Skip to main content

Gem of an Idea

I spotted organic raw sugar on my supermarket counter the other day, and picked it up thinking it will come handy in baking. Or more specifically, baking cookies, which has become a weekend ritual!

Started by mixing 100 gms of butter with 40 gms caster sugar and 30 gms raw sugar, and beat them until light. Then added 175 gms flour and ½ tsp vanilla essence and mixed everything into a smooth dough. Rolled it into a log, then left it wrapped in a buttered sheet in the fridge for half an hour.

By this time, the dough is a bit harder and easy to cut into thin cookies. My raw sugar is not very fine, so the cookies were speckled with brown. To give it extra color, I added Gems in the center of all cookies. If you don’t have Gems handy, use M&M.

I baked the cookies at 180C for 15 minutes, and they came out looking nice and brown. What a difference from the pale yellow cookies I’ve been baking past two weeks.



This recipe makes about 24 cookies, and my small oven can’t take more than 12 at a time. So I baked 12 yesterday and left half the dough in the fridge until today. The next batch, baked a day later, came out tasting great so the dough keeps well for a day. And the cookies keep for at least 3-4 days if left in an airtight container.
Labels:

Comments

Aparna Balasubramanian said…
These cookies look cute. I have tried making cookies with gems by incorporating them in the dough. My daughter loves them.
Saw your link from Joanna's blog.
March 17, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kadhi Chawal

I just can't think of what to write today. That's what my absolute favorite meal does to me, I just want to stop talking and dig right in. So I won't ramble and go straight on the recipe for kadhi. First, make the pakoras that would go in the kadhi. Slice an onion lengthwise. Make a batter with 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan), salt, red chilli powder and water. Dip onions in this batter and deep fry until crisp. Keep aside. Now blend 1 cup yogurt and 1/3 cup besan into a paste. Add 3-4 cups water to make a very thin blend. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add a tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain (carom seeds) and methre (fenugreek seeds). Let splutter for a few seconds. Now add a large onion, cut lengthwise into thin slices and cook until browned lightly. Pour in the yogurt/besan mix and add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for at least half an hour. You have to stir this occasio...
17 comments
Read more

Potato Naan

I know what you see up there is a naan. But let's pretend for a moment we are making bread. For I had bookmarked this recipe for potato bread a zillion years ago. And that's what I set to make. Chopped and boiled 100 gms potatoes until they are soft. Mashed them along with 3/4 cup of water they were boiled in. While the potatoes were boiling, I added a tsp of sugar to 1/4 cup warm water, then sprinkled a tsp of yeast and let it proof for 10 minutes. To the potato/water mix, I added a cup each of whole wheat flour and plain flour, 1/2 tsp salt as well as the yeast. Once everything was mixed well, I put the dough on a flour-dusted surface and kneaded it for 10 minutes or so. It was a fairly wet dough, but got it to get smooth. Oiled a large bowl and put the dough in it to rise to double it's size. By the time the first rise ended after an hour or so, I didn't want the bread. I wanted a naan instead. And if someone deserves to throw a tantrum after days of sniv...
16 comments
Read more

Pineapple Pastry

This is what makes me feel so glad to be a part of the food blogging community. You saw the cake yesterday. I baked it on the morning of my parents' anniversary, hoping to turn into a traditional pineapple pastry they like. Then I panicked. I know that the bakeries use a whipped cream topping, but I also knew that the 25% cream we get in India won't whip. So I put in an SOS mail to Deeba . And she called me back within minutes with ideas to incorporate more fat in the cream. With all her tips and hints, I finally have a pineapple pastry I like. So if you are struggling with 25% Amul cream like me, here's what you do. Tip No. 1 : Get rid of the whey. When you pour out the cream from the carton, you will get thick cream and some whey. Just pour the whey out. Tip No. 2 : Chill, chill, chill. Before you start whipping your cream, put the bowl of cream in the freezer for 10 minutes. I also left the whipping blades of my hand mixer in the freezer for the same time. Tip No. 3...
17 comments
Read more