ANZAC Biscuits

I started out on daily photo sharing on 365project.org though I haven't been very regular and am yet to try something exceptional with the camera. I am learning and will get there. What's nice is I have new friends with common interests. Rosie posted a pic of Anzac biscuits while she was baking and they looked so lovely that I almost complusively requested her for the recipe. She mentioned they are an Aussie favorite and has something to do with WWI.

(This teaset is my Aai's I used it more than she did. There are just two cups and saucers left now while the teapot, sugar pot and the milk pot are all in perfect condition)

I got curious and reading...

It's interesting that large no. of the innovations almost always have their beginnings in the military or atleast related in some way. The ANZAC or Australian and New Zealand Army Corps lends its name to these biscuits, because these were sent by the military wives to soldiers during the World War I. These biscuits transported well thru the Navy and had a good shelf life. They became commercially popular too later on. Even today these are made as a fundraiser item. 

The Anzac biscuit caught my fancy even more when I got to know that it is an eggless recipe right from the original times. When it was common to use eggs in biscuits and cookies the eggs found no use in these. That gave these biscuits their extra shelf life. It is said there was a shortage of eggs during the world war so skipping the eggs made it economical too. Mind you and you cannot call these cookies. The Australian and New Zealand law protect both the recipe and the name. You cannot change both. They are therefore the ANZAC Biscuits!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons golden syrup or treacle (I used honey)
150g unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 teaspoon soda bicarb

Preheated the oven to 180°C. Measured out the flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl and gave it a stir to mix. I used desicated coconut powder this time, another time will try flakes for more texture.

In a cup microwaved the butter for 30secs and slowly blended in the honey and zapped it up for another 30 secs. I used honey this time next time I might use Jaggery syrup or molasses.

Mixed the soda bicarb with 1 1/2 tablespoons water and added to the liquid mixture while still hot. While it bubbled up kept stirring together. Poured it into the dry ingredients and mixed together until fully combined. Rolled tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls, flattened slightly and placed on baking trays lined with Al foil. Baked for 15 minutes till golden brown.

These biscuits are nice and chewy on the edges and deliciously crumbly in the centre.

You get about 24 biscuits of 2 inches size with the above proportions.

Inviting my 365project friends Rosie n Chris over for a virtual tea with this post and lots of conversation about our worlds.

Thank you Rosie for the recipe! I've already made them twice one small batch with your proportions and this one was 4X.

Orange Marmalade Shortbread

Mrs Rekha Karmakar posts on her son Kalyan's blog. She is a storyteller who is full of wonderful memories. Whether it was her going back to Diamond Harbor looking for that home of her childhood vacation along with her two school going sons or her rediscovering Delhi, her memories of Jalpaiguri  or her travels around the world take you back into a different era. I feel like I am listening to my own aunt telling stories.

When I conducted a contest on the Fb page Mrs. K participated in it, I was happy she did as she was just recovering from bad health. She deserved a treat!

So along with the pack of masala I promised to send her for her enthusiasm to participate in the contest; I also made Shortbread with Orange marmalade. Keeping her health in mind I thought this is mildly sweet so she will be able to enjoy it and hoping she will like it.

Thanking Mrs. Rekha Karmakar for sharing her wonderful memories of travels and childhood and wishing her good health!

Basic recipe source: Indian food rocks

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup ghee

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons Orange Marmalade

Just dump everything in the food processor and whiz. Remove to counter and knead to form a smooth ball. Line a baking sheet with foil. press the dough into the sheet. Roll out evenly. Score into fingers. Chill the baking sheet with the dough for 20 mins. 

Preheat oven to 140deg Celsius for 10 mins. While you do that, remove the baking sheet from the fridge. Use the fork to prick the dough so that it does not puff up. 

 

Bake the shortbread for 20 mins. Remove on counter. Score the fingers again on the same lines to ensure the fingers can be separated out after baking. Bake again for 5 mins to get the pinkish tinge on the fingers.

Remove the baking sheet. Cool for 5 mins. Then lift out the foil along with the shortbread fingers carefully separate out the fingers. Put them on a rack to cool completely. Store in air tight container.

For chocolate drizzle

2X2 inch piece of chocolate + 1/4 teaspoon of ghee 

Zap in the microwave for 20 secs. Give a stir to thin the molten chocolate evenly.

Since I was to speedpost these for Mrs. K I did not drizzle chocolate on hers. But I thought let me do it for Dad and so there you see. Well I just drizzled with a fork for neater drizzle use a ziploc bag or icing bag.

Choco Rocco Cookies

The first batch where the chocolate got melted a bit in the dough while kneading with the hooks on.

The second batch in which I mixed the chopped chocolate with a spatula.

I've eaten a lot of the wooden chocochip cookies that you get in packets. The chocolate in it won't melt even in a desert. I wanted to make choco chip cookies with a nice fudgy chocolate in every bite. After all these were to be sent to dear friend 1100kms from where I live.

I won't say how good they were. Figure it out, make them. I immediately made a huge second batch for my trip and packed some off for my nephew.

Ingredients

200gms maida/ all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter or 1/2 cup ghee
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup Demerara sugar
1/8 cup honey
4 tablespoons curd
1 cup Chopped dark chocolate.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl whip up the butter and sugars. Then cream it with honey and curd. Now mix the maida, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl and then using the dough hooks knead the flour with the wet mix. Tip off the chopped chocolate into the dough and mix a bit to distribute into the dough. The first batch is darker because I put the chopped chocolate and used the hooks to mix them into the dough so a bit of chocolate melted in the dough.

With the tablespoon scoop out medium sized cookies. It should give you 40 medium cookies. I made large cookies and small cookies. Got about 8 big ones and 24 small ones.

Here is the second batch

Bake them until top of the cookie is golden. Gets done in about 20 mins at 180 deg Celsius in convection mode.

Like I mentioned before the cookies are soft inside with large choco roccos fudgy, at room temp but if kept in the fridge they are a little firmed up. Me and my family love them either way.

Gingersnaps

Hi Friends

It's been a while since I posted. I was busy with my home renovation project, it's still not complete but let me post this recipe for good old world gingersnaps which I just made for my family to have with tea. 

The last 2 days were sunny here and now the rain is back. With weather like that you need to eat right, grab a gingersnap and experience what I am recommending here. 

This recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com. I have used jaggery instead of molasses. I skipped the cinnamon, why is the west so obsessed with it? gingersnaps can do without it. Isn't gimger the star spice here! I used Dalda for the fat. Ok don't scold me but certain things like gingersnaps taste goooood with it. Plus I never buy Dalda but right now that's what I found in my SIL's kitchen.

Well I'll let you mark it not so heart healthy. But you bet you can't say no to a still warm cookie that's oven fresh!

Ingredients

2 cups maida / all purpose flour
1 cup regular granulated sugar
1/4 cup jaggery
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Dalda/ margarine
3 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
2-3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup castor sugar for coating

In a large mixing bowl cream together the Dalda and 1 cup regular sugar. Add the jaggery, salt, milk and ginger to it and mix well. Finally add the maida and baking powder. Make a dough.

Divide the dough into 24 equal parts. Roll into balls and coat with castor sugar. Press down the balls and shape into a thickness you prefer. I made few really thin and they are the snappiest!

Bake at 200deg Celsius on convection mode. It took me 20 mins to bake 1/4 inch thick cookies, 6 at a  time in a 9 x 13 cookie tray.

The cookies will get a lovely golden color. If you want a shade darker bake for 5 mins more. This is a  picture clicked on the iPad will post better ones later, after my home is fully functional. Until then enjoy the Gingersnaps on a rainy day with a cup of chai as you wonder about the joys of nature and pitter patter.