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.

Stollen and to all of you A Very Happy New Year 2009 !!

Baking Stollen or Christstollen at Christmas time is an age old custom and has a long tradition in Germany and some neighbouring countries, like the Netherlands (Kerststol). The shape of the Stollen is supposed to remind one of the swaddled baby Christ.
One of the cities well known for this tradition is Dresden and it was one of the first cities where this tradition of baking Stollen for Christmas has been recorded in different chronicles and earliest records date to as early as the 15th Century. Dresdner Stollen is also famous here in Germany and is considered to be one of the best recipes of Stollen.
Thanks to Ulrike of blog Küchenlatein I got to know that Dresdner stollen is a protected designation of origin (PDO) and can only then be called so when it is baked in and around Dresden. But what I could find out after asking bakeries who then call their stollen 'Dresdner Art' (i.e., made in a way like the Dressdner Stollen) is that is that there really are general guidelines which say when a stollen can be referred to as 'Dresdner Art' or something similar.
I had almost given up the thought of baking Stollen this time, but then finally decided on trying it out. It is my very first time. One can so easily get Stollen here that I hardly had the motivation to do it until now. Although, the thought has been on my mind since a couple of years now. Every bakery is offering Stollen during Christmas time. The supermarkets start selling them much earlier, in fact, as well as many of its new reincarnations - the cookie sized stollens. This Christmas I had not bought any Stollen, or for that matter bought a single Stollen at all. The Stollen season at the shops will also be over as soon as the new year starts. So, I thought "let me not break the tradition of eating Stollen at this time of the year and make my own" ;)
After searching through a couple of recipes in the net I saw this recipe (in German) which found my liking and got an instinctive "OK".

Stollen 'Dresdner Art'

Recipe by PG of My Kitchen Stories

Based on the recipe from www.weihnachtsbaeckerei.com (in German)

Preparation time: 1 day + about 1-1/2 to 2 hours
Baking time: 60 minutes

For 2 loaves

Ingredients:
500 g raisins (I used 300 g only + 100 g each of chopped dates and apricots)
200 g candied orange peel (orangeat)
100 g candied lemon peel
150 g peeled and chopped almonds
100 ml water
70 ml rum (i replaced it with 50 ml water)
600 g wheat flour type 550 (I used a mixture of types 405 and 550) - divided (300 g + 300 g)
some flour to roll the dough
1-1/2 cubes (60 g ) fresh yeast
25 g sugar
250 ml milk - divided (150 ml + 100 ml)
2 egg yolks (size Medium)
2 level tsp salt (I used only one)
1/2 tsp Lebkuchen spice* (or gingerbread spice) - I prefer using only cinnamon
1/4 tsp organic orange peel flavouring (orange oil + maltodextrin)
200 g raw marzipan
300 g butter - divided (200 g + 100 g)
150 g confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
1 packet bourbon vanilla sugar** (= vanilla extract + sugar + ground vanilla bean)

Left: before folding the Stollen; Right: Stollen, after folding it (method: see below)

Method:

• a day before, soak the raisins, candied peels and chopped almonds in the rum and water in a closed container at room temperature
• the next day, in a large and deep bowl add 300 g flour, make a well in the centre, crumble the fresh yeast and add 150 ml cold milk and sugar (25 g), stir to dissolve and knead everything together into a smooth but stiff dough
• let the dough in the bowl rise (proof) at a warm (but not too warm) place covered with a wet dish towel
• once the volume is doubled, add the remaining (300 g) flour, milk (100 ml), egg yolks (2), salt (1 tsp), the gingerbread spice and orange peel flavouring and knead everything together for a while
• add marzipan slowly and knead it together
• knead 200 g butter into the dough (don't let it get warm!)
• followed by the soaked raisins, peels and nuts until you get a soft and uniform dough
• let it rise (proof) for another 20 minutes at a warm place
• roll out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle, don't knead!
• fold it twice, first lengthwise (longer side) and then breadthwise (shorter side)
• let the dough rise (proof) for another 20 minutes
• divide the dough into two halves now
• For each dough follow as given below:
• gently roll out the dough (each half) into a rectangle of 30 x 20 cm² with a rolling pin
• make one half lengthwise (30 x 10 cm²) thinner than the other
• with the lower side of the hand (holding the hand vertically and straight) make a groove (depression) in the middle
• at the groove fold the thinner side over the thicker one to get the typical shape of a Stollen
• put both the stollen over a baking sheet (I didn't use any, just nicely sprinkled flour on the try)
• let them rest for 10 minutes
• bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (Gas: 2; Convection: 160 °C) for 45 minutes
• bake at 175 °C (Gas:3; Convection: 150 °C) for another 15 minutes
• In the mean time
• melt the butter in a small pot at the lowest temperature on the stove top and switch off heat as soon as it is done, don't let it get too hot
• mix vanilla sugar with confectioner's sugar
• once the stollen are done, brush their tops with the melted butter
• sprinkle with the sugar generously
• once it has cooled down a bit, carefully turn it up side down and put the sugar on the lower side as well generously
• ideally one should let it stand for a week or two before cutting it
• stollen, if stored properly in a cold and dry condition, can be easily kept for months.
• while serving make 1 cm thick slices and serve with spiced tea or coffee or to German Glühwein (hot wine punch)

*Lebkuchen spice: it is usually a mixture of ground cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds, mace. ginger and allspice. It is similar to gingerbread spice.
**To make your own vanilla sugar just put a scraped vanilla bean into an airtight glas jar of plain table sugar and close it tightly. In a few days time you will have a wonderful vanilla flavoured sugar, grind the vanilla bean and add to the sugar, if desired.

Now, I'll begin with what all went wrong or what I did differently with purpose :D :

1. I didn't use any Rum (alcohol), I don't do it as a rule since a few months, unless it is really a small amount and cannot be done without. The reason is sunny boy. Against regular belief, about 95% of the alcohol remains in the food, even if you cook it for long. I was shocked when I read it in the "Eltern" (German for Parents) magazine the first time about a year back. since then I don't use any alcohol in any form in food. No more wines for us for the coming few years. But, both me and hubby don't mind that at all.
2. I didn't use the Lebkuchen spice. I dislike it even more than cinnamon, which I have begun to like a little bit after many years of eating it in different sweets, but Lebkuchen spice (gingerbread spice) , no that has to wait till I begin to like it a bit. I used cinnamon and orange oil instead, as oranges are something I very much associate to Christmas too.
3. I made a big blunder while preparing the dough. I by mistake used 250 g butter instead of 200 g while kneading the dough. It made the stollen much too soft. I was totally puzzled as to how it could be, until I checked the recipe and my ingredients to find the mistake. I tried to add a little bit more of flour (about 50 g) and just about managed to keep the whole thing together. Next time I'll actually use much much lesser than 200 g and take maybe 100 g only. It is more than enough in my opinion.
4. I used a lot of flour to shape the stollen because of the blunder (too much butter)

As you can see, the Stollen has kind of melted down because of too much butter in it and does not have that typical raised shape it is supposed to have in the centre. But, the big consolation is that it has turned out so lovely! I love the flavour of this Stollen. I guess, for some of you a christmas sweet means the spices, but I have not been able to befriend myself with them as yet. And I found this packet of orange peel flavouring from a Reformhaus, which found its use here and gave it a wonderful flavour and made a very pleasant combination with cinnamon -you see, I did use some spice. :) And Hubby gave the best compliment I could have from him. He said it tastes better than what we buy, and we have been buying all kinds of them in all these years and I'm quite particular about what I buy when it comes to Stollen. I don't buy just anything. And he even said "good.... too much butter is tasting good" All I could was laugh at that. :D

My Verdict: I liked the use of marzipan in the original recipe, which is not always the case for stollen. The butter was a bit too much, but, partly it was my mistake and can be easily reduced, as a stollen is a dense bread and doesn't have to be soft or for that matter fluffy. The amount of sugar you put on top of it is all up to you. I found replacing a small part of the raisins with apricots and dates made a wonderful change and I will surely keep it like that the next time as well. The absence of rum in the raisins made them more delicious to our taste, but it is a matter of taste again. All in all, a wonderful recipe!

Stollen, brushed with butter, before sprinkling sugar on it

I'm sending this not-so-perfectly shaped but tasty Stollen to Zorra's Bread Baking Day # 15 hosted this time by Annarasa.

Wising you All  
A Very Happy New Year 2009 !  
May it bring lots of joy, good health, peace 
 and love in your lives!

Some more Stollen recipes:

Zorra's Christstollen at 1x Umrühren bitte
Jude's Stollen at Apple Pies, Patis & Pâté

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

Rice Buckwheat Pancakes

Sunny boy got a contagious infection from the kindergarten, which isn't that bad actually. He was a little down on the first day, or maybe on two days and I noticed it a day later when the rashes started to show up in the morning. Since I had to keep him at home for the next few days and keep him busy too, this whirlwind that he is, one minute you think he is playing peacefully and the next moment - you just have to forget him for only a minute - and he is again up to some mischief.
So, one day I thought of making some pancakes for lunch for both of us. This time for a change I decided not to use maple syrup, which is usually always at the table when we make pancakes. I made a simple plum compote instead from the plums lazing around in my fruit basket and served the pancakes with the compote and a ready made apple sauce. I also put a tiny dollop of margarine (free of trans fatty acids and fortified with vitamins A, D and E - butter contains them naturally). A good dose of vitamin D in these cold months is very much required by the body to utilise calcium properly at his growing age.

Rice Buckwheat Pancake

Ingredients:

Pancake batter
8-12 tbsp brown rice flour
8-12 tbsp whole buckwheat flour
2 tsp whole cane sugar ( powdered jaggery)
1 pinch salt
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/4 tsp powdered cinnamon or cardamom, as per choice (optional)- I left it out
100 ml (or more) rice milk (calcium fortified organic) to make a thin batter
2 tbsp rapeseed oil

Compote
5 plums, washed, seeds removed and cut into 6 pieces each
2 tbsp sugar
a few tbsp water
a small piece of cinnamon- optional - I left it out


Method:

• cook all the ingredients for the compote for about 15 to 25 minutes on medium low heat
• mix all ingredients except for the oil for the pancake batter thoroughly to make a thin batter
• heat two tbsp of oil in a fry pan on medium heat
• add a ladle of batter in the pan and slowly spread it with circular movement to make a pancake
• cover with a lid with holes to allow steam to escape
  
• when the upper side is no more fluid (take about 30 -45 seconds) flip the sides
• bake the other side for another minute and remove from pan and keep warm
  
• make the following rounds without adding any oil
  
• serve warm with maple syrup, honey, apple sauce or any fruit compote
  

By the way, these are gluten free and dairy free pancakes! :)

Sunny boy loved it. He ate- you won't believe it- but he really ate five of these. OK, two of the pancakes were small in size, but still, I was afraid that he might get a stomach upset, but nothing happened, and then, as expected, he ate very little in the evening. And I think it is OK, for every now and then. As you can see these were only very very healthy with whole meal flours and only mildly sweet just like the apple sauce and the compote. And I didn't use any more oil for the pancakes. And I made about 10 pancakes and I could have easily made five more without adding any oil to the pan. So, except for the first pancake, these were also low on fat.

Pumpkin Quick Bread

As you might know, I have been wanting to bake or prepare different things which are gluten and casein free for my nephew Advik. I had been asking my sister to give me some ideas about some gluten free recipes which she would like me to make and then finally she mentioned about the pumpkin spice bread. On checking some recipes I found that it is a quick bread which does not require any xanthan gum either. I had most of the ingredients and only needed to buy pumpkin. So, I thought, before the pumpkin season is completely over and I cannot get any of them any more in the market, let me get one and try a recipe of pumpkin spice bread, which I also found very fast.
I did very careful calculations to convert the cup measurements into grams, and planned and checked and rechecked everything, and got going with it this weekend. I had no idea of how it would turn out, not a clue. But, I made the recipe very carefully, and didn't make any substitutions, or only that what was really unavoidable. I went step by step slowly beating everything one by one, taking time for every step carefully. It looked good, almost all the way until I had also added the milk. Then all that I could think of was : "Oh no! That does not look so good.....", as all the fluffyness which I had acieved with all the beating seemed to go away. So, I stopped beating it and continued with adding the flour and beating the batter side by side. This time I had to hurry up as I had added soda, which, once added to the wet ingredients start working. The end result didn't look bad. So, I quickly poured it into a springform pan and put it in the preheated oven.

Pumpkin Quick Bread

Based on a recipe from a Gluten free recipe source

I converted the amounts using the online weight conversion calculator and have given the weight in grams I actually used, if deviating, at the end.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups (480 g) rice flour - I used gluten free whole meal rice flour, coarsely ground
1/4 cup (30 g) soy or gram flour - I used 35 gram flour – Indian besan)
1 heaped tsp turmeric powder (optional -I used it to give it a yellowish tinge)
1/2 tsp. baking powder - I used 1 tsp gluten free cream of tartar baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt - I used 1 tsp
1 tsp. cinnamon (powdered)
1 tsp. cloves (if using for the first time: use ½ tsp) - I ground about 15 -20 cloves with my coffee mill
2/3 (150 g) cup butter or margarine - I used margarine, free from trans fats and milk products
2 cups (460 g) dark brown sugar - I used 400g whole cane sugar / powdered jaggery and 50 g castor sugar
1 envelop (about 5 g) of bourbon vanilla sugar ( contains ground vanilla bean, vanilla extract and sugar)
4 eggs (medium sized)
1 can (1 lb.) or 2 cups (500 g) mashed squash or pumpkin - I used cooked and mashed fresh hokaido pumpkin
2/3 cup (11 measured tbsp) water or milk - I used soya milk
2/3 cup chopped nuts (I used soaked almonds chopped coarsely)
1/3 cup (60 – 80 g) golden raisins - I had none, so used chopped soft dried-apricots)
1/3 cup (60 – 80 g) raisins

Method:

• In a bowl mix both the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices
• Cream butter and sugar with a hand blender until it turns from brown to creamish in colour and is fluffy
• Add eggs one by one and keep beating
• Add pumpkin and milk one after the other and keep beating
• Add the flour mix to the pumpkin batter
• Stir in almonds, apricots and raisins
• Pour into a greased springform pan or into two 9''x5'' loaf pans
• If you use a springform pan, then almost double the amount of time will be required, like in my case
• Bake at 350 ° F (175 °C: 160°C convection) for one hour or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

I baked the bread for the first hour at 160°C and then for the next hour at 165 °C in a convection oven, since I had used a larger spring form pan instead of a loaf pan.

Changes I plan to make for next time:

1. reduce the amount of sugar to about 380 g, if using castor sugar, to 350 g
2. reduce the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp; 1 tsp was still too much for my taste
3. leave out cinnamon or replace with half with dried ginger: saunth
4. leave out cloves, gives too strong a flavour, or use ½ tsp


I was quite afraid about how it would turn out. But after about 15 minutes itself, I could see how it had risen, to my happiness. And after another 15 minutes it had risen even more to make me even more happy. I felt that it was a good sign as that could be a good indication of the bread being soft and spongy. But, after an hour when I checked the bread with knife, I found that the centre was all wet and undone. So, I knew it needed to be baked for at least half an hour more. I also increased the temperature by 5 °C. Afterwards when I checked the cake, it was much better but still far from being done, much too soft at the centre. So, another half an hour of baking and then I swithed off the oven and let it stand there as it was in the oven for a while, before I took it out and checked. And yes! The bread looked quite good. Infact much too good! No... wait... it was perfect! As perfect as I could imagine it to be. Soft, and with a nice sponge. Perfect crispy crust. It was just wonderful! It tasted sweet, a bit too sweet actualy , which I realised only later on. But, it did not disturb us. We like to eat things too sweet, if only the health factor wasn't there. :)
But, there was one thing which had started worrying me by the time I had switched off the oven. The smell. I guess some would love it, but I don't like cinnamon and clove in sweet things so much and I could smell it distinctly. I had purposefully kept the recipe the way it is . After all it is pumpkin spice bread. But, my fears were unfounded. The bread tasted very good.
But, still I would reduce the amount of these spices, as I feel that would be more like my bread. And sugar, I felt that it was too much, but didn't feel like making an changes and in the last moment added the remaining sugar as per the calculations.

Hubby was the first person to eat it and found it wonderful. Sonny boy loves this bread, I served it with whipped cream, but to go with the recipe I also wanted to prepare a gluten and casein free icing and found a nice recipe at Sophie's Flour Arrangements. But, as I wanted to make the spread I realised that I had finished off the margarine while making the cake. I had forgotten to stock up on it when I went shopping last time. So, I used butter instead to prepare it and, of course, left out all the spices, as I felt these were enough in the cake this time and only mixed some powdered jaggery with butter to make a simple but lovely icing. The jaggery gives a wonderful flavour to the butter so that nothing else is really needed.
And I also prepared an orange sauce for the cake from one of my cookbooks. Here also I had to use butter instead of margarine. If you wish to have the recipe, then ask me and I'll send it to you. And I sprinkled the butter icing with oraganic lemon zest and poure some orange sauce over it. Yummy!


And now I have to mention one thing: I was planning to send this recipe for Zorra's Bread Baking Day event: Coloured Breads for December, but this turned out to be dark brown as you see. Now breads usually look dark brown and I had hoped for something in yellow or orange. So, I would think, if I were to use regular caster sugar for this, it might actually turn yellowish in colour. Well, to find that out I'll have to wait for a while, before I try this recipe again. But this is one good recipe I would preserve carefully so that when one day the need arises, I can bake it for my my nephew, my dearest Advik.

And this wonderful and successful experiment I am so proud of, I'm sending off to Srivalli's Rice Mela at Cooking 4 All Seasons !!

Pumpkin halwa with Butternut squash

I wanted to make a nice sweet for Diwali this year (on 28th October-if you want to know more about Diwali, go here). It had to be something special, but no kheer or the kinds, and I was in no mood for gajar halwa (carrot halwa). Somehow I don't like the taste of these orange carrots found here despite cooking them in milk and adding cream or butter or ghee. But then I remembered the event Tried and Tasted by the Zlamushka and thought of Indira and her wonderful blog Mahanandi.

While searching, I came across this yummy recipe there and I knew it was just the right thing for Diwali. Something totally new to me. I have never made any other halwa with vegetables except for gajar halwa (carrot halwa). And I was on the look out for something simple but Indian to make at home for Diwali. And on seeing this recipe, I knew this one had to be it. On reading further, I found that she was using butternut squash, a North American variety which is not so common here, but I had seen it the last time I had gone to Edeka, a supermarket which usually has a large variety of things, including the lactose free milk products for my son I'm so thankful about and fruits and vegetables from all over the world. Now, these were not brought from some far off place but rather grown locally here, but still is something fancy with fancy prices too! But, I had made up my mind and went to buy my very first ever butternut squash and brought it home and began my experiment, which reallly turned out to be one.....!Before I continue, a very concise information on the health benefits of pumpkin is here at About.com. The main features are the high amounts of beta-carotines, a part of the pro vitamin A found in pumpkin, high amount of potassium - a very important mineral for a healthy cellular functioning, and it is high in fiberes. Although raw pumpkin also contain good amounts of Vitamin C, I'm not sure how much of it remains after cooking or baking. And I think it is a well known that pumpkin seeds have the repuation of helping against prostrate problems and incontinence.

Butternut Squash Halwa

Based on the recipe from Indira's Mahanandi


Ingredients:

1 Butternut squash (1,6 kg), peeled and grated
3 tbsp ghee or clarified butter
1 1/2 l Milk (low fat lactose free)
2 cups sugar, or adjust to suit your taste
8 caradamoms
3 tbsp rosewater
1/2 cup almonds, soaked overnight or in hot water for about 2 hours, and chopped
1/2 cup ground almonds with skin, readymade



Method:

• Cook the milk and sugar on medium low heat till it thickens and reduces to one fourth its quantity - mine became quite brown with time, maybe because I ket the heat to about medium high and later medium and while I cooked it in a deep pan I needed 1 1/2 hours instead of the 40 minutes as in the original recipe (explaination: Maillard reaction?!)
• In the mean while grate the squash
  
• grind the caradamom seeds to a fine powder and chop the almonds - I did not grind it to a fine paste like in the recipe, but used ready made ground almonds for it
  
• heat ghee in a large saute pan and cook the peeled and grated butternut squash in it till it turns yellowish and soft - I cooked it for very long and it had become quite soft, but mine never turned orange like in the original recipe
• Once done add the thickened brown khoya or kova to the pumpkin and the ground cardamom and almonds as well as the chopped almonds and the rose water and stir to mix evenly.
• My pumpkin had turned very soft and mushy and I had to cook it for another half an hour and later again for another half an hour bake in the oven at 120 °C and let cool in a slightly open oven till it thickens
  
• Place them on the table and let it cool down. Cut it into pieces - very soft pieces!

NOTE:

• Although I have cut it into pieces, it was so soft that one can only eat it with a fork or spoon and not with ones hands.
• It became quite sweet as I didn't take into consideration that at the end the quantity would reduce. One could easily reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup. But, it was just the way I actually like it!

My verdict, despite all the differences that appeared compared to the original recipe - Fabulous!...Great taste!!... Marvelous!!! And a wonderful recipe!
I'm very happy to have made it for Diwali. Something I'm surely proud of, as I have never made something sweet with pumpkin before. And what I loved about Indira's recipe was the method of preparing the halwa. First prepare the thickened khoya and then after cooking the vegetable or fruit for short, be it pumpkin or whatever, mix the both. Genial! Unlike the way I know and have tried so far where you add everything together and cook it for very long. This is one way of cooking I'm surely going to adapt more often, for sure!

This recipe goes to Zlamushka's T&T event: Mahanandi.

And of course, how could I forget to send it to the Festival Jivha being hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons, which I was so happy to discover and A Fruit A Month (AFAM), an event started by Maheshwari of Beyond the Usual and being hosted this month by Madhuram.

And I just realised, now that it has turned brown, it would be a good entry for the event Food in colours: Brown at Sunshinemom's Tongueticklers for this month too! So, be it!


Now, the list of events to which this blog post is going is getting longer an longer!
But this one has to be, I feel, which I just saw and feel is very appropriate for this event:
Time to be Thankful at Ivy's Kopiaste

Sevain ki kheer (sweet vermicilli in milk)

My earliest childhood memories start in Saltlake, Calcutta, India. There where we lived, there were hardly any houses, except for a few in large distances. Salt lake was a very new locality yet to develop properly, but then it is more than thirty years ago. Long grasses were growing all around our duplex house which we shared with another family, with two children. One was about ther age of my elder sister and the other around my age. I didn't really get along well with the boy. I rememebr having had a big fight with this boy as he assumed that my table tennis racket was his. We started fighting for it, each of us claiming it be his own, and at the end the racket broke! Ha ha ha! Yes, I can really laugh about it now. I had also picked up quite a lot of Bengali for my age. Simple sentences, which you kept hearing from others: children, neighbours, friends, in the market, while with my parents shopping, talking to the household help and so on.
Now why am I telling you all this. Because I made a dessert called "Sevain ki Kheer" Hindi. And it reminded me of my childhood memories in Calcutta and this was my favorite home-made sweetdish my mom made for us those days, when I lived in Calcutta.
The reason I specified "home made" is that my The Favorite sweet dish was something else. I have never eaten anything as heavenly as Bengali sweets in Calcutta. You name anything and I love it. And each and everything about them was just heavenly. The few names which occur in my mind right now are: Sondesh, Malai chaap- another one of my favorites, Mishti dhoi (sweetened yoghurt), cham cham and so on.

But there is another thing I would like to share regarding this dish. This dish also reminds me of "Java ki Kheer" which both my grand mothers made for us now and then. These are home made whole wheat noodles (I'm calling them so now) and resemble vermicilli to a certain extent, except that they are very short (1 -2 cm), spindle shaped noodles, thick in the middle and thinner outside. And are prepared just like "Sevain ki Kheer".
Since this is another one my recipes I learnt through watching my mom prepare it, I cannot give you precise measures. But, then there isn't much that can go wrong, simple as it is.The only important thing is that don't leave it for long in the pan over the stove, as the vermicilli swells up too much and gets too soft. It is best enjoyed when still hot. Store the left overs in the fridge and add hot milk to it for the next time.
The most important flavoring in this Kheer comes from whole cane sugar. It gives a wonderful aroma to this simple but delicate dessert. Once you have eaten it like this, you would never want to make it with white sugar. I would also love to use palm sugar or jaggery for this, but then there is more work involved, and I don't have them in any case.
So, here it goes, the easiest and yummiest recipe around!

Makes for 4-5 people.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes


Ingredients:
(These are approximate measures)

2 cups (100 g) whole wheat vermicilli
750ml milk
100 g whole cane sugar (or use north Indian Shakkar)
1 tbsp almonds, chopped
Optionally:
1-2 tsp ghee or butter for roasting the vermicilli
2-3 tbsp rose water
2 tbsp raisins
1 cardamom , powdered (if using white sugar)

Method:

• Roast the whole wheat vermicilli for short on medium heat , with or without ghee
• Add milk and stir. Increase heat to full. Let cook while stirring in between, till it starts to boil. Reduce heat to low.
  
• Add whole cane sugar (if you use refined sugar, then you might require cardamom powder or rose water for the flavour)
  
• Keep stirring while coking the vermicilli till done. It should be al dente, just like spaghetti
• Serve garnished with raisins or almonds

My son wanted some Raisins in his dessert which I added just to his hot vermicilli in his bowl.