Merry Christmas and Happy holidays with some cookies- Vanillakipferl and Amaretto-chocolate kisses

Hello to all!! I want to wish everybody a very merry Christmas and happy holidays with family and friends. I baked many cookies yesterday and since I haven’t posted any Christmas cookie recipes yet, I want to share two of my favourites. Have a great time and take care…!!!

Vanillakipferl



Ingredients:

- 2 cups unbleached white flour
- 13 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- about 1 cup blanched, ground almonds
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tsp. vanilla essence
- powdered sugar for dusting

Method:

Sift flour into a bowl and add butter on top. Mix almonds, sugar and vanilla essence and sprinkle over flour. Dust your hands with flour and knead the ingredients to make a smooth dough. Shape into a ball, cover bowl and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form the dough into a 1-inch thick roll.and cut into slices. Form each slice into a half moon. Place onto the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Take out from oven and dust with powdered sugar when still warm.


Amaretto- chocolate kisses


Ingredients:

- 18 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 ¼ cups unbleached white flour
- 1 Tsp. lemon zest
- 1 Tsp. orange zest
- 2 Tbsp. Amaretto
- 2 Tsp. vanilla essence
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ½ Tsp. baking powder
- 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- 4 oz milk-chocolate, chopped

Method:

Melt butter and let cool. Combine with powdered sugar and vanilla essence and beat. Stir in Amaretto, orange and lemon zest. Mix flour with corn starch and sift over the batter. Dust your hands with flour and knead the ingredients to make a smooth dough. Wrap into a damp cloth and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into small portions and roll each to a ball between your palms. Place onto the baking sheet and with your fingertip press slightly down in the middle of each ball. (For filling in the chocolate later) Bake for 10-15 minutes. After baking dust with little powdered sugar when still warm. Melt the chocolate in a water bath and fill the middle of each cookie with a little dab. Let completely dry.
Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

Cookie hearts with lemon glaze

So I am back after the long weekend and hope you all had a nice time and week so far. Yesterday I suddenly got in the mood to make some cookies, so thought of sharing these cute hearts with you. I normally don’t bake cookies often, unless it’s Christmas time and then I love to make all kinds of different cookies. Will share some of the recipes with you later. Wishing every one a nice day and rest week.

Makes 12 large cookie hearts.

Ingredients:

- 1 ½ cups unbleached white flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup cold butter, cubed
- ½ Tsp. Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp. Ginger powder
- 1/8 Tsp. Clove powder
- Pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp. Water
- 1 Tsp. Vanilla essence
- 3-4 Tbsp. Lemon juice
- ¾ cup powdered sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine flour, ½ cup powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger powder, clove powder and salt. Add the butter on top and incorporate with your hands. Add 1 Tbsp. water and vanilla essence and knead to a smooth dough. Shape into a ball and roll out on a smooth surface with a flour-dusted rolling pin.
Cut out cookies with a heart shaped cookie cutter and place onto the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
For the glaze mix ¾ cup powdered sugar with lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Brush onto the cookies and let dry.
Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009. All rights reserved.

Apple and almond muffins

I simply love muffins and can eat them any time of the day. They make a good breakfast or a nice snack. The combination of apples, almonds and cinnamon is just great and as soon as you put them in the oven it will start smelling delicious. :-)

Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

- 2 ½ cups pastry flour
- 2 apples, grated
- 2 Tsp. Baking powder
- ½ Tsp. Baking soda
- ½ cup chopped almonds
- 1 Tbsp. Egg replacer mixed with 3 Tbsp. water
- 1 Tsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tsp. vanilla essence

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, vanilla essence, egg replacer and buttermilk. Mix well. Add in the grated apples and almonds. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add in step by step to the batter and mix carefully. Make sure not to over mix otherwise the batter will get sticky and gluey. Fill the batter into 12 muffin cup forms and bake in a muffin tray for about 30 minutes.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009. All rights reserved.

Homemade Granola Bars

Occasionally I like to watch Food network and although the majority of dishes are made with meat, I sometimes find a recipe which turns out nicely. Some days ago I found a recipe for granola bars which was not just easy to make but very tasty as well. It’s a perfect snack to eat in between meals and as a quick breakfast bite too. It can be made with almost any dried fruit and tastes so much better than any store bought bar.

Find the recipe here.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009. All rights reserved.

Banana muffins with cinnamon crumbs (egg less)

I buy bananas often but most of the times I buy too many or nobody eats them. So after some days I have a bunch of very ripe bananas sitting in the fruit basket. Whenever this happens I have to think of a solution to make use of them. I either like to make bread or muffins since S. seems to like this much more than to just eat a plain banana. :-)
This recipe is originally from Hamlyns “The vegetarian student cookbook” which I own but not in English. Also the original is made with eggs which I didn’t want to use in the muffins. So I modified it and changed the quantities according to our liking.

Makes 12 muffins.



Ingredients:

For the batter:
- 3 ripe mashed bananas
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
- 3 Tsp. Baking powder
- 1 Tsp. Vanilla essence
- 2 Tbsp. Egg replacer mixed with 6 Tbsp. water (I use the one from Bob`s Red Mill)

For the crumbs:
- 2 Tbsp. flax seed meal
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 Tsp. cinnamon
- ½ Tsp. baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 2 ½ Tbsp. softened butter
- 2 Tbsp. water

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F/ 200C.
For the batter combine sugar, oil, vanilla essence, milk and egg replacer in a bowl. Mix well and then add in the mashed bananas. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and add step by step to the batter. Mix but don’t over mix otherwise the batter gets sticky and hard. For the crumbs combine flax seed meal, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. With your fingertips knead in the butter. Combine flour and baking powder and add to the crumbs. Finally add the water and mix. The batter should be crumbly.
Pour the muffin batter in 12 muffin cup forms/ cupcake forms. Sprinkle the crumbs on top. Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009. All rights reserved.