Nothing’s more inviting than the aroma of just-baked homemade goodies…

For these holidays, if you are looking for something different to bake other than the usual cookies, then you have landed on the right blog post. I am sure you must have tasted or at least heard of chocolate whoopie pies and pumpkin whoopie pies. Now let’s think totally out of the box and make whoopie pies with a totally different ingredient other than chocolate and pumpkin. How about we make whoopie pies with fresh ripe mangoes, doesn’t this sound interesting? Even I felt quite interesting when this idea struck me after a few days of thinking and searching for creative and different recipes using fresh mangoes.

The National Mango Board is running a contest in Foodie Blogroll and has challenged the foodies to post an original recipe using fresh mangoes. As soon as I saw this contest, I wanted to participate in this contest, as mango is one of my favorite fruits and I grew up eating lots of mangoes. Hence, I challenged myself and thought of the different ways of making some original recipe out of fresh mangoes. Since it’s Christmas season, I wanted to make something sweet and creamy. I suddenly felt whoopie pies would be a good one to have and I added fresh mango pulp while making the batter. I’ve never tried baking whoopie pies at home and so I was really excited to make this for the first time in my kitchen with mangoes. With all confidence I baked the mango cakes and was totally blown away when the mango cakes actually came out pretty good from the oven. Then I made the creamy frosting and generously smeared it between the mango cakes.

The mango cake was really soft and velvety; the rich frosting gave an extra creamy kick to the whoopie pies.

Mango pulp: Blend slices of ripe mango with little water to make thick mango pulp.

Mango Whoopie Pies:

For making Mango mini cakes:

Ingredients:

• Fresh mango pulp or canned Mango Pulp- 1 cup
• Butter, unsalted, melted- 1 stick, 6 ounces
• Light brown sugar-1 cup
• Eggs, large at room temperature, lightly beaten-2
• Ground cinnamon- 1/4 tsp
• Baking powder-1 tsp
• Baking soda-1tsp
• Pure vanilla extract -1 tsp
• Salt- 3/4 tsp
• All purpose flour-1 2/3 cups

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 35o F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar.
• Whisk in the eggs, mango pulp, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Fold in the flour into the above batter.

• Drop 12 moulds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each cookie sheet.

• Bake until sparingly to the touch, about 10 minutes.

• Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

For making Frosting:

• Cream cheese, chilled-4 ounces
• Confectioners’ sugar-1cup
• Butter, softened-1/2 stick
• Vanilla extract-1/2 tsp

Preparation:

• Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese.
• Mix in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract on low speed.
• Then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Making the whoopie pies:

• Spread the flat side of one mango cake with the cream cheese frosting and top with another mango cake. Repeat this with other mango cakes.

Tips:

You could make pumpkin whoopie pies, by substituting pumpkin puree for mango pulp.

Gift your dear ones with these homemade Chocolate cookies topped with not one but two goodies: marshmallows and chocolate frosting, for this Christmas…

If you are still looking for a cookie recipe to make for this Christmas, you can now stop looking, get into your kitchen, and start baking these phenomenal chocolate cookies topped with marshmallows and chocolate frosting. From kids to adults, are going to go wild for this cookie.

Today, I attended the cookie meet up group and met some incredible foodies who are passionate about food and cooking. As cookie was the theme for the meet up, I had to search for some fun cookie recipes online and within seconds I bumped into many, after browsing through few recipes I settled down on these eye-popping cookies. I picked these cookies as these are topped with extra goodies: marshmallows and chocolate frosting. As soon as I came across this recipe in Martha Stewart website, I couldn’t wait any longer to make this. It was last night that I baked these and got wildly excited when it came out good. It was soft and velvety inside with a bold look outside, marshmallow made it even more delish and the chocolate frosting made it insanely yummy.

Chocolate Marshmallow cookies:

Yield: 2 dozens

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour-1 3/4 cups
• Cocoa powder- 3/4 cup
• Baking soda- 1/2 tsp
• Salt-1/2 tsp
• Butter, unsalted, softened-1/2 cup (1 stick)
• Sugar-1 cup
• Egg, large-1
• Milk-1/2 cup
• Pure vanilla extract- 1 tsp
• 12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
• Chocolate frosting- 1 cup, recipe follows

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; keep aside.

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.

• Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.

• Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

• Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered.

Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:

• Confectioners’ sugar- 2 cups
• Butter, melted and cooled- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
• Cocoa powder-1/4 cup
• Milk-1/4 cup
• Pure vanilla extract- 1/2tsp

Preparation:

• Place confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl.
• Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.

Tips:

• If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use hand mixer instead.
• If you are not fond of marshmallows, avoid that and top the cookie with just the chocolate frosting.
• The cookie tastes incredible with the chocolate frosting, so make sure to make this.

It’s munch time..

If there’s anyone who hates to munch, then they should try this crunchy, chewy biscotti filled with almonds, coconut and chocolates. Every bite makes you trip into the the delish world.This was the first time I baked biscotti, as soon as I got the recipe, one glance at the recipe and the ingredients it had, made me wait for not even a single second and there I started baking this. I love almonds and coconut in almost anything, oh yeah not to miss the chocolate goodness. You could make this just for you or if you are having a tea party this would be the perfect biscotti to have with coffee or tea. This will soon become the favorite snack of your family. This recipe is adapted from the magazine”Fine Cooking”.

So let’s trip into the delish world with these biscotti…

Ingredients:

• Unbleached All-purpose flour-2 1/2 cups
• Baking powder-1 1/2 tsp
• Table salt-1/4 tsp
• Unsalted butter, softened-1/2 cup(4 oz)
• Firmly packed light brown sugar-3/4 cup
• Eggs( at room temperature)-2
• Vanilla extract-1 tsp
• Sweetened shredded coconut-1/2 cup
• Chopped toasted almonds-1cup
• Semisweet mini chocolate chips or chocolate bar, cut into small slices-1 cup

Preparation:

• In  a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3  minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed after each addition until incorporated.
• Mix in the vanilla and then the coconut until well combined.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. The dough will be sticky.
• With the mixer still on low, mix in the almonds and chocolates chips.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment.
• Divide the dough into equal halves and place on the cookie sheet.
• Working on the sheet, shape each half into a loaf about 10 inches long, 3 inches wide, 3/4inch high.

• Bake until the tops are browned, cracked and crusty and spring back slightly when gently pressed, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Take out of the oven and cool about 30 minutes on the cookie sheet.

• Reduce the oven temperature to 325F.
• Transfer each loaf to a cutting board and with a sharp serrated bread knife, cut 1/2 inch slices crosswise on the diagonal.
• When slicing, hold the sides of the loaf near each cut to keep the slices neat.

• Put the slices cut side down on the cookie sheet and bake again at 325F, until the biscotti are dried and the cut surfaces are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let the biscotti cool completely.

• The biscotti will harden as they cool.

Tips:

This recipe yields about 20 biscotti, store in an air tight container and it will stay longer.

Mmmmmmmmmmm….this is the sound I make after every bite of this heavenly dessert…

It took me a while to get introduced to this dessert, after I found this we became inseparable. I have tasted this dessert in many restaurants, and I love CPK’s ( California Pizza Kitchen) the best so far. I often go there just to have a bite of this dessert. Every time I have this dessert I do one thing unintentionally, “the mmmmmmm sound”, as if I am having heaven in my mouth. Not as if, it is truly like having heaven in my mouth. The way it just melts into my mouth is phenomenal. While  I devour each spoonful of this dessert, I forget what is happening around me for a while. I will be in a creamy fantasy world. I also make sure to clean up the plate in such a way that it needs no further cleaning. Every time I have this dessert, I get the urge to forget the table manners, I can’t resist licking the plate to have anything that is left on the plate. Now, what is wrong in licking my own plate? I paid for it and I have the right to do, this is what I say to myself just to get away from any self embarrassment. Trust me, it is worth doing this when it comes to tiramisu.

I thought, if I love this dessert so much, what is stopping me from trying in my own kitchen. I had bumped into many sites which gives the recipe for this. But, I was looking for more of a quick and easy recipe for making this and luckily I came across such a recipe few days ago.

TIRAMISU literally means pick-me-up in Italian. The classic tiramisu was made with Italian cream cheese or Mascarpone (made from milk derived from cows fed a special diet of grass and herbs), egg white and egg yolk all whipped together with some sugar and cocoa powder thrown in. This mixture was alternately layered with Savoiardi or ladyfinger biscuits (dry sponge cakes shaped like fingers), dipped in espresso. It was let to stand in a freezer for a few hours while the biscuit, or biscotti as the Italians pronounce it, soaked in all the cream cheese and espresso. At times liqueur was also used instead or along with the espresso.

I made my tiramisu egg less and non-alcoholic, it was so quick and easy that the preparation time was less than 15 minutes. But it needed to be put in the refrigerator for few hours before I could devour it. I was very skeptical whether it would taste anything near to CPK’s, and to my surprise it did taste like that, I was so relieved and felt like a winner. Gracefully I took a bite of the tiramisu that I made and guess what came next, “the mmmmmm sound” obviously.

Ingredients: for 1 layer of tiramisu

• 1 box ladyfinger cookie- 20 cookies
• 2 oz bar of semi-sweet dark chocolate( finely shaved with grater or veggie peeler)- I used Ghirardelli
• 8 oz heavy whipping cream
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup warm espresso or dark coffee- you could make dark coffee by adding 4-5 tsp of instant coffee in 1/4 cup warm water.
• 8″*8″ casserole dish

Preparation:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat mascarpone cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed.
2. Slowly add heavy whipping cream, then sprinkle 4tbsp sugar into the mix.
3. Turn mixer speed to high and beat until fluffy and smooth. Set aside.
4. Warning: Don’t whip the cream and cheese mix for too long, it will convert into butter. When the mix becomes fluffy and smooth, stop the whipping process.
5. Arrange ladyfingers as bottom layer in the casserole dish. You could break the ladyfingers into appropriate lengths to make it as a bed.
6. In a small bowl combine espresso or dark coffee and 1 tbsp of sugar and stir it.
7. Drizzle this mix over the ladyfinger cookies.
8. Warning: Don’t over soak the cookies.
9. Spread the whipped cheese and cream mixture evenly over the espresso soaked ladyfingers.
10. Sprinkle grated chocolate over the top and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
11. While serving,  cut a large slice of tiramisu and garnish with extra lady fingers and grated chocolate.
12. Next comes “the mmmmm sound”

Tips:

• You could find Ladyfinger cookies in Whole foods, if you can’t find it, you could use pound cake or sponge cake, but make sure to not to over soak with espresso or dark coffee.
• This recipe is for making 1 layer of tiramisu, you could repeat the process and make as many layers as you want. Increase the amount of the ingredients respectively.
• Pregnant ladies, if you are craving for one, you could try this recipe, this is egg less and non-alcoholic.

I have been making a lot of fried snacks lately, and I really wanted to take a break from all the fried goodness. While thinking of baked snacks, I thought of the cookie one of my friends had given me. Even now I remember how my taste buds went crazy after taking the first bite of that cookie. With each bite, I tried to find out what all it had which gave it that mesmerizing taste. I could taste the oatmeal, raisins and walnuts in it. Also, the caramelized taste it had made it melt into my mouth. I couldn’t wait any longer to bake it in my own oven, so the very next day I called my friend and made her reveal the secret of that cookie. I was surprised to know from her that it was one of the easiest cookies to make, now this cookie totally agrees with my criteria of being quick and easy. I love to make things quick and without spending much time in the kitchen. All the ingredients to make this cookie were there in my pantry and so right after hanging up the phone, with so much excitement I started to make this. This cookie totally falls into the healthy category, as it has oatmeal and has zero eggs in it. So health freaks no need to have any second thoughts.  One more thing I should add, while baking this cookie, the caramelized aroma spreads all over the house and I took many deep breaths in to fully enjoy this flavor. So preheat your oven to 350F and get ready to bake, in just 15 minutes, you could also indulge in this cookie.

Ingredients: For making 12 cookies:

Dry Ingredients:

• Instant Oatmeal- 1 1/2 cups( I used Quaker instant oats)
• All purpose flour-1/2 cup
• Baking powder-1/2 tsp
• Vanilla extract-1tsp
• Raisins-1/4 cup
• Walnuts chopped-1/4 cups

Wet Ingredients:

• White sugar-1/2 cup
• Brown sugar-1/2 cup
• Butter( slightly melted)-1stick, 8tbsp

Preparation:

• In a large bowl, mix the Oats, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, raisins and walnuts.
• Now mix the sugars and butter together with a whisk.
• Add the sugar/butter mix in to the dry ingredients and mix everything together until you could make rounds out of it.
• If you cant make solid rounds, add more butter until it could be made into balls.
• Make medium sized rounds out of it and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F and bake it for 15 minutes.

After taking from the oven, allow it to cool for sometime, as the cookie hardens when it cools down.

Voila, now you can indulge in this cookie, have as many cookies as you wish. With this recipe you can make 12 cookies. You could double the amount of the ingredients to make more.