Ginger and Cranberry Cookies

It was in the middle of the month January and it was freezing cold outside. Late in the evening before I sat down in front of the TV I felt like getting some cookies. I went to the kitchen, opened the cookie tin in the cupboard and was shocked to see just two cookies left. my thoughts were "Two cookies only! Goodness! I need to bake cookieeeeees!..." .
I used the first opportunity I got two days later and baked what I had in mind already. I had bought a box of candied ginger slices at the Asian shop and wanted to use it in cookies. Since I had liked my last batch of almond oats cookies so much and felt that ginger would go well with it I tried it. I used half the dough with currents like the last time for sunny boy and for us - me and hubby, added candied ginger to make ginger oats cookies.
They turned out fantastic! Hubby loved them, as I expected. But, somehow I felt the cookies weren't perfect, there was still something missing. Today I baked another round. While going through the box of nuts and dried fruits in the fridge I saw this packet of leftover dried cranberries. I took a small piece and put it in my mouth and immediately felt that these would go well with the candied ginger. And now these cookies are indeed perfect!
Hubby who went, on smelling the cookies in the kitchen, tried them and also said that these are even better than the last batch. I've packing half of these for my FIL, who likes ginger in food.


Ginger and Cranberry cookies

Recipe by PG of My Kitchen Stories

based on the previous recipe of Almonds, Currents and Oats Cookies

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes
Temperaure: 150°C (convection: 120°C)
Makes: 20-25 pieces (if rolled thin, around 30 pieces)

Ingredients:
150 g whole rolled oats (or oat flour)- I used 130 g whole rolled oats and 50 g rice flakes
100 g slivered almonds, divided (80g almonds ground + 20 g crushed lightly)
5 tbsp butter or margarine
5 tbsp level sugar
50g raw marzipan ( marzipan rohmasse, with no additional sugar)
100 g candied ginger slices, chopped finely
30 g dried cranberries*, chopped finely

Method:

• grease 1 baking sheet, lay them on a baking tray and set aside
• grind the flakes in a coffee mill or dry grinder
• combine all ingredients together except for currrents with your hands or using a mixer
  
• add currents and combine with your hands to make one large ball
• either
  
• make small balls out of it and press down with the palms to flatten
• or, roll out with a rolling pin and cut out cookies using cookie cutters
• place on the greased baking sheet
• bake for 25 minutes
  
• let them cool down before picking up the cookies, to avoid crumbling

*dried currents can also be used instead of cranberries or just leave it out completely.

candied ginger slices

Other Ginger cookies:
Ginger Snap Cookies at Jude's Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté
Ginger shortbread at Meeta's What's For Lunch Honey

Oatmeal and Marzipan Cookies

I made these cookies for Christmas. It wasn't planned in fact, but after seeing the original recipe at Anudivya's Blog A little Bit More, with very creative and healthy recipes, many of which are modified recipes made healthy by - which appear to me to be - such drastic reductions of sugar and fats that it always leaves me amazed. I love oatmeal cookies and had been wanting to make them on my own, but as it always is with me, since I get the lovely Brandt oatmeal Hobbits which I like a lot, I never really bothered to try making these on my own. But, when I saw these not only healthy and but also tempting cookies she had made, I knew I had to try these.
That I would add dried currents was clear to me right from the beginning. But, since I was in the mood of using ingredients more appropriate for Christmas, the idea of using marzipan came into my mind and I did it with wonderful results.

Oatmeal and Marzipan Cookies

Recipe by PG of My Kitchen Stories

Adapted from Anudivya's recipe at ...and A little Bit More...

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes
Baking time: 30 - 35 minutes
Temperature: 150°C (convection: 120°C)

Ingredients:
3-4 tbsp butter / margarine (if you wish to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters, 4 tbsp will be required)
5 tbsp sugar (measured) - increase quantity to taste
150 g oat flour (I ground wholegrain tender oats flakes - DE: Kölln blütenzarte vollkorn Haferflocken)
120 g almond meal
100g raw marzipan* (marzipan rohmasse, with no additional sugar) - optional
1 packet of vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
80 g dried currents (DE: Korinthen)

Method:

• grease baking sheets, lay on baking trays and set aside
• if using oat flakes, grind them in a coffee mill or dry grinder
• combine all ingredients together except for currents with your hands or using a mixer
  
• add currents and combine with your hands to make one large ball
• either
  
• make small balls out of it and press down** with the palms to flatten
• or, roll out with a rolling pin and cut out cookies using cookie cutters
• place on the greased baking sheet
• bake for 30-35 minutes (if using oat flakes, which are precooked, 25 minutes are enough)
• let them cool down before picking up the cookies, to avoid crumbling
  

NOTE:
* Raw Marzipan as a term, according to Deutsche Lebensmittelbuch, a part of LFGB - the German book of Food Law, can only be used if the product does not contain more than 35% sugar and those with higher amounts of sugar have to be named differently. Go to Niederegger for more details.
** If using wholegrain oat flakes the balls will not melt down on their own, due to coarse structure and low amounts of butter, flatten them with hands into shape

These cookies don't look so fancy as the previous ones, but these are the kinds i could gobble up any time of the day any time of the year! I actually stuck to the recipe of Anudivya for the use of sugar, and these were only very mildly sweet, although I also had marzipan in it and that must have made them sweeter than her recipe. But, these weren't even half as sweet as the other cookies I had made.
Anudivya, these were my favorite cookies among all the lovely ones I made this time. It was actually for the first time that all the cookies I made for Christmas actually got eaten as well and are almost all gone. In the last few years of experimenting with a number of cookies I have learned the tastes most appreciated at my home. I admit, that includes myself too. :D
This is going to be one recipe I will be using quite often, for sure. I wish to try making my own marzipan, without bitter almonds, which aren't as healthy for toddlers, although sunny boy has almost crossed that age. And that would make the recipe even more interesting.
If you haven't baked enough cookies already and are in the mood for them, then do try this one. I bet, you won't be disappointed!
Now, before I end this post and before I forget to mention, I must add that I made these cookies together with sunny boy and he enjoyed it a lot. So, if you wish to bake cookies with your 3 year old, then these are the best cookies I can recommend you. I admit, the currents did cause us some difficulty while cutting them out with the different cookie cutter shapes sunny boy wished to use, but then we are there to help them. And it was huge fun for both of us.

Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen

Nürnberger lebkuchen is a speciality made during Christmas time and originating from Nürnberg in the state of Bavaria, Germany. It is now a protected name and can only be used for Lebkuchen actually originating from there, when sold. A comparatively newer variant of this lebkuchen is the Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen, which are baked without any flour. And this is one fact which makes them so interesting for me. Need I mention why? They are gluten free!
But, another reason for this is that I don't like the lebkuchen found in the markets usually. They taste too much of cinnamon and you might know that I prefer it with only little cinnamon. So, that means I have to bake them myself.
And going through this book I got as a gift from a friend of mine, I found this lovely recipe of these exquisite Nürnberger Elisenlenbkuchen. The recipe couldn't have been more perfect for me. After having baked my first round of cookies already, I felt confident enough to try these myself as well.

Nünberger Elisen-Lebkuchen

Recipe by PG of My Kitchen Stories

Based on the Book: Dr. Oetker's Weihnachts Bäckerei (Dr. Oetker Verlag)

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes
Baking Temperature: 130-150°C (convection oven: 120°C) ; gas - position 1
Baking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

75 -100 g candied orange and lemon peel, finely chopped
125 g almonds meal
2 eggs
200g fine crystal sugar
1 pack vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch ground clove or cinnamon (I only used cinnamon)
a few drops rum flavouring or 2 tbsp rum
1 tbsp lemon peel or a few drops lemon flavouring
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
75-125 g ground hazelnuts (depending on the size)
30 small paper thin round wafers* ( communion wafers / host, called Oblate in German), to place the batter on
or
spread ground nuts (almonds or hazelnuts) on the baking sheet (almond or hazelnut)

Icing:

white:
150 g powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
1-2 tbsp warm water or lemon juice or a mixture

Chocolate:
75 g dark chocolate icing
or
75 g dark chocolate
10 g coconut fat

Method:

• mix together finely chopped candied orange and lemon peel with almonds and set aside
• beat the eggs in a deep bowl at highest speed to get a fluffy and creamy mixture
• add vanilla extract or sugar and slowly sprinkle the sugar into the mixture while beating, which takes about a minute
• fold in the aromas, cinnamon and lemon peel
• add baking powder to the almond mixture and fold it slowly into the egg mixture (you can use the egg beater at the lowest speed)
• fold in so much ground hazelnuts so that the batter is still easily spreadable
• spread baking sheets over baking trays and grease them
• if using hosts/wafers then place them on these sheets
• if using ground nuts then sprinkle slightly on the sheet to have a thin layer to prevent the cookies from sticking to the sheet
  
• using two spoons place spoonfuls of the cookie mixture on each of the wafers or on simply on the sheet to make around 30 cookies
  
• bake in preheated oven (requires about 5-10 minutes) at 150°C (convection oven: 120°C) for 25-30 minutes
• for the white sugar icing mix so much water or lemon juice with the sugar to make a thick paste and
  
• for the chocolate icing melt the ingredients in a double boiler / water bath and stir
  
• spread the icings on the still hot cookies, by dipping the cookies in the icing or by pouring it on the cookies with a spoon

*NOTE: the wafers are not always gluten free, so one needs to either make the without the wafers or use wafers made with a substitute like rice flour. I made the majority of these without the wafers and only a small part with the wafers.

As you can see here, these haven't turned out perfect. I have no clue as to why these got wrinkled on top or when. It did not affect the flavour or the taste, as they taste fantastic. I made both the coatings for them, sugar and chocolate. But, hubby didn't want any, so I also left a part of the cookies plain. And they actually taste wonderful! But, again each one of us has found his favorite, while sunny boy always chooses the ones with sugar coating (surprisingly, as chocolate in general is his favorite) and I like the ones with chocolate and hubby plain. I'll be making another round soon and let me see if I can figure out why the surface got wrinkled, maybe the oven wasn't hot enough or I had opened it once. Or that I used the mixer at lowest speed to fold in the almond meal.
But, it was utter pleasure to bite into these chewy and flavourful orange and lemony cookies or to be precise, lebkuchen, as these are a special type of cookies made for Christmas. And I'm so happy to have tried these and I will surely make them again.

These cookies go to Susan's Eat Christmas Cookies (part 2) at Food Blogga , the round up is here.

Jingle bells! Jingle bells!...yum yum...yum yum yum!!

...Oh what fun it is to munch on lovely christmas yums.... :D
Christmas time is time for cookies. Do you agree or do you agree?
Yes, you do. Of course, you do!
So, here are two recipes which I had selected which were gluten and dairy free too and still so perfect for Christmas! Sunny boy's favorite is the almond cinnamon stars and mine coconut macaroons, and hubby's BOTH! I just hope they last till Christmas. maybe I need to make another round of cookies. I already have two more cookie recipes to post about, though.

Before I give you the recipes let me tell you why I choose these two recipes, apart from the reasons of their being gluten and dairy free. I love coconut in any form. Although, I know about this recipe of coconut macaroons since long, I had not tried making them until now. So, now with Christmas coming I had to hurry up with my Christmas baking. Here are two recipe I chose to start with. One is, as already mentioned, the coconut macaroons and the other is a very popular Christmas cookie here and is practically a must at Christmas time and children and adults alike love these "Zimtsterne".
These are two gluten and diary free recipes and the best thing about it is that I didn't have to make any substitutions as these neither require flours nor any milk products. Although there are many different recipes for"Zimtsterne" available, so I was very happy with this one. But, in these recipes you couldn't do without eggs, I would think. But, hey, who knows maybe you expert bakers out there know about that too. I would love to hear it, if you know something more than me.

So, here are the recipes....

Zimtsterne (Almond cinnamon stars)

Based on the Book: Dr. Oetker's Weihnachts Bäckerei (Dr. Oetker Verlag)

Ingredients:

4 egg whites (make sure that no traces of egg yolk are there, otherwise the egg white will not become stiff)
250 g powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
50-100 g sugar for rolling the dough
1 packet vanilla sugar (or 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
3 drops bitter almond aroma (I left it out)
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
350 - 400 g almond meal (ground with skin) - depends on the size of the eggs (I required 400 g for medium sized eggs)

Method:

• beat egg whites in a deep clean and fat-free bowl until a knife cuts in the stiff froth remain visible (another test: invert the bowl and the stiff froth will not fall off)
• slowly add powdered sugar to the egg white while beating (1 spoon at a time, once it is incorporated, add more)
• !! remove about 3-4 tablespoons of meringue in a clean fat free bowl, for coating the tops later
• add vanilla essence to the remaining and fold in spoonfuls of almond meal into the meringue until it is not sticky anymore and makes a nice ball
• place the ball on a clean surface sprinkled generously with powdered sugar
• roll it out with a rolling pin, using some powdered sugar on top in between
• cut out stars or any desired shape with cookie cutters
• place baking paper sheets on two baking trays and place the cookies on them
• coat each cookie with little meringue using a spoon
• bake in oven for 20-30 minutes at:
• 130-150°C (preheated)
• convection: 120°C (preheated)
• gas: position 1 (preheated)

• the cookies will still be soft at the base when you take them out of the oven

Coconut macaroons

Recipe from Huettenhilfe.de

Ingredients:
4 egg whites, free from any traces of egg yolks
200 g sugar, fine grained (or use confectioners sugar)
200 g grated dessicated coconut
45-50 round paper thin (rice) wafers*, about 1" in diameter (communion wafers, called Oblate in German)

Method:

• beat egg whites in a deep clean and fat-free bowl until a knife cut in the stiff froth remain visible (another test: invert the bowl and the stiff froth will not fall off)
• slowly add sugar to the egg white while beating (1 spoon at a time, once it is incorporated, add more)
• fold in grated coconut into the meringue with a spatula
• place baking paper sheets on two baking trays and place the rice wafers on them
• take about one spoonful of the meringue and carefully from a round or oval shape with two spoons
• place on one wafer with a spoon, pressing it down gently to spread it over the wafer
• repeat for all the wafers or till the meringue is used up
• bake in oven for 20-30 minutes at:
• 130-150°C (preheated)
• convection: 120°C (preheated)
• gas: position 1 (preheated)

* TIP: use a well greased baking paper sheet or simply grease the baking tray properly as these are very sticky, if no such communion wafers are available.

Since I feel these fit so well to this months theme of Food In Colours : White, an event started by Sunshinemom of Tongueticklers and being hosted this time by Lubna Karim at Yummy Food, I'm sending these yummy cookies over to Lubna.
And these also go to Vandana's event Baking for Beginners at her blog Cooking up Something Nice.

Similar recipes:
Cinnamon stars at Meeta's WFLH

Fruity apple cookies

This recipe of cookies has been inspired by Madhram's event Egg replacement-flax seeds at her Egglesscooking .com. Now, all I needed was a nice recipe of cookies to take on this challenge. On searching, I found this simple recipe of cookies with some lovely ingredients and I felt that this would be a good bet for combining both my experiments. Now you might ask, which two? Well, one is the egg replacement with flax seeds and the other to make it gluten free.
Lately, I have been wanting to again start with my experiments with gluten free baking for my nephew Advik. I had done it once a while ago, but somehow got stuck after that. Now, I want to spare you with my excuses and rather tell you what all I have been wanting to do, and what all I have tried already, like this recipe too. I want to bake a bread, but still haven't really got an appropriate recipe. As most of the recipes call for xanthan gum, something which I haven't found yet locally. I haven't tried it online, but I really didn't want mine being shipped from far off places, if it is not necessary.
After trying out a couple of recipes I have now realised that xanthan gum or something similar is an important ingredient of gluten free baking, especially for breads to turn out into something edible. And it was a good idea to wait for the bread recipe and trying out some simpler experiments first. I have tried a recipe of gluten free brownies, which did not turn out the way it should have, I think (recipe coming up soon!). Now there, like here too I also tried to make them egg free by replacing them with silken tofu, maybe I should do it step by step and not make too many experiments in one go. It tasted wonderful, but was a bit sticky and gooey and not fluffy at all.
From what I know for cookies the flour types can be much more easily replaced or exchanged than for breads. Unless you have xanthan gum. My search is on. But, I am happy with this recipe which is also gluten and egg free.

A note beforehand: As guided by Madhuram in her event, this is what I did to replace the eggs: For each egg to be replaced, whisk 1 tablespoon (15gm) of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons (I required 4 tbsp) of water until the mixture is thick and creamy.

Apple Oats Cookies

Based on the recipe at Kochmeister.com

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 20 - 25 minutes (I baked for 35 minutes)
Baking temp.: 200°C (Convection oven: 180°C)
Quantity : about 25- 30 pieces, for 2 baking sheets

Dry Ingredients:
500 g tart apples, washed and grated with skin (6-7 small apples from the garden)
150 g all purpose flour - I replaced it with : 100 g whole meal rice flour (coarse ground) and 50 g cornstarch - both gluten free
100 g thick rolled oats (kernige Haferflocken) - I would like to replace it with puffed amaranth and some sunflower seeds next time
2 1/2 tsp baking powder - I used gluten-free cream of tartar baking powder
1 pinch cinnamon
I also added:
50 g ground almonds with skin

Wet Ingredients:
100 g soft butter
70 g brown sugar - I used powdered jaggery / whole cane sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3 middle sized eggs - I replaced them with 3 tbsp finely ground flax seeds (linseed) and added 4 tbsp lukewarm water for each, i.e., 12 tbsp in total in a bowl and let seep for a while
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp orange juice
50 g raisins - I soaked 60 g in hot water for short and let excess water drip off on a sieve


Method:

• Mix thoroughly with a whisk flour, cornstarch, rolled oats, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl
• beat together butter, sugar, lemon zest, the juices, and eggs (or the replacement) - start beating with butter and add the ingredients one by one
• Preheat oven, grate apples and add to the batter along with the flour and raisins and mix to wet everything
• with a tablespoon place spoonfuls on two baking trays lined with baking sheets. pressing it down a little to make round shapes
• bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (I used convection: 180°C) for 20-25 minutes, I needed 35 minutes and let stand in the oven a while before opening the door slightly and leaving it for another 20 minutes or so before taking them out and letting them cool down

How did my experiment taste?
Wonderful! It had this slightly sour taste through the tart apples which was lovely and I had coated half of the cookies as you can see with some leftover chocolate icing (couverture; I'm not sure if there is a difference between the two, but I used the latter) which made the taste even more better. But, as I knew hubby would prefer without, I did not bother to coat them all with the chocolate icing. And hubby actually found the ones without the icing better. These cookies are very mildly sweet. So, one could surely increase the sweetness to ones taste.
I would like to add some more cinnamon or cardamom next time too.
These were quite soft and not the crispy kinds, like cookies normally are. Almost like a miniature bread, maybe because of the apples or maybe because of the rice? Maybe that also explains why the brownies also turned out so soft. Maybe it is the rice flour which is making it so soft. Now the next time I will make them with wheat flour to solve the puzzle. :)
Naturally I'm sending this off to Flax seeds-egg replacement event at Madhuram's Egglesscooking .com