperature.
4. Buy salted butter for your toast but unsalted butter is what you need for all the baking you plan on doing. You want to control the amount of salt going in your baked goods. So unsalted is a way to go!
5. Always preheat the oven. This might sound amusing to some of you but this step is of utmost importance.
6. Preparing baking pan – Grease and/or line your baking tin. Use paper liners for muffin tins (unless stated otherwise). Always grease a Bundt pan with butter and dust the insides with flour. Do not grease the cookie sheet unless the recipe states you should; just line it with parchment paper.
7. It is always better to sift the dry ingredients to avoid lumps. This step will ensure that baking powder, baking soda or salt are equally dispersed among flour. Also, measure the flour after it’s been fluffed up a bit with the help of a fork. Lightly spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off (weighing flour is of course more accurate but I’m more accustomed to cup-method).
8. Use baking powder and baking soda no more than 5-6 months old. Dud ingredients will make your recipe dud. Also, baking powder and baking soda are different ingredients and not interchangeable! So pay attention. They serve the same purpose but do not react the same way in baked goods. Read here for more info.
9. When baking cakes, cupcakes and cookies, take your time creaming the butter. Beat/cream for at least 3-5 minutes (preferably with the electric mixer’s paddle attachment) to aerate the butter.
   Check if the recipe calls for any herb or fruit zest. If so then rub the herb/fruit zest into the sugar which will release the essential oils and then add this sugar to butter and beat/cream really well again. A trick I have learnt recently from Joy The Baker is beating the spices along with the butter and sugar to enhance the flavor much more.
10. When mixing the batter, gently fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients – you don’t want to lose all the air. Over-mixing will especially ruin your muffins and make them tough and rubbery.
11. Keep in mind that all ovens are different. Do not rely on the time in the recipe to work for your oven. It is usually provided by a time range which is just an estimate for you. Set your timer for several minutes before it says it will be done just to make sure you don’t overcook. Check the doneness by inserting toothpick in the center of the baked goods. Trust the process and trust yourself.
12. Make it your own! Just because baking is all about science doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with the ingredients that only affect the flavor. Change up the extracts, spices, and other add-ins that only affect the flavor of the baked goods to make it your own. Have fun in the kitchen and it will all turn out amazing!

 

The more you bake, the better you will become. But remember… “When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste.” – Laiko Bahrs J 🙂

 

 

*Recipe*

This recipe is a no fuss, too easy even for beginners sort. So after reading the tips and tricks mentioned above, get your baking mojo on and try this basic, classic banana bread made a tad bit healthier. Vegetarians and vegans are going to be much much happy.

This recipe is eggfree and oil/butterfree. Yes! Can you believe?!! For sweetness, I have used date syrup in part which lends a beautiful depth of flavor to the bread. The other part comprises of brown sugar. Brown sugar + banana = a match made in heaven! Brown sugar gives a caramelized flavor but you can make the bread refined sugar-free too by using coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar. It would be wonderful too! The bread is light, airy and moist (in a good way). Yes! Not a crumb in sight, my friends. Perfect for toasting and if you’re not skinny-minny types then slathering it with some butter. If you are not into healthy baking then feel free to use all-purpose flour completely. Don’t have date syrup? Use liquid jaggery or maple syrup or honey. All works brilliantly. Don’t have raspberries? Use strawberries or may be toasted walnuts or chocolate chips! Change the ingredients as per your convenience and make the recipe yours. Add a dash of cinnamon if you like. Just have fun! So brew yourself a cup of coffee, preheat the oven and get baking. Your quest for that perfect banana bread ends here.

Enjoy!

Healthier Raspberry Banana Bread – Eggfree & Oil/Butterfree {can be made refined sugar-free too!}

Yields: 1 8×4-inch loaf, about 10 slices | Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 60 minutes | Total time: 70 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup yogurt
• 1/3 cup date syrup (or liquid jaggery or maple syrup or honey)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (to make it refined sugar-free use coconut sugar)
• 3 large over-ripe bananas, mashed (I used heaping 1 & 1/2 cups purée)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 170°C/350°F. Grease the 8×4-inch loaf pan with oil and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, date syrup and brown sugar until completely incorporated. Whisk in banana purée and vanilla extract.
4. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and slowly stir in wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix. Fold in chopped raspberries.
5. Pour the batter in your prepared loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with few moist crumbs. Let the bread rest in the loaf pan for about 10 minutes before inverting it on a cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing. Serve warm as is or slathered with butter. You may toast the slices too. Store the bread in an airtight container up to 1 week in refrigerator. It freezes well for up to 3 months.

*For a more classic twist, substitute raspberries with toasted walnuts. For chocolate lovers, I would suggest replacing raspberries with dark chocolate chips. I’ve tried and it is dee-vine!

Tomorrow is ‘Banana Bread Day’ and you might wanna bake one to celebrate!

Browned Butter Red Velvet Brownies ~ From Scratch

 

Hello! Meet the perfect Valentine’s day dessert!

Everyone loves a good brownie and when your regular brownies got a makeover, red velvet brownies were born. They become a thing of out-of-this-world! And they do not come from a box-mix! Yes, these are made 100% from scratch. So earn some extra brownie-points and make them for your Valentine!

 

 

These brownies turned out so dang awesome that they were demolished FAST. It’s only 2 of us and with some self-control we made them last 48 hours! Every single piece and each last crumb was devoured with so much happiness. 9 pieces had to be equally divided among the 2 of us, such a difficult task! It was natural that I get an extra piece which I had happily consumed anyway while photographing these beauties. I mean who could resist? 😛

These brownies were supremely moist, fudgy and soft. Browned butter gives a unique depth of flavor. I like to use both white and brown sugar for a perfect brownie. Brown sugar attributes to a caramelized flavor while white sugar contributes to a crisp, shiny top! I’m a plain brownie person so I went plain with mine but you may fold in white chocolate chips and sprinkle some on top before baking for that extra chocolate-kick.

 

 

 

You may decorate these in many ways. I had them plain, with some powdered sugar sprinkling, with Nutella frosting and warm brownie topped with Double Chocolate Ice-cream. You bet I was completely ruining my healthy diet those 2 days and it was absolutely worth it! Sorry to all my Instagram followers for torturing them with all that #foodporn. Now you’ve got the recipe, time to treat yourselves!

Browned Butter Red Velvet Brownies ~ from Scratch

Yields: 9 pieces | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: 20 minutes | Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 + 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (or 3 Tbsp milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar)
• Red food color
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC / 350ºF. Line 8×8 inch square baking pan with an aluminium foil and grease it with oil. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir constantly until butter has reached a light brown color and little bits have formed. It will be difficult to see the color of the butter as it foams a bit, so I go by smell– it will be very fragrant.
3. Pour the butter in your mixing bowl(no need to cool). Add the sugars and cocoa powder and beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each addition until almost creamy.
4.  Add the salt, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla extract.
5. Add the flour and mix well. Batter will be of cupcake consistency.
6. Spread the batter in baking pan and bake for 19-22 minutes (mine were done in exactly 20 minutes) o until toothpick inserted in a center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into pieces. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, Nutella frosting or warm with a scoop of ice-cream.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ Eggfree & Vegan

 

A classic chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk! Match indeed made in heaven!

Imagine to be able to have a healthier version of the buttery classic. After receiving rave reviews about Inside Out Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies(Thank you all!), I decided to recreate them into a classic chocolate chip version. I used olive oil instead of butter this time around and skipped milk completely. The result was amazing. I am not claiming these cookies to be skinny or low-fat. They are still 120 calorie each(assuming you get exactly 30 cookies) but you won’t miss the evil fat here, trust me! (Come on, olive oil is a good fat!)

 

 

 

If you’re crispy cookie person then flatten the cookie dough thin as per your liking and let them bake for an extra minute or so. When baked thick and puffy, these cookies are soft and equally chocolicious. You won’t be able to stop at just one, I know you guys too well! 😉

Enjoy & have a gorgeous weekend!
Eeeep… I am off to a road trip and shall share more once I am back! 🙂

Whole wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ Eggfree & Vegan

Yields: Around 30 cookies | Prep time: 15 minutes | Chill time: 30-60 minutes | Bake time: 14-15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp flaxseed powder + 9 Tbsp water
• 1/2 cup olive oil (unsalted butter can be substituted)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup date syrup
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 + 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 + 1/4 cup mix of dark & milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together flax seed powder and water. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk olive oil and sugar together til completely incorporated. Whisk in date syrup, vanilla extract and flax seed mixture.
4. Stir in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients to form a dough. Fold in chocolate chips. Chill the dough in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Take about 2 Tbsp of dough, form it into a ball between your palms and flatten them with fingers or a fork. The cookies won’t spread much while baking so flatten how much ever thickness you like. Bake them for 14-15 minutes. Let them cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them on cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will stay fresh for 1 week at room temperature stored in an airtight container.

Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins ~ Eggfree

Skinny breakfast for your honey on Valentine’s day coming right up! It has lots of strawberries and just the right amount of dark chocolate… Match made in heaven! Indulgent yet skinny. Celebratory yet healthy. Befitting, don’t you think?

While posting these Skinny Muffins last week, I realized that I have few recipes posted here and wanted to set that right. Now that this sappy, lovey-dovey day is just round the corner, I had a perfect excuse to whip up this breakfast treat for the blog!

There is nothing better than a warm muffin served with a hot mug of coffee. It gets better if served in bed! This muffin is a flavor bomb! Bits of strawberries and chocolate chips in each bite is blissful. These muffins are soft, moist and surprisingly skinny. So flavorful and fluffy. No dry crumbs in sight here.

They need very few and simple ingredients. One of the most magical ingredient of them is applesauce. Unsweetened of course. Applesauce will make sure that you don’t need to use any oil or butter! I wanted to keep the refined sugar to the minimum without making them taste cardboard-like. So I used combination of brown sugar and honey to sweeten them. I’m glad to report they were perfectly sweet!

The batter comes together quickly and so easily! No mixer required. The batter is going to be quite thick but don’t worry. You will be able to scoop it easily in the muffin pan with ice-cream scoop. Do not use muffin liners as muffins may stick to the liners. I filled the muffin moulds to the brim and got 6 large muffins but you may fill them till 3/4th mark and get about 8 regular-sized muffins. Do as you please. Just make them already as they certainly don’t need an occasion! 😉

Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins ~ Eggfree

Yields: 6 large or 8 regular-sized muffins | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup diced fresh strawberries (you may use frozen berries)
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC/350ºF. Spray 6-count muffin pan with oil*. Set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In another medium bowl, whisk together applesauce, sugar, honey and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry until *just* combined. Fold in the strawberries and chocolate chips.
4. Divide the batter evenly between 6 muffin cups. Bake for 16-20 minutes. Mine took exactly 18 minutes. Let them cool for about 5 minutes before releasing from pan.

*Do not use muffin liners as muffins may stick to the liners.

Note: Do not use whole wheat flour entirely as the muffins may not be turn out as soft.

Inside-Out Double Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies ~ Whole Wheat & Eggfree!

 

Hope the new year started on a wonderful note for you all! I am still trying to recover from the indulgent last week we had. But don’t worry, I am not here to talk about my new year resolutions or boring stuff like that 😉 I love how each new year allows us to have a clean, fresh slate giving us time to reflect upon the past and visualize the future.

I simply don’t believe in dieting. Too much of good things can’t ever be bad now, can it! Plus, I always feel that being fit is certainly not about following a restrictive diet but making a lifestyle choice. And I certainly believe in eating healthy which goes without saying as my blog-post titles almost always include healthy, skinny or light, more than you would like to see may be!

So this year is going to be all about being happy! (You can track my progress on my Instagram) Taking each day as it comes. You all know I am not much of a planner so this is all I am looking forward to this year. Umm, may be a bit more of travelling! 😉

 

 

These cookies were developed in 2013 and I never got a chance to share them at that time. I knooow it’s a crime and hence I don’t want to keep this fabulous recipe from you anymore. So I am choosing to showcase these unbelievably soft and chewy chocolate cookies laced with chocolate chips and M&Ms as a first recipe post of 2014! They are perfectly thick and so puffy. With a pop of color too!

I have kept those of you in mind who are resolute to eat healthy this year. These cookies use whole wheat flour, brown sugar and date syrup. Of course, without compromising on taste. Oh, they are eggfree too! To make them vegan, you may replace butter with olive oil and replace regular milk with soy/almond milk. Best of all world indeed! You may use any or combination of your favorite chocolate chips. I would love to use white chocolate chips the next time around because of the brilliant visual effect it will create!

 

 

Inside-Out Double Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies ~ Whole Wheat & Eggfree

Yields: Around 30 cookies | Prep time: 15 minutes | Chill time: 30-60 minutes | Bake time: 13 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp flax seed powder + 4 Tbsp water + 5 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup date syrup
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• lots n lots of M&Ms

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together flax seed powder, water and milk. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, with the help of your electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy on a medium speed for about 1-2 minute. Beat in date syrup, vanilla extract and flax seed mixture.
4. Fold in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add 3 Tbsp of milk to form the dough. Fold in chocolate chips. Chill the dough in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Take about 2 Tbsp of dough, form it into a ball between your palms and flatten them. The cookies won’t spread much while baking so flatten how much ever thickness you like. Press M&Ms on the cookie dough. Bake them for 13 minutes. Let them cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them on cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will stay fresh for 1 week at room temperature in an airtight container.

*For vegan version : Replace butter with olive oil and replace regular milk with soy/almond milk.

Baked Chocolate Banana Doughnuts ~ Low-fat & Egg-free!

 

I pretty much say this about the every recipe I post here but these are the BEST thing ever ever baked in my kitchen! At least so Mr claimed!

These are so moist, soft and super-pillowy. Banana and chocolate heaven in each bite! These baked doughnuts will truly rock your world I tell ya! People with diet-restrictions, this recipe is a MUST in your repertoire!! Such a result without eggs and whole wheat flour… Amazing!

 

 

 

And these beauties are then topped with ganache.. A white chocolate ganache.. slurp… It is so gorgeous and I am telling you that this ganache is a MUST for these donuts! I mean who eats a naked donut, right?!!! And then the sprinkles which truly are a NECESSITY! 😀

I shall not endorse it anymore but you gotta try it to believe it! 🙂

Baked Chocolate Banana Doughnuts

Yields: 8 doughnuts

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 Tbsp Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
• 4 Tbsp yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For Ganache:

• 2 Tbsp medium-fat cream/milk
• 4 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• sprinkles, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC/350ºF. Grease doughnut pan with baking spray. Set aside
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk in mashed banana, yogurt and vanilla extract.
4. Slowly fold in dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Divide the batter equally and fill the mold no more than 3/4th. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then carefully turn out doughnuts directly onto rack to cool.
5. Preparing ganache: In a microwave safe bowl, heat the cream for 40-60 seconds. Fold in chopped white chocolate and mix till it melts completely. Dip cooled doughnuts one by one into bowl of ganache and place back on a cooling rack. Top with sprinkles and serve. Doughnuts will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

*In ganache reccipe, white chocolate may be substituted with dark chocolate.