Fruit and Nut Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup mixed dried fruits and walnuts

1 large egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp red wine

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

1/2 tsp clove powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Take mixed dry fruits and walnuts into a bowl, add lemon juice, red wine and honey and mix them properly and close the bowl.

2. Leave them for couple of nights.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes. Add orange zest, vanilla extract, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon powder till smooth.

5. Add the egg and mix for another 1 minute.

6. Sift the flour to remove lumps and slowly add the flour to the above and mix slowly (I used a spatula from this point).

7. Also, add the soaked dry fruits and nuts along with any leftover juices.

8. Divide the cookie dough into three parts and shape them into logs and put them in a foil and close the foil tightly around the dough. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

9. Take the dough from the fridge, cut them into 1/2 inch ovals and arrange them on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil.

10. Bake them for 15-20 minutes and cool them off on a cooling rack.

I did these cookies for my husband before Valentines Day and he loved them. The cookies turned more chewy than crispy, so next time I will reduce the oven temperature to 325F and bake them for 25-30 minutes. I came across the recipe for these cookies at http://akshayapaatram.blogspot.com/2009/02/fruit-cake-cookies-eggless.html and tried them last weekend. I substituted ground flax seeds with 1 large egg, pecans with walnuts and increased couple of other ingredients and the cookies tasted awesome. Thanks Akshayapaatram for this recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1/2 stick butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 oz red food color

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a small bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt to remove any lumps (dry ingredients).

3. In a separate bowl, mix together buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract and red food color (wet ingredients).

4. Beat sugar and butter for 3-5 minutes until smooth.

5. Crack and pour the eggs into the sugar-butter and mix for 1-2 minutes.

6. Slowly add and mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients alternately on medium speed starting and ending with dry ingredients.

7. Pour the prepared batter into cupcake holders and bake for 20 minutes or until done.

After the cupcakes were done, cool them off on a rack. For the icing, I used cream cheese icing and they tasted moist and perfect. I took them to a beach party and they were devoured in minutes.

Orange Cake

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour

3 large eggs

2 sticks of butter

1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 fresh orange juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp orange zest

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes or until

smooth.

3. Add sour cream, vanilla and eggs. Mix until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and salt to remove any lumps.

5. Mix the sifted flour to the wet ingredients, mix until smooth.

6. Add orange juice and orange zest and divide the cake dough between 2 greased baking pans.

7. Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

For the icing, I used store bought cream cheese.

I added some orange zest to the cream cheese to get

orange flavor. I made this cake recently for my friend's birthday party. The cake tasted fresh and yummy with orange flavor throughout. Do not skip the orange zest and fresh orange juice in the cake batter. The sour cream added moisture to the cake. We decorated it with sliced oranges and it looked and tasted divine.
There was some cake dough that was left after filling my two cake pans. I added some chocolate chips in it and put in a separate loaf pan. I absolutely loved the cake with the addition of chocolate chips.

Banana Walnut Bread with Date Paste

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup date paste
1/2 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
2 tbsp fat free milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Combine the mashed banana and date paste with milk and mash to make a smooth paste.
3. In a bowl, hand mix the butter and banana-date paste. Add eggs and vanilla essence and mix for another 2 minutes. (Use a spatula to mix)
4. Sift the all purpose flour and salt to remove any lumps and slowly add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients using a spatula.
5. After mixing the wet and dry ingredients, add the chopped walnuts.
6. Pour it into a baking pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until done.

Tastes delicious with a cup of coffee or by itself. We ate it as breakfast and it was quite filling.
Didn't miss the sugar at all, date paste and banana added just the right amount of sweetness.
Next time I will try this with wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.