Soft Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup oat bran
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
4 egg whites
1/4 cup milk
1 cup raisins+chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Beat the egg whites till they are frothy. In another bowl, cream the sugar and shortening and add the eggs to it. Then add the milk and mix. Mix all the dry ingredients to this and add the raisins and walnuts. The mixture will be sticky. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make round cookies of about 1 tbsp mixture and 1/8 inch thickness. Place it on nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes around 3 dozen cookies

Source of recipe is from http://www.cooks.com/

Easter Strawberry Pastries

We were having a playdate for the easter weekend when I had made these pastries for my "little friends" attending the playdate..I happened to be at the party city the week before and got the cute little bunny picks and got the idea of fixing it on the pastries!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 packet strawberry cake mix (betty crocker/pillsbury/duncan hines)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 lb fresh strawberries
2 cups whipped cream

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare a 13x9 inch cake as per the directions on the cake box. When the cake cools down, trim the cake by cutting the side crusts of the cake. Then cut through the cake to make two halves of the cake. On the bottom halft spread half of the cream and freshly cut strawberries. Put the upper half of the cake and decorate it with the remaining whipped cream. I used the green color cream which was left over from my previous cake. Then I made a striped apperance with the cake comb and cut the cake into sqaure pastries. Then on each pastry I placed thinly sliced strawberries in a "plus" sign and inserted the bunny pick in between. I made 15 pastries from this cake.

Chocolate Mousse Racetrack Cake

It was my sweetiepie's 8th birthday and like all other boys my son is also a "car-crazy" guy!! So I decided to make a racetrack cake in shape of figure 8 for his birthday..When the cake was set on the table, one of his friends cried aloud "wow is that the cake your mom made home?? it looks awesome"..Hearing this I thought that I had got the reward for all the pains I had taken to make this cake look special..

INGREDIENTS:

1 pack of Betty Crocker's chocolate mousse cake mix

3 eggs

1/3 cup veg oil

1 1/4 cup water

1 1/4 cup milk for mousse

FROSTING:

Whipped cream frosting (recipe in 2010 blog posts).

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare two 8 inches cakes as per the directions on the box. Let the cakes cool down. Chocolate mousse needs to be prepared just before using it.

DECORATING THE CAKE:

Take both the cakes and cut off the upper domes so that both of the cakes are flat and leveled. Arrange both in a figure 8 shape. Cut off the bottom portion of one of the cake in a small semi-circle shape so that the upper portion of the second cake can fit into it and the cakes are sort of joined together and are at the same level. Then cut both the cakes into halves horizontally using the serrated knife. Keep aside the upper halves of both the cakes. Prepare the chocolate mousse and pour it over both the lower halves and spread it evenly all over with a spatula. Place the upper halves and press firmly so that the cakes remain tight together and in place. Then prepare the green frosting by mixing the green color in the whipped cream. First cover the sides of the cake with the cream. Then using the star tip trace the upper and lower borders of the cake. Then trace the inner border and fill it up to give it a grassy appearence. In this way, you will also create the track. I also filled up the cream over the cake board on which the cake was placed and lined it up with M&Ms. If you dont want to fill up the cake board you can place the M&Ms around the lower border of the cake. I fixed some race flags prepared out of toothpicks and paper over the track.

I placed the cake over a white foam board which I had already decorated with some race flags and racetrack names. I placed a few cars around the cake on the board. The look in every kid's eye after looking at the cake was the real appreciation of this cake I guess...

Valentine Sugar Cookies

This year my son had demanded that he wanted "homemade" valentine cookies for his school friends on the Valentine's Day!! How could I turn down my son's wish?? So here is a simple recipe for the cookies and it tastes simply awesome!! The cookies were a great hit at my son's school..

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tsp nutmeg powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Sift flour and baking powder. Add half of the flour mixture, stir in milk and vanilla, then the remaining flour mixture. Mix only until combined. You can adjust the quantity of the flour according to the consistency of the mixture..Using more flour can make the cookies dry. Wrap mixture in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or more before rolling out 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured work surface. Cut into heart shapes with the cookie cutter. Sprinkle with red colored sugar. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden on edges of cookies by keeping the cookie at least 2 inches apart. The baking time may vary according to the cookie sizes and different ovens.

Tutti-Frutti Cake

This cake is full of tutti-frutti, the small colored fruit chunks...Every bite of this cake tastes awesome with the tutti-frutti all over it!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup tutti-frutti

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line one 9x13-inch (23 x 33 cm) rectangular baking pan with wax paper. Grease the paper and the sides of the pan well. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs together until slightly thickened with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add flour, milk, oil, baking powder, and vanilla and beat for another minute, just until the batter is smooth and creamy. Don't overbeat. Fold in the tutti-frutti within the batter. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick poked into the center of the layer comes out clean.

Vanilla-Butterscotch Cake

This cake was really a very special cake as it was our 10th wedding anniversary. I found the recipe below at www.allrecipes. com and it was such an easy way to make the butterscotch cake. I just added a few things for decoration from my side and my husband and kid just relished on this cake...

INGREDIENTS:

1 pack white/yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) package instant butterscotch pudding mix

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 egg whites

1 cup butterscotch chips and 1 cup chopped walnuts for decoration

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 heart shape 8-inch cake pans with wax paper and cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients and beat on a medium speed for about 2 mins. Pour the batter into the pans evenly. Bake for about 25-27 mins or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For frosting I prepared the whipped cream and frosted the cake with it. Cut the butterscotch chips into tiny pieces and mix it with the chopped walnuts. Decorate the sides of the cake with the mixture by throwing it lightly with a spoon. Decorate the top of the cake with any design you like!!

Choco-Chip Bars

I just wanted to try out some chocolate chip bars when I came across this recipe at realmomkitchen.com. It is really a very simple and tasty recipe. The chocolate chips add a great flavor to the bar for all the chocolate lovers!! I just made some substitutions and additions to the recipe...

INGREDIENTS:

1 large egg+ 1 large egg yolk

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2+1/8 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, letting the excess hang over the edges of the pan to help you pull the bars from the pan after they have baked. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk the egg, egg yolk, and sugars in alarge bowl until combined. Add vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Then add the vegetable oil and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter will be thick. Spread the batter into the prepared pan by patting it with hands.

3.Bake for about 25-28 mins until the top of the bars is light golden brown and edges start pulling away from sides of pan. Cool at room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.