"From her blood sprouted .......'chocolate' !!" (Double Chocolate Brownie-Cookies)

Once upon a time a prince went to battle to defend the borders of his father's kingdom against a hostile tribe. His wife, the princess was left to guard the kingdom's vast treasures.
The invaders were fierce--they defeated the princes' army and advanced on the capital city. Alarmed the princess hid the treasure. The barbarians took the city, captured the princess and ransacked the royal keep, seeking treasure.
Not finding it, they tortured the princess. Despite her prolonged suffering she did not reveal the hiding place of the treasure. Enraged they killed her.
But from her blood sprouted the cocoa plant and eversince that time people have known there is treasure hidden in its seeds, as rich and strong as love itself , but bitter as love torn/lost.

Hello dear friends, I'm back with everything that you love about this blog-- the history, the fables, the food, ....and yours' truly; thus making this humble place dearer and special.

Thank you so much for the overwhelming comments on the last post and all those wonderful wishes/comments. I know that they were truly heartfelt because I could feel the warmth when I read them.

All the love I get from my readers, followers, admirers, fills me up with immense joy and pride--thanks for being there...for sticking by me, my friends!

All's well at my end and I am dying to know whats abuzz at blogosphere.

Couldn't wait till 1st April to post this (wink wink). Can't stay away from you guys for long!

Will be off making courtesy calls to all of you now! :)

But not before I divulge the creative recipe of these indulgent Brownie-Cookies, I made for the birthday of a dear kid, of a friend.

Cookies and brownies in one! Could life get any better?!!

Note: This dough requires chilling the dough overnight, keep this in mind while planning your cookie baking.

Double Chocolate Brownie-Cookies

Ingredients-

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder (not sweet chocolate powder)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground almonds/walnuts(if not using nuts, substitute with ap flour)
2 tsps baking powder
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Method-

In a mixing bowl combine flour, ground walnuts/almonds and baking powder.
Beat oil, sugar, and cocoa together in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs to oil and cocoa mixture one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Knead the dough slightly, if required dust with a little flour for ease in kneading.

Wrap the dough in cling foil and chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheet.
Take the dough out 2 minutes before you intend to bake it.

In between two parchment paper/sheets, place the dough and roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Dust your cookie cutter with flour and cut out desired shapes.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.

Dragon-fruit Double Chocolate Brownie with Chocolate Dulce de Leche

"I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.... It may not
be true, but do I dare take the chance? "

The first time I ever ate a brownie was at Nahomes’ in Kolkata, India. It was during school days, that a christian friend of mine introduced me to the oldest bakery at New Market in Kolkata.I never had tasted anything quite like it and since then brownies took over the top spot of cakes in my ‘love-it-list’.

I loved placing bets..still do.. (mostly because I won....and before your mind starts wandering, it was just for fun and strictly non-monetary) on silly things, like “you bet we won’t have tuitions today”…or “I bet the project submission dates will be extended..” etc etc.

And the prize would always be (yes you guessed it !) either a Cadbury’s Perk/Crackle or a Nahomes’ Brownie.

FYI- I still place such bets and almost always win!! ;p



The most important aspect of a brownie, for anyone who loves brownies, is texture.
I generally prefer a brownie, somewhere between chewy and fudgy. However I made this of the third kind—cakey.

A cakey brownie has a moist crumb and a slightly fluffy interior. The batter contains less butter than the other recipes, and I include milk for moistness (the milk is a great way to extend a brownie's shelf life). I don't use much flour and while brownies don't usually use chemical leavens, I add some baking powder to keep this cakey brownie light.

When I mix cakey brownies, I use a bit of cake-baking technique, too: creaming the butter and sugar first (rather than melting the butter) and then whisking the batter to aerate the mixture and get a light crumb. I think this brownie improves on sitting at least one and even two days after you bake it.







I used dragon fruits in this brownie to give it an exotic taste and feel.

As we all know I love experimenting with different flavours and cooking techniques in my lab...err..kitchen. Take for example the microwave tarts , chana dal medhu vada, fruit and nut malpua, steamed squash dumplings, my exotic trifle, macha tea & coffee cake, chives n shrimp balls, my style krusczyki, chicken lollies....and the list continues! ;p



Dragon fruits-
A pitaya or pitahaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus (sweet pitayas). These fruits are commonly known as dragon fruits.

By eating the highly nutritional pitaya fruit, you gain all of the general health benefits of the pitaya nutrients simply because pitaya fruit is a great all around healthy fruit to eat with lots of beneficial nutrients which are readily metabolized from the natural pitahaya fruit (For example, dragon fruit vitamin C is more easily absorbed than vitamin C from a pill supplement).

One special health benefit of dragon fruit is that ot helps control levels of glucose blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes. Its a store house of dietary fibre and Vitamin C.


Dragon-fruit Brownie with Chocolate Dulce de Leche

Ingredients-
Dragon-fruit Brownie

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp instant coffee
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dragon fruit pulp & juice
¼ cup or less warm milk


Method-


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

First sieve the flour, baking powder, coffee and salt. Keep aside.
In a bowl, whisk the sugar and margarine with vanilla extract. Add half of the milk to this.

Microwave the semi-sweet chocolate chips for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Cut the dragon fruit in half and scoop out the pulp with a spoon.

Note: Since the seeds are slightly bitter in taste, I used half the pulp; and used the juice of the other half (with a strainer).

Whisk the wet ingredients into dry. Add the pulp and the dragon fruit juice to this. Add more milk, if required. Pour in your choice of baking tray.
Bake for approx. 30 minutes. Keep a check.

Tip: Brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs still clinging. It's okay for the pick to look moist, but if you see wet batter, keep baking.

One last word: although it's awfully tempting to cut into a pan of just-baked brownies, hold off. The flavor and texture of this brownie will be at its best—and definitely worth waiting for—when completely cool.


I made two brownies and sandwhiched them together with a layer of chocolate buttercream in between. You can try this icing too.
Then topped my brownie with some fresh Chantilly and drizzled with the Chocolate Dulce de Leche .







For Chocolate Dulce de Leche-
(This is my version for simplicity sake!)
I added chocolate chunks to the condensed milk to add flavour. You can use your choice of flavouring or keep it plain too.



In a microwave safe pie dish, empty half a can (200 gm/7 ounces) of condensed milk. Add ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips over it. Stir in a pinch of sea-salt.
Cover tightly, twice with MW safe cling foil.
Place this in a deeper baking tray (MW safe) filled a little over half with water.
MW on medium high for 8-10 minutes. Keep checking mid way through.
(Adjust time/temperature setting according to your MW oven).
Once done, let cool. Whisk until smooth.
Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using.





Now for some history lesson--
It is said that Dulce de Leche originated in Argentina in 1829 in the providence of Cañuelas in Buenos Aires. Two opposing forces were on the brink of ending a war. The General Lavalle and the General Manuel de Rosas came together in order to make a treaty.

The General Lavalle arrived very tired at the campo of General Manuel de Rosas. Manuel de Rosas wasn’t in the camp at the moment so General Lavalle entered into his tent and took a nap.

While the General Lavalle was napping a serving woman was preparing “la lechada” for the camp. “La lechada” is prepared by heating sugar and milk. The woman went to speak with the General Manuel de Rosas in his tent, but when she entered she discovered the enemy. She didn’t know about the treaty the two generals were about to make, so she ran to find soldiers.

The General Manuel de Rosas arrived moments before the soldiers, and stopped them from waking the sleeping General Lavalle. In the chaos, the woman forgot about “la lechada.”
When she remembered and checked on “la lechada,” she noticed that it had become a dark brown jelly substance. It is said that a very (brave) and hungry soldier tried the jelly and then dulce de leche was born.

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I send this to Lore of Culinarty, for her monthly event.




Also, this was a dry run for my Valentines' day dessert recipe. Wait and watch for Feb 14th! :)
I share this lovely dessert with The Alchemist Chef's Valentines' Day Recipe Competition, who is striving to have a great collection of recipes before the "Celebration of Love" day !

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Another V-day giveway notice( if it interests you)--

Check this place for a surprise V-day basket of goodies!

Double Chocolate Chip (Oatmeal) Cookies

Chorus 1:

I sure do like those Christmas cookies sugar

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

The ones that look like Santa Claus,Christmas trees and bells and stars

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

Verse 1 :

Now Christmas cookies are a special treat

The more she bakes the more I eat

And sometimes I can't get myself to stop

Sometimes she'll wait til I'm asleep

And she'll take the ones that I didn't eat

And put those little sprinkley things on top

(Repeat Chorus 1)

Verse 2:

Now those sprinkley things just make things worse

Cause it makes em taste better than they did at first

And they're absolutely impossible to resist

Some disappear to who knows where

But I make sure I get my share

And those kids just stand there waiting for the ones I miss

Chorus 2:

I sure do like those Christmas cookies sugar

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

She gets mad if they're all gone

Before she gets the icing put on

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

Verse 3:

Now there's a benefit to all of this

That you might have overlooked or missed

So now let me tell you the best part of it all

Every time she sticks another batch in the oven

There's fifteen minutes for some kissin' and huggin'

That's why I eat Christmas cookies all year long.

This was a song (by George Straits) my hubby shared with me while I was baking his favourite Chocolate chip (oatmeal) cookies one time.Must be wondering why the 'oatmeal' is in brackets...thats' because I had sneaked them in just to make the cookies a little healthier.(wink wink) The song now comes to my head each time I bake them..lol. Its kind of a funny song.

Its my favourite season...the warm winter sun plays peek-a-boo at my window. The earthy scent that floats across makes me heady and simply alleviates my spirit. It works its magic every single day....and I want to sing and dance. ( I actually do that in my room, all by myself..lol).

My world revolves around my man...quite literally..I simply love being married to him ! (blush blush) He has been away from home for quite a few years (while studying and working initially)...so now that we are together I make sure that he gets all the comforts of a home-cooked meal and goodies. I decided to make his favourite choco-chip cookies. He simply adores them and so do I...more so because it brings him joy.

Double Chocolate Chip (Oatmeal) Cookies

Ingredients-

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup cocoa powder ( I used light cocoa powder)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup soft brown sugar

1 large egg, slightly whisked with a fork

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup rolled oats/quick oats

Method-

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C. Line cookie pan with baking paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Cream the butter, sugar and egg together.

Add the vanilla essence. Add the quick oats.

Add the chocolate chips. Mix well.
Drop the batter on the cookie pan, about half a tablespoon size each.

(leaving space in between the cookies, for expansion)

Bake the cookies for about 10-15 minutes.

Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with chilled milk.

Note: Instead of egg, any egg substitute can be used. Infact I've made them using applesauce, but the cookies would be almost cake like in texture.

This goes out to Harini (sunshinemom) of Tounge Ticklers Juke-box event. Sing-a-long! :-)

Also this goes out to Susan of Food Blogga, for her annual Eat Christmas Cookies event. This event was a smash hit the first time and is back on popular demand as Season II. You can view the yummiest cookies ever from across the globe here.

Last but not the least this cookie also goes to Sharmi (of Neivedyam).