Cookie dough ice pops!

he world famous Florida sunshine is at its best right now, temperatures soaring every day, school closed for summer and an overactive hyper kiddo with an attention span of not more than 7 minutes. Enough things to keep me sweating, no pun intended. These days I am always on the look out for some fun project for her to get busy with. Today was the day to make these pops and FIFI the monster sock puppet! LOL.
She just turned five, a very curious, sensitive and observant girl all geared to start her kindergarten very soon. She questions everything, tries to find a reason behind anything that happens or does not happen around her. She doesn't like to be told what to do (yes she is our drama queen) and believe it or not already has developed a great sense of humor. Like this one time she asked me "mommy what kind of car does Mickey mouse's wife drive?".. "a cute pink car", I said. "No! A mini van" she screamed giggling :)) She is learning to write cursive and she LOVES math (much to my relief lol)

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Double Dark Chocolate Cappuccino Muffins (Eggless and Whole Wheat)

s I was browsing around my own creations on USMasala the other day - which by-the-way I do much too less often as much as I would like to - I realized that I haven't blogged lately about any dish with one of my most favorite ingredients - Chocolate. It was also surprising to me as I make something that has chocolate in it almost every other day for my little one.

So here is a recipe for a baked chocolcate goodie that is one of the most common and most loved in my  household. I make a small batch of these muffins atleast twice a week and they serve me well mostly as a quick snack when kiddo gets back from her pre-school.

Now as this is a regular, it has to be healthy. So you will notice the use of whole wheat flour and olive oil and zero butter. You can use whole wheat flour or even whole wheat pastry flour, any that is locally available. To kick it up a notch, addition of coffee is a must for me in anything that I make with chocolate especially when baking.

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Hazelnut-Mocha Macarons

I have been an ardent admirer of this fabulous French dessert. I have been drooling for so long at all those pretty macarons on web, each time wondering if I ought to give it a shot. I usually take up a challenge, but the  horror stories of disasters with this beautiful but so temperamental dessert always made me take a step back. Well long-story-short, I did finally manage the courage to try it and as you can see from the results I think I earned myself some serious bragging rights... lol.

Here's a little excerpt with a little background -
(Dating back to the 18th century, the macaron is a traditional French pastry, made of  egg-whites, almond powder, icing sugar and sugar. This sweet pastry came out of the French courts’ baker’s oven as round meringue-like domes with a flat base.
Macarons, also anglicized “macaroons”, are not to be confused with a similar pastry also called ‘macaroons’. Macarons are sandwich-like pastries made with two thin cookies and a cream or ganache between the cookies. Macaroons are dense cookies made either with coconut or with a coarse almond paste.) 

Read on if you'd like to hear some bragging :)
I must admit, I was very much intimidated by these and had basically convinced myself that these were way out of my league and I should never think of making them. Watching the 'Master Chef India' episode on StarPlus and all the contestants making disastrous macrons, I just had to try it even if I failed. I started with google and zeroed in on this recipe on food network . I read it at least 100 times over, saw a few videos on you tube and with butterflies in my stomach reminding me of my math's tests in school, set upon making these beauties this past weekend with my hubby (who btw is the most amazing and talented sous chef in the world and my constant motivator). Each and every step was followed closely and when I finally put them in the oven... will they crack or melt or will they hold... no one gets macrons right the first time... the apprehension heightened by the fact hat you can not even take a peek... you have to wait patiently for the timer to run out... and then... moment of truth... 

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Brownie Tart

This Brownie Tart/Pie has a deep intense and rich chocolate flavor with a nice fudgy texture. One afternoon, after running errands I was sitting with my kiddo on the couch and turned on the TV and Ina Garten was pulling a scrumptious brownie tart out of the oven and it really made my sweet tooth ache. I can’t resist a fudgy gooey brownie and believe me I have enough will power to overlook the dessert section otherwise! But a Brownie in its fancy yet rustic tart avatar as gooey, fudgy and chocolatey and as this one is not to be ignored... I could taste and smell the intense choco flavor even through my TV screen... lol :). Immediately got up from the couch and made it within the hour. I totally love her Barefoot Contessa, everything she makes always looks divine and awesome and she makes it all seem so effortless. It turned out so good as Ina would say, what could be bad about brownies?! 

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Eggless Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake

The humble vanilla cake is usually very well liked in an average Indian household especially if it is eggless and home-made. The oven which is a regular fixture in almost every kitchen in the US is usually not that common in the Indian middle class kitchen. Although this is changing rapidly, for the most part, cakes there are still made in a small portable electric oven. If you've ever seen or tried baking in one of these, you'd know that it is not the easiest of things to do.
For these reasons, the simple eggless vanilla cake was a big favorite in our family as well. This recipe is so popular in my family tree that every member that can cook has a written copy of it and has tried their luck at baking it atleast once. All the credit goes to my aunt who joined a baking class and where she got this recipe and then the rest is history. Since then I have of course baked several different types of cakes but this one still holds a special place in my heart. I have made some minor modifications like using chocolate cips instead of cocoa powder but the recipe is essentially the same. It is very easy to make, calls for a very few ingredients and tastes awesome.
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Eggless Double Chocolate Mocha Muffin

 better half.. he does not detest chocolates, he will eat it.. but combine it with a little coffee and he absolutely loves it! I on the other hand will eat chocolate of any kind, anytime, dark chocolate being my favorite. I don't mind a little coffee either. So whenever I make anything chocolaty at home there has to be a little coffee in it. I personally think as well that coffee when combined with chocolate takes it to a whole new level.
So I just mixed a little coffee in chocolate muffin batter and this recipe was born. I also don't always like the eggy taste in my bakes so I skip the egg altogether and it comes out great :) It is always a hit with kids too atleast I know my little one loves it.

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