Dulce de leche Brownies

It feels like we just started the New year and it's already March. Days are flying by so fast. Here in California we have a mild winter this time, so it's almost like Summer back to back. I didn't have to unpack any of our winter jackets. One thing I am very happy about is the early start for gardening. Since I am a newbie gardener, I am excited to try different plants.

Before I made these brownies, I would never give brownies a second look. I felt that they are very monotonous. But I have to admit that I am totally wrong, regular brownies can be transformed to mouth watering treats with multiple layers of flavor. I was enlightened with this truth while watching The Pioneer Woman show on Food Network. So, I adapted the recipe from there and changed few things like using dulce de leche instead of regular caramel sauce. The procedure is little time consuming but totally worth it. I took these brownies to work for a potluck and they got the nick name as "Sinful Brownies" :)

What you need:

1 box (18.25 oz) of Milk Chocolate cake mix ( I used Betty Crocker)
3/4 cup fine chopped Almonds
1/3 cup + 3 tbsp Evaporated milk
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 can Dulce de leche  (1 can = 13.4 oz)
2 tbsp Powdered sugar for light coating

Steps to Follow:
(Pictures below will give an idea)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl combine cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk and melted butter until everything comes together. Dough will be thick.
3. Divide the dough into two parts and keep half of it in fridge
4. Press remaining half of it into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside
6. In a microwaveable bowl add dulce de leche with 3 tbsp evaporated milk and heat it in 20-30 sec and mix it very well. Sauce should be pourable. If it is too thick, microwave for another 20-30 sec
7. Pour this sauce on baked layer and spread it to coat evenly. 
8. On top of the sauce, sprinkle an even layer of chocolate chips and chopped almonds
9. Now comes the tricky part, take the remaining dough on a parchment paper and using your fingers spread it into a square slightly smaller than the pan, it doesn't have to be perfect.
10. Careful lift this layer and place it in the pan (on top of chocolate chips and chopped almonds)
11. Bake it for 20-25 min. Remove from oven and let it cool.
12. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
13. When ready to serve sift powdered sugar on top and cut into desired size squares

Base layer

Dulce de leche, chocolate chips and chopped almonds layer

Spread the remaining dough into a square

Place it as top layer in the pan

Apple Oat Bread

Here in California, Cherry blossoms are blooming everywhere. It's such pretty sight. At my workplace, the walkways are lined up with these Cherry blossom trees. It's a treat to walk through them now :-) I love this time when the trees transform as if they are trying to express themselves with beautiful hues and put their best show.

Coming to today's recipe, it's a healthier version of the regular apple bread that I usually bake. Quick breads are a breeze to do. They are easy, delicious and as the name says very quick to make. Most of the times I have a bread either in my freezer or fridge since they make a good breakfast or snack.

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of oats. So, I try to sneak them in my food for their nutritional value. Trick is to grind oats into powder and add this in different mixtures. So, I substituted almost half of all purpose flour with oats in this recipe. I do the same for Idlis and Uthapams, that's a post for another day :-)

What you need:

(makes one 9X5 loaf)

3/4 cup All purpose flour

1/2 cup Oats flour (just add oats in a blender and grind them)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

Unsweetened Apple sauce - 4 oz (usually sold in 4 oz cups)2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Steps to follow:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a bowl beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract together. Add apple sauce to this mixture and beat again until everything is well mixed.
3. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, oats flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In 2 or 3 batches add flour mixture to wet ingredients and beat until batter comes together.
5. Grease a loaf pan and pour batter in it.
6. Bake for 51-53 min. Stick a knife in center and it should come out clean.
7. Take it out from oven, cool it in loaf pan for 15 min.
8. Loosen the sides with a knife and place it on a rack to continue cooling for another 30 min or so.
9. Slice it and serve or store in airtight container. Keeps well in fridge for a week or freeze it for a later use.

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever since I saw these cookies on 'The Pioneer Woman' show, I wanted to try them. The weather here is chilly and it was perfect time for baking. I guess I already mentioned in my classic chocolate chip cookies post that I can never get enough of these delicious goodies. Any variation of these cookies is a mouth watering treat. 

This recipe yields flat and chewy cookies, just the way I like them. Also, I love the subtle flavor of malted milk. This recipe is definitely a keeper, go here for details.

Happy Halloween / Banana Bread

Spiders for Halloween effect :-)

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

I know this Banana bread is not spooky enough to be a Halloween treat, but I wanted to take something to my friends at work. So, whipped up this bread last night. I always like the taste of quick breads the day after. Of course this banana bread tastes great warm out of the oven too. Thanks to my aunt who gave me this simple, easy and foolproof recipe couple of years ago. I baked so many breads from then on that I can tell the recipe even in my sleep now. I have two loaf pans and I always bake two loaves because it's the same effort you put whether making one or two. I freeze the other loaf wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It stays good for a month or two. When ready to use, just pop it out of freezer and thaw it overnight at room temperature.

Here you go with the recipe.

What you need:

(makes one 9X5 loaf)

1 1/4 cups All purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 and half ripe banana
2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Steps to follow:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a bowl beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract together. Mash bananas in a separate bowl, add to this mixture and beat again until everything is well mixed.
3. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In 2 or 3 batches add flour mixture to wet ingredients and beat until batter comes together.
5. Grease a loaf pan and pour batter into it.
6. Bake for 51-53 min. Stick a knife in center and it should come out clean.
7. Take it out from oven, cool it in loaf pan for 15 min.
8. Loosen the sides with a knife and place it on a rack to continue cooling for another 30 min or so.
9. Slice it and serve or store in airtight container. Keeps well in fridge for a week.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I guess there aren't many people who don't like chocolate chip cookies. Even my husband who isn’t a big fan of chocolate likes chocolate chip cookies J . I am a chocoholic and love anything with chocolate.

First time when I made these cookies, I sent them as part of a care package to my Sis. She mentioned that as soon she received it, she and her roomies finished the whole tin. From then on it became a tradition to send these to my Sis and also to my cute 4 year old cousin Jay.

I customized my recipe from a cook book and also from original Nestle toll house recipe. This book I have is all about Chocolate. Whenever I flip through the pages, I feel like making everything in there. They are all very delicious and sinfully rich in chocolate. With the holidays coming up may be I will blog a series about these goodies that make perfect gifts.

I like my cookies on the sweeter side, so I use milk chocolate chips, but they can be swapped with semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips based on your taste. Also, these are softer and chewier cookies.

What you need:

(makes around 20 medium sized cookies)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ cup (1 stick) butter softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup regular granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking soda

1 pinch of salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Steps to follow:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract together. Add egg to this mixture and beat it until the batter is fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients – flour, salt, baking soda.
4. Combine dry ingredients to batter and mix until everything comes together.
5. Fold chocolate chips into the batter.
6. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (grease it with butter).
7. Drop spoonfuls on the sheet allowing room to expand.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Keep an eye, they will brown easy.
9. Once edges are brown take them out and let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 min.
10. Then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. They will stay good in the fridge for 1 week.

Blueberry Muffins

From my childhood, I loved the shape of cupcakes or muffins. They are so cute and petite. When I started baking the first thing I bought was a 12-cup muffin pan J

Muffins are not as sweet as cupcakes and make an easy breakfast. Especially if you have a train or bus to catch or beat the traffic like me this is perfect ‘on the go’ breakfast, loved by both kids and adults alike. I tried so many varieties of muffins but Blueberry ones are fool proof. This is one of King Arthur flour recipes that I adapted to my taste. You can also check out their blog for awesome baking recipes.

What you need:

(makes 12 muffins)

2 1/4 cups All purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1 tiny pinch of nutmeg (I know not a baking measurement J, but little goes long way, if you don’t like the taste of nutmeg, you can skip it)

Steps to follow:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl first and then add eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract and beat the mixture together.
3. Mix the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a separate bowl.
4. Now add the dry ingredients in 2 or 3 batches to wet mixture and incorporate everything into a smooth batter.
5. Add blueberries and with a spatula fold them into the batter.
6. Line the muffin pan with paper cups or spray with oil.
7. Scoop the batter into the muffin pan and bake it for 20 – 24 min.
8. Insert a tooth pick into a muffin and it should come out clean when done.
9. Take them out of oven, cool in the pan for 5 min and then place muffins on rack to finish cooling.
10. Muffins will keep fresh in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.

Kickoff

I've been thinking about starting a blog from past 4 years but never got to it. I am glad at least I started it now. Better late than never :-)

I welcome you all to my humble abode where I would be sharing my everyday things like recipes, crafts, gardening and travels. Beware I might be rambling about my feelings too (as soon as my husband reads this I guess he will stay out of my blog :-)

I am a Software Engineer by day and passionate, self taught cook by night. I live with my Husband in sunny California. I am also a newbie gardener and will share my learning experience as I go along.

Geek that I am, I titled my first post as 'Kickoff' (cannot help with so many years of working in IT industry).

Here is the post about one of my favorite baked goods Biscotti. I took the recipe from Martha Stewart website and modified a little bit. They are not too sweet and perfect for dunking in tea or coffee. Also only fat component is from egg yolks.

What you need:
(Makes around 35-40 pieces)

3/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios

3/4 cup roughly chopped almonds

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps to Follow:

1. Mix flour, almonds, pistachios, sugar, salt in a bowl and keep it aside.
2. Whisk eggs and vanilla extract in another bowl. To this add the flour mixture and combine everything to make the dough.
3. Divide the dough into two parts and shape each one in the form of a log. Place these logs on a baking sheet. For easy clean up, I line the baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Once it's ready place the baking tray and bake for 15-20 min. The logs should be firm to touch and you can see browning on the bottom.
5. Take the logs out, cool them for about 30 min.
6. Transfer these logs to a cutting board. With a serrated knife cut them into half inch slices.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 F. Place these slices on the baking tray in a single layer and bake for another 15-20 min.
8. Cool them on a rack and store them in air tight container. They stay good easily for a week.

They are also perfect as gifts for family and friends.