Eggless Apricot Jam Biscuits

I was looking for a jam cookie recipe as we are great fans of strawberry shortbread cookies and landed here. However at the last minute, I substituted apricot preserves instead of strawberry jam. I had a bottle of apricot preserves lying in the refrigerator for months without anyone touching it and finally found a delicious way to use it. This recipe yields crispy, subtly sweet cookies.

Ingredients: (Yield about 20 - 22)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup vanilla custard powder (I replaced some with flour.)
1/4 cup cornstarch / corn flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup butter (I used about 5-6 Tbsp)
3 Tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
* Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
* Add the flours and mix well. Stir in the yogurt and form a smooth dough.
* Roll out the dough, into about 5 mm thickness. Cut them into desired shapes using a mould and make an impression in the centre to fill in the jam. (I used a round cookie cutter and made the impression in the center using a small bottle cap. If you don't have the mould, use your thumb to make the impression.)

* Place them on a greased baking tray. Fill the impressions with the jam. Bake for about 15 minutes or until done.

After baking

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Chewy Granola Bars

These granola bars, inspired from here are easy to put together, taste delicious and can be versatile depending upon the ingredients you have on hand. Great for snacking or breakfast.

Ingredients:
1 & 2/3 cup quick rolled oats
1/3 cup oat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 - 3 cups mixed nuts and dry fruits (I used almonds, dates, raisins, walnuts, coconut flakes and sesame seeds.)
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
1/4 cup melted butter / vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp of water if needed

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.
* Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
* In a separate bowl, whisk together all the liquid ingredients.
* Mix together the dry and wet ingredients until the mixture is evenly crumbly.
* Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, patting down gently with the fingers.
* Bake the bars for 20 - 25 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges.
* Remove them from the oven and slice them into bars when they are still slightly warm. Separate them when they completely cool down.

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Eggless Orange - Nut Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups self rising flour

1/4 cup superfine sugar (can be increased up to 1/2 cup)

2/3 cup olive oil / butter / margarine

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup orange juice (I used 1/2 cup)

1 cup mixed dry fruits / nuts

Method:

* Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 7 inch cake pan.

* Combine the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk and the orange juice. Stir the mixture, beating in the flour and sugar.

* Pour in the butter and stir so that all the ingredients are mixed well.

* Stir the mixed dry fruit - nuts into the mixture. Pour this batter into the prepared pan.

* Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes, until cake is golden and firm to touch. Cool and slice the cake.

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Mexican Wedding Cookies

On the third day of BM#14, here are delicious Mexican wedding cookies which also go by the names butterballs or Russian tea cakes. According to Wiki, these appeared as tea cakes in Russia in the 18th century. By 20th century they were part of wedding and christmas traditions in  U.S.
The preparation is quite simple and cookies are usually made with almonds, flour and butter. The baked cookies are then rolled in powdered sugar. Although I still prefer these melt in mouth kind almond moon cookies, these wedding cookies are also good in their own way.  

Recipe Source: Here

Ingredients: (Yield 20 cookies)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
6 Tbsp almond flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
for coating:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 325 deg F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
* Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
* Beat in the almond flour and all purpose flour.
* Scoop tablespoon sized pieces of dough and roll them into balls. Place these balls on the greased baking sheet leaving space between them.
* Bake them for 15 - 20 minutes, until they feel set on top. They firm up after cooling and so don't be tempted to wait for the cookies to firm up while baking. If done so, the cookies would turn hard after cooling.
* In the meanwhile, put the 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl. Remove the cookies from the oven and roll them in the sugar to coat and allow them to cool. Store them in an airtight container.
The recipe mentioned to roll them again in the sugar after they are let cool which I didn't do.

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Eggless Apple Muffins

I have tried this muffin recipe from King Arthur flour website a couple of times before. However I was contemplating whether to go with them during BM#14 as my version don't look like the typical sort of muffins. I don't know whether because of my choice of egg substitutes or for some other reason, the muffin tops don't raise as much as the other muffins I bake. The taste and texture of the muffin however is very perfect and so, here is the recipe. Maybe next time I will try baking it as a loaf.

Ingredients: (Yield about 8-10 medium sized muffins)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

3/4 cup yogurt

1 apple - peeled, cored and grated

1/4 cup walnut / pecan pieces

Method:

* Preheat the oven to 375 deg F / 200 deg C. Grease the muffin tray or line with paper cups.

* Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and walnuts in a mixing bowl.

* Beat butter and sugar until fluffy in another bowl. Add the yogurt and mix well. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple.

* Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling up to 3/4th of each cup

* Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

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