Andes mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I started with typing, "it is spring here" last week. Then I got lazy and then things changed on the weather front. Yes it was sunny and the weather was in its 50s last week but then all of a sudden it started snowing yesterday and there was snow accumulation. The whole event was kinda depressing. So off I went into a slumber. A deep slumber in which blogging was the last thing on my mind. But then I had to give in, isn't that what we bloggers do all the time.

So here I am with these outrageously delicious mint chocolate chip cookies. If mint is your thing, then you sure have to give this a go. I love anything with a hint of mint. That refreshing flavor it gives is something that you would find addicting, if well, mint is your thing. If you do not have access to mint chocolate chips, then use regular chocolate chips and if you can lay yours hands on pure mint extract then add 1/4 tsp of that and increase by your personal preference.

~*What U Need*~ Unsalted butter - 1/4 cup, room temp Brown sugar - 6 tbsp Granulated sugar - 1/4 cup Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract - 1 tsp Egg - 1, room temp Andes creme de menthe baking chips - 5 oz, 1/2 a bag All purpose flour - 1 1/3 cups, sifted How I Made it: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined. Sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients and stir well. Add the chocolate chips and stir until combined. Drop tablespoons of dough on the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 mins or until it slightly browned on the edges.

Serve with a glass of milk.

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White Chocolate Banana Blondies

I had a plan for Valentine's day, I had a few breakfast recipes lined up but then all hell broke loose at our place. Last week was a nightmare, pappu was down with ear infection and cold with temperatures spiking to 100s. And so Valentine's day passed on like any another day. So here I am making up with some blondies. I am totally in love with these blondies, they are sweet, you get a hint of banana flavor and the white chocolate definitely comes through. Warm them up in the microwave for 30 seconds, top with some berries and a dollop of whipped cream and they taste insanely good.

~*What U Need*~ Unsalted butter - 1/4 cup White chocolate chips - 4 oz Bananas - 2 medium, mashed Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup Egg - 1 Salt - a pinch Vanilla extract - 1 tsp All purpose flour - 1 cup How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350F. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and white chocolate in 30 second bursts, stirring each time until melted. Stir in the sugar. Mix in the mashed bananas, Add eggs, salt, and vanilla and stir until well combined. Mix in the flour until completely incorporated. Spread batter into a 8" square pan and bake 15-20 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool completely and store covered.

Serve warm with some berries on the side!!!

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White Chocolate Creme Brulee

The huss loves white chocolate. If I choose 85% cacao dark chocolate for my midnight snack, he would choose the straight opposite and go for white chocolate. I am not a hater, I love anything chocolate but I just prefer dark to white. I love making, serving and gifting sweet things to friends and family. And no dinner for us is complete without a scoop of icecream or a piece of homemade cake to share between the three of us. So when I had some white chocolate chips left over after making cookies for friends during the holidays, I thought I could make something for the huss exclusively. And with valentine's day coming up, I though it would be a great dessert option to share with you guys.

Prep: 15 min; Bake: 50 min; Makes: 3-4 servings ~*What U Need*~ Egg yolks - 3 Sugar - 6 tbsp, divided Heavy whipping cream - 1 cup White baking chocolate - 2 ounces Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, chocolate and 2 tablespoons sugar. Heat over medium-low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolk mixture to temper the egg yolk mixture; return the mixture to the pan, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens slightly. {I missed taking pics of this step but its very similar to making icecreams} Pour into ramekins. Place in a baking pan. Add 1 in. of boiling water to pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 50-55 minutes or until center is set. Remove from water bath. Cool for 10 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. To broil the custards, place ramekins on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Broil on the top rack of the oven for 4-7 minutes or until sugar is caramelized. Keep an eye every 1-2 mins. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

Serve chilled!!!

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Kahlua Brownies | How to Jazz up Boxed brownies & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I generally don't go for boxed brownies, why them when you can whip up some delicious fudgy brownies in a matter of minutes. But a friend of mine does so and she included a couple of boxes in a gift hamper that she gave me recently. Well I wanted to jazz them up and these kahlua brownies were a good choice. You get a very faint hint of the Kahlua and it just adds additional chocolaty-ness. These make perfect last minute inclusions in your holiday hamper because all you need to do is grab a brownie box and jazz them up just as I did.

On that note, I am ending this year with these brownies. I have a super yummy cake lined up to start the new year with and you will surely love it. Till then HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAVE A GREAT YEAR AHEAD.

~*What U Need*~ Boxed brownie - 1 box Melted butter to replace the oil Instant coffee - 1 tsp Kahlua liquor - to replace the water Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup Walnuts - 1/2 cup Eggs - as per instructions How I Made it: Make the brownies following instructions on the back of the box replacing the oil with butter and the water with Kahlua. Add the coffee powder and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Bake as instructed.

Serve with a glass of milk!!!

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Chocolate Icecream | A David Leobitz recipe

Come on guys, lets take a break and chill out. And what best way than icecream. I wanted to take a break from the cookies but wanted to keep up with the season of sweetness and indulgence and this chocolate icecream is just right. Something about winter and chillness makes me have icecreams. And when it is chocolate, I have to go for it.
I have become a firm believer of "you taste what you add" after having this icecream. I used Ghiradelli chocolate and that is what tasted in every bite. Its rich, its smooth, its creamy and it is absolutely chocolate-y. So I strongly urge you to use the best quality chocolate that you can lay hands on.

~*What U Need*~ Heavy cream - 1 cup Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp Semisweet chocolate - 70 g, I used Ghiradelli Whole milk - 1/2 cup Sugar - 6 tbsp Medium egg yolks - 3 Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: Warm 1/2 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Or whisk the mixture every 1 hour to remove the ice crystals for 3hours and then freeze overnight.

Serve with love!!!

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White chocolate Cranberry & Coconut Oatmeal cookies

Christmas is all about gifting to friends and family. With just a few more days to go, I am planning to share a few cake and cookie recipes here and this is first of the lot. My husband is a big fan of coconuts in cookies while the kid loves white chocolate. As for me I have been wanting to make oatmeal cookies for a long time and so I incorporated all three, added some cranberries to overcome the sweetness and a teeny bit of lemon zest for some freshness. These taste delicious and make perfect holiday gifts.

Prep time: 15 mins; Baking time: 12 mins; Makes - 18 cookies ~*What U Need*~ Unsalted butter - 1/4 cup, room temp All purpose flour - 3/4 cup Old fashioned oats - 3/4 cup Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Salt - a pinch Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Brown sugar - 1/4 cup White sugar - 1/4 cup Egg - 1/2 of an egg Lemon zest - 1/4 tsp Dried Cranberries - 1/4 cup White chocolate chips - 1/4 cup Coconut flakes - 1/4 cup How I Made it: Preheat the oven to 350F. In a bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, and baking soda; set aside. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add egg, lemon zest, and mix well. Add the flour mixture and gently mix till you see no traces of flour. Gently fold in the coconut and white chocolate chips and cranberries. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form 1 tbsp balls, flatten it a bit and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool for 2 minutes before using a spatula to move onto a cooling rack. Repeat with the entire batch.

Serve with a glass of milk.

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French Macarons ~ My first OK attempt!!!

Yeah, you heard me right. I got them right, well not perfect right but OK right. Atleast I got what makes a macaron, a macaron stuff right. I got the feet, I got the rise and I got them out of the parchment paper intact. So yeah, I made my first OK macarons. This is not my first time but gladly this is not my nth time too. The first time I made it, I didn't grind my almonds fine enough and so the second time I resorted to store bought ground almonds. And these macarons happened.

So if you are here for macaron advice, my first one would be to get a kitchen scale. Macarons are all about precision and cup measurements would never work out. Next grind your almonds fine but donot overwork it that the almonds start releasing their oils. If you are not confident enough then get store bought flour. Then age your egg whites, the older the best. Sieve the almond+icing sugar atleast thrice. Finally allowing the piped shells to dry till they are no longer tacky is super important. So why wait ;ets get going and bake some macarons.

~*What U Need*~ Ground almond - 50 gms Icing sugar - 100 gms Castor sugar - 20 gms Egg whites - 60 gms A pinch of salt How I Made it: Separate the egg whites and place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 2 days. On the day of use, remove the container from the fridge and bring to room temperature. Weigh all the ingredients and set aside. Blend the icing sugar and ground almonds together with a food processor for around 1 – 2 minutes. Sieve the mixture thrice getting rid of the bigger bits, set aside. Whisk the egg whites with the whisk attachment at medium speed until frothy. Add the pinch of salt. With the mixer at medium speed beat until soft peals. Turn your mixer to high speed and gradually add the caster sugar beating till you get shiny stiff peaks. Gradually add the dry ingredients to your meringue in 3 additions. Gently cut and fold the mixture by means of a silicone spatula. Around 50 folds. You should get a smooth and glossy batter, with no visible dry ingredients just like lava. Attach a plain nozzle to the piping bag and fill it with the macaron mixture. Pipe the shells onto a parchment paper and remove the macaron template carefully. Tap the bottom of the baking sheet against your worktop in order to remove any peaks and large air bubbles. Leave the shells to dry for around 30 mins to 1 hour until no longer tacky. This is the most important step of all. Preheat the oven for 15 mins for 300F. Bake the macarons for around 10-14 minutes. Once the macaron is done, allow to cool for 5-10 mins and then remove from the parchment paper. Place them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely. Fill with chocolate ganache and then combine two shells. Store them in an airtight container inside the fridge up to 2-3 days.

Serve with love!!!

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Charlotte Russe | Chocolate Charlotte Russe ~ for our 5th!!!

We celebrated our 5th anniversary this month. Yeah 5 years with this man. I wouldn't say that life was perfect. We have had our fair share of fights and together moments and I would say fights triumphed over the latter. But it was those fights that brought us closer and intimate. Life with this guy is like a roller coaster ride. I am still learning something new but life with this guy is what makes me complete.

This anniversary I wanted to make something new and special, something that I had never tried before and this charlotte russe is everything that I needed to make the day special. It is light, it's creamy and it's delicious. Delicious in the sense mouth wateringly delicious and you would definitely crave for another slice. We kept most of the dessert to ourselves but then we started over-indulging and finally gave away half of it for friends. It is that good...

~*What U Need*~ For the genoise: Melted butter - 1 tbsp All purpose flour - 50 g Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp Salt - a pinch Eggs - 2, large Sugar - 60 g For the Mocha Bavarian Cream: Powdered gelatin - 11 g Cold water - 75 ml Egg yolks - 2 Sugar - 60 g Milk - 250 ml Vanilla extract - 1 tsp Instant coffee powder - 1 tbsp Bittersweet chocolate - 1 oz Heavy cream - 250 ml Simple coffee syrup: Boil 1/2 tbsp instant coffee with 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water. Set aside to cool. Ladyfingers - 20 or to fit 8-inch springform pan. Chocolate shavings - to decorate How I Made it: Preheat oven to 180 C. Whisk the eggs and sugar. Place over a pan of simmering water and whisk till it is warm approx 5 mins. Take this egg in a mixer bowl and beat on high till cooled and triple in volume. The batter should leave a ribbon like trail when lifted out of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Sieve about a third of the flour and fold in. Repeat with the remaining flour in thirds. Take a spoonful of the mix and add to the melted butter and whisk well. Add this to the flour mixture and fold gently. Spoon into greased 8-inch cake pans and bake for 10-12 mins until they are slightly shrinking away from the tin. Cool for 5 mins in the tin then loosen the edges with a knife and transfer to a cooling rack. To make the mocha bavarian cream, soak the gelatin in cold water and let it bloom for 5 mins. Whip yolks and sugar until light and thick. Scald milk and slowly add it into the egg mixture, beating constantly. Cook this mixture over a pan of simmering water until it thickens slightly. Add vanilla extract and coffee powder and mix well to dissolve. Melt the gelatin on heat and add into the egg mixture. Let it cool in the fridge till half set, whisking every now and then to keep the mixture smooth. Whip cream to soft peaks, fold the cream into the half set egg mixture. Set aside. To assemble, line the springform pan with ladyfingers(I cut them into half), place one genoise on the bottom of the pan, brush with the coffee syrup generously, pour half of the bavarian cream and smooth the top. Place the second genoise on top and repeat with the steps. Decorate with chocolate shavings and place in the fridge to set for 2-3 hours. Slice and serve.

Serve with love!!!

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