Chocolate Dulce De Leche Cookies

It's been a long time since I last made cookies.

 

Back when I was at school, there was a certain brand of freshly baked cookies which had its stall in the middle of a shopping mall near my school. I had to walk through this mall to get to the tube station where I took the train home, and without fail I had to stop and buy a cookie or two for my trip home on most days. I ended up buying cookies so regularly from them that eventually the stall seller gave me a discount card which was only meant for employees. You can bet I was the envy of all my friends!

 

So now you know how much I love cookies.

 

I had a small jar of dulce de leche already which needed to be used up when I saw this recipe. It makes perfectly crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside cookies, and I love the addition of the dulce de leche. Plus they are chocolatey in the best way.

 

 

The pictures pretty much speak for themselves. I have nothing much left to say except make these because you can't go wrong!

 

In the meantime Eid is only about ten days away now, and I'm planning on making some more chocolate goodness which I  can't wait to share!
 

Chocolate Dulce De Leche Cookies

 

Recipe adapted from Call Me Cupcake

 

Makes about 20 cookies

 

55g butter

150g brown sugar

25g cocoa powder

50g dark and white chocolate chips

1 large egg

1/4 tspn salt

1/4 tspn baking powder

130g all-purpose flour

1/3 cup dulce de leche

White chocolate chips to decorate

 

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Melt the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips in a saucepan. Take off the heat and stir in the egg and salt. Mix the flour with the baking powder in a bowl, and then add to the saucepan mixture. Stir until well combined. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Remove and roll small amounts of dough into balls, then using your finger press to make a well in the middle of each ball. Fill the hole with dulce de leche and flatten a small piece of dough on top to cover. Seal the edges well. Decorate with white chocolate chips. Leave a little space between the cookies to let them spread, and bake between 10-15 minutes.

This recipe has been entered into the Safest Choice Eggs recipe contest hosted on Bakeaholic Mama and Buns In My Oven.

Rosewater Panna Cotta

What is Ramadan without a dessert or two to enjoy after iftar?
 

For those of you who don't know, it is the Islamic month of Ramadan at the moment, and for one month Muslims all over the world fast (abstain from any food or drink) from dawn till sunset. As much as I love dessert, the problem I often have while fasting is that with such a limited time-frame to enjoy real food in the evening, I prefer to eat as little sugar as possible. Traditional Ramadan sweets tend to be rich, so I find those served in small portions can be enjoyed and still satisfy your sugar cravings. So this rosewater panna cotta is one of those desserts which is perfect for after iftar (the meal we break our fasts with).

 

Italian in origin, panna cotta is essentially a 'cooked cream', to which different fruits and flavours can be paired. Add rose water, and you have an easily adaptable Middle Eastern/Indian influenced version. It is an incredibly simple dessert, which comes together so quickly and easily, and yet looks like you've spent time and effort making it. All it requires is mixing together the ingredients, and then pouring into serving dishes to refrigerate.

 

Creamy and smooth, the hint of rose in this is delicate on the tongue. Its a lovely cool dessert to enjoy during these warm months, and perfectly apt to serve if you have guests around for iftar.

Just top with rose petals, or even fruit for an elegant touch!

 

Rosewater Panna Cotta

Taken from Indian Simmer

 

Makes 3-4 servings

 

1 cup heavy cream

2 tblspn sugar

1 tspn unflavored gelatin

1 tblspn cold water

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

3 tspn rosewater

Few drops pink food coloring

 

Simmer together the cream and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar has melted. In a bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water to soften. Add the cream and sugar mixture to the bowl, and stir together. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until smooth. Strain the mixture and pour into individual serving glasses or ramekins. Chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours until set. Serve as is, or if preferred, dip the glasses in warm water for a few seconds to soften, then run a sharp knife around the edge of the panna cotta to loosen. Gently turn upside down onto a serving plate to remove the panna cotta. Decorate with rose petals or pair with fruit such as berries.

Stylish Burger Cake (Husband's Birthday!)

 

My husband is a huge lover of burgers in all their forms - chicken, beef, double, supreme, fast food, gourmet - you name it!  So when I saw the link for this burger cake I knew it was the perfect birthday cake to make for him.

 

 

This is one of the easiest burger cakes to make, as its not like other tutorials where you have to cover the cake in fondant to get the burger 'look'. I followed the link at Craftsy exactly. Simply bake three cake layers - two vanilla for the burger buns, and one chocolate for the beef layer. Mix together four different frosting colours to achieve your mayo, ketchup, lettuce and mustard, and pipe them onto your cake using four different tips. For a cute final touch, make a couple of fries and soda drink toppers to go on top.

 

I had a few mishaps with the frosting, as once I had piped the different layers I had parts of frosting fall off due to the heaviness, so make sure to pipe your layers much more closer to the centre of  the cake itself to avoid this from happening. Still I love how my cake turned out, and I'm even more pleased that my husband loved it!

 

 

Ramadan, the holy fasting month for Muslims all over the world, is starting tomorrow, so my posts may be a little slow. In the meantime, a Happy Ramadan to all those who will be fasting and I hope to have a special post for Eid day!

 

 

Burger cake tutorial taken from Craftsy