Chocolate Crinkles

This is our first christmas in Ahmedabad. Christmas in a new place is always hard for me. It means, beginning all over again with new customs, traditions, piecing everything together, both the old and new. When the season of advent began, I felt pretty low. I had the same feeling when we moved to Germany 4 years ago, so I knew that such feelings were normal. All the pictures of the christmas markets popping up on Facebook made me yearn for the european charm of the season. The only consolation was that I did not miss the harsh season of winter and once we opened our boxes of decoration, our home began to resemble a litte christmas market. 

First week into December began the questions as to when preparations would begin in the kitchen. I was not yet in the mood, not yet ready. Moreover, the kitchen was only fifty percent set up. Boxes were half opened and my utensils and gadgets were waiting patiently for a place to call their own. Last weekend, hubby and I pulled our sleeves together and gave both the kitchen and pantry a make over. And monday, the ball got rolling. 

Living abroad has certainly taught me to think out of the box and look for new recipes to brighten up our platter. When these crinkles popped up on my computer screen, I knew I would bake them. These are so very easy to bake and when they begin to slowly crinkle in the oven, there itself lies the satisfaction that you have done it right. They have turned out to be a complete winner in my entire set of goodies prepared this season. With another day to go before christmas, you can surely whip out a batch or two!

Source: Simply recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar(see notes)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

Method:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or a wooden spoon) beat together the cocoa powder, white sugar and vegetable oil until it comes together into a shiny, gritty black dough.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds each. Add the vanilla and beat thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.  Slowly mix into the chocolate mixture on low speed until just combined. Do not overbeat. 
4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill the dough for 4 hours or overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 160C(See notes). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the confectioners sugar in a wide bowl. Take clumps of the chilled dough and roll them into 1 inch sized balls using your hands. Roll the balls in confectioners sugar and place on the baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes:

1. Adjust the amount of sugar according to your liking. We needed it to be a tad sweeter and hence I used 2 cups of sugar. Also, since the sugar available here is pretty thick in size, I gave a whizz in the mixer to make the grains a bit fine(but not powder).
2. No two ovens are the same. Since I am back to my oven of the past which was in storage for 4 years, it has taken me time to get accustomed to it. The above temperature and time is best suited for mine. The crinkles turned out crisp on the outside and chewy like a brownie on the inside.

Choco Almond cookies

So the big fluffy flakes finally fell upon us or rather whole of Germany. Too bad for the kids who were eagerly waiting to go sleighing. The hubby and I have been taking turns falling ill with the normal fever and cold. I guess we are growing old hence our bodies are taking time to adjust to the onset of winter. For me this is just the wrong month to be even lying in bed. With the umpteen jobs to be done, I really had to get better soon. It was hard convincing the kids though that we needed to stay indoors. We had to be content watching the snow flakes fall gently. 

Today's batch of cookies is the one I first began my advent baking experiment with. According to the kids, they rate number one in the entire batch of baking I have done so far. The reason being the secret ingredient - CHOCOLATE. You really can't separate the two, Kids and chocolate, can you? Not only did the experimental batch get over soon, over the next few days, as they munched on the different varieties, a small question would be heard every now and then "When are you going to bake the chocolate ones again?". Bake I did, only to promptly store them all in my new christmas tins and hide them from the hungry mouths. This mommy needs a break, truly!! and the cookies will come out of hiding just in time for Christmas!! :D

Ingredients:

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 100 g hazelnuts with skin, powdered
• 100 g almonds with skin, powdered
• 50 g almonds peeled and chopped into fine bits
• 200 g powdered sugar + for rolling the dough(optional)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp clove powder
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp almond essence
• Halved almonds to garnish

Method:

1. Grate the chocolate fine.
2. Beat the egg whites till creamy(not until they are stiff peaks).
3. In a bowl mix the cocoa powder, powdered hazelnut and almond, chopped almonds, powdered sugar, cinnamon and clove powders. Add the grated chocolate and mix very well.
4. Add the beaten egg whites and almond essence. Knead well to form a tight dough. If the dough is not tight enough add more almond powder ( I didn't need any).
5. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.
6. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 
7. On a clean surface, sprinkle some sugar and roll out the dough. With the help of a knife cut into small squares( 1" x 1"). Place halved almonds on each square and line them neatly on the baking tray.
8. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
9. Bake the cookies on the middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes(At 8 minutes they are chewy which Ms A loves and a little more time makes them crisp and nutty which the remainder of us like).
10. Remove, let cool. Once completely cool, store them in an air tight tin.

With this, I am done with the german cookie recipes. Next on my to bake list is the rich plum cake and my heart desires to make the mangy kidiyos and neuris. Keeping my fingers crossed to achieve all of the above.

Ginger cashew cookies

I do not know if the season of advent stresses you out, but it does to me. So much to do, so little time. I am kind of waiting to tick of all the jobs on my to do list. These were the next batch of cookies I made last week. Husband loved them, the kids were kind of neutral, maybe because they preferred the Zimtsterne and butter cookies to these. I will be baking more of them the following week.

Ingredients:

• 100 g brown sugar
• 70 g butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 150 gm finely chopped cashew nuts
• 70 g all purpose flour sieved
• 100 g finely chopped candied ginger
• 1/2 tsp dry ginger powder

Method:

1. Beat well the sugar and butter together.
2. Add the yolks of the egg one at a time and continue beating.
3. Add the finely chopped cashew nuts, candied ginger, flour, and ginger powder.
4. Knead together to form a smooth dough.
5. Wrap in a cling foil film and refrigerate for half an hour.
6. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 170 C
7. Form small sized balls(roughly a medium sized marble), flatten them slightly to look like above and place them in neat rows on the tray.
8. Place a cashew nut on each of the cookie.
9. Bake the cookies for around 10 to 12 minutes till they are golden brown. Be careful not to burn.
10. Remove them and let them cool well. Store in an air tight jar. 

Notes:

• When you remove the cookies out, they will feel soft. They are supposed to be that way. As they cool, they get hard.
• The above batch makes about 50 cookies.

Delicate butter cookies

I have begun experimenting with german goodies on a small scale. Last year as I was attending a german course, to help myself get acquainted with the language I decided to read and understand recipes. Call it strange, but I love reading cookbooks and I thought what better way to try understanding a new language. Over time the first cook book I purchased was Backin im Advent(Baking in Adevnt). As the need for the google translator decreased I found myself getting excited at the prospect of just being able to understand simple recipes. 

The germans use their ovens a lot and I do mean A LOT!!! If I am right, the use of their cooktop(our cooking range) is minimal. Most of my local friends are surprised that most of us Indians may or may not have an oven in our homes. If they were to see the teeny tiny one I have in India, it surely would give their hearts quite a flutter..:D 

The first year we celebrated the season of advent in Germany I was amazed at the variety of christmas goodies. Cookies of different sizes, shapes and colour, truffles, pralines, gingerbread men and to go along with it the warm spiced glühwein. Even more surprising was that almost all the households baked their own treats. I found that very hard to believe cause that meant the germans baked REAL GOOD.

(For the commotion from the trio behind me, I did a pretty good job with the pictures!! Note to self: No more food photography when the family is home)

This year I have decided to along with the german trend of baking my christmas sweets. It's healthier and much easier. I will be baking the traditional Indian plumcake and if time permits the much loved kidiyo..:-) 

Coming back to my experiments, this particular book has more than 100 recipes. Surely I am not going to bake them all. I shortlisted around 10 of them and decided to try them when and as time was available. Depending on how good they went with the family, I would then prepare them on a larger scale. Last week I tried the first recipe, Almond Choco cookies, about 50 of them. In less than 24 hours they were over. I vowed that I would be baking them next only a few days before Christmas cause at the rate the family went I think I should camp next to the oven!!!

The next in line were these butter cookies. If not for repeated pleas to slow down you wouldn't be seeing this recipe too..:D Trust me, they are so good, you won't regret baking them.

(The autumn sun which shows itself rarely rending its glow on the buttery cookies)

Ingredients:

• 250 gm white flour/maida
• 100 gm sugar
• 1 tsp candied orange peel
• 125 gm cold butter(it shouldn't have melted)
• 2 egg yolks
• cookie cutters

Method:

1. Sieve the flour. Cut the butter into small sized cubes.
2. In a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, orange peel and cubed butter. Add the egg yolks, mix and knead well to form a soft dough*. 
3. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate it for 2 hours.
4. Line a flat baking tray with baking paper. Heat the oven to 170 C.
5. On a clean platform, sprinkle a little bit of flour. Roll out the dough(roughly 3 to 4mm thick). With your cookie cutters cut the shapes and place them on the baking tray. Do not crowd the tray.
6. Keep shaping the cookies till you finish the dough.
7. Bake them for 15 to 20* minutes till golden yellow.
8. Remove them and let them cool.
9. ENJOY.

Note:

1. When you begin kneading it kind of resembles bread crumbs. Keep going with your fingers and the dough comes along beautifully.
2. The baking time is dependant on your oven. The original recipe called for 10 minutes baking time. In that time my cookies were looking exactly the same as when I had placed them in. The perfect timing for my batch was 18 minutes. What I would suggest is for you to keep watch as they are baking and use your judgement to remove them out.
3. The above recipe makes 45 to 50 cookies.