MADRAS MASALA COOKIE

Something spicy and familiar, after the wacky cookie and pink cupcakes.Something that has an India connect.

A cookie, like the masala cookie that I used to buy from Leeja Bakery, Trivandrum, seemed perfect. This definitely had to be the true Indian cookie with Indian spices, green chilly and ajjwain(carrom seeds). 
Abhinav was looking almost cross at the idea. " I can't eat spice". He could see that I wanted to make these and soon changed his statement. "This cookie will be the cookie for diabetic folks like ammama and appapa. With lots of spice and no sugar at all! I'll roll and cut, OK?"
I wanted them to be basic round cookies like I would buy from the local bakery.
What are we calling it?
I felt 'Madras Masala' has a nice ring to it.

This is simple to make and a great one for tea time.

MADRAS MASALA COOKIE

Makes 20 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter 

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of ginger paste 

4 chopped green chilies ( or more)

1/4 cup yogurt

Curry leaves chopped ( anything from 5 to ten curry leaves... if you like them )

1/4 cup of Carrom seeds / Ajjwain (or less.They lend a distinct flavor and also make the cookies look beautiful)

A pinch of salt

All generally refrigerated ingredients to be brought to room temperature before you begin.

DIRECTIONS:

Mix /beat all ingredients together with a spoon or using a beater( paddle attachment for making dough)

Roll out and cut into 1/4" thick rounds.

Bake at 180° c for 15 mins.

Take them out as they begin to brown.

They stay fresh upto a week, but they are at their flaky,buttery best on the day they are baked. 

BLUEBERRY CUPCAKE

We had never made cupcakes ever, and we call ourself bakers.Ha!
What sort of a baker hasn't made cupcakes.
This weekend we decided to end this apprehensiveness towards making cupcakes.

I pulled out a regular cake recipe and decided to give it a shot. But whats the story? What our justification for making cake and messing up the kitchen?
Grandma won't spare us.

Abhinav looked at the Bugs Bunny toy we got from McDonalds and said," this guy is new ... let it be cupcakes for his first birthday." I sketched out 2 cupcake designs that Bugsy might like- carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a grey toned cake with fresh cream frosting topped with a slice of boiled carrot.

BUGS BUNNY AND THE CUPCAKE DESIGN FOR HIM

All of a sudden .. the winds changed. Abhinav comes with a letter of objection saying that Bugs Bunny was the new toy that my dad bought me from Mcdee's and that we can only celebrate his toy's birthday. 

Who cares!! I just need to make cupcakes. Best to go with Abhinav's plan. Grandma too will allow if Abhinav needs to bake. Its settled. It will be a pink coloured blueberry jam cupcake for Mitu, his favourite stuffed toy, who is also pink.

FINALIZED CUPCAKE DESIGN FOR MITU'S BIRTHDAY

Why did I ever think this was difficult? Just mix all things together and fill into cupcake cups or liners.
These bake in ten to fifteen minutes. Just mix the frosting and pipe it out on top of cute cuppies!

SO EASY THIS LITTLE CHAP CAN TO IT!

BATTER ALL MIXED AND READY TO GO INTO THE OVEN

DONE AND PRETTY PINK

FROSTED AND READY

READY TO CELEBRATE 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING DOLLY!

DIGGING IN!

BLUEBERRY CUPCAKE

Makes 12 Medium cupcakes

FOR THE CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter 

1/2 cup Sugar

2 eggs

1 pinch of Pink Paste color 

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup buttermilk/ yogurt

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

All generally refrigerated ingredients to be brought to room temperature before you begin.

DIRECTIONS:

Mix /beat all ingredients together one by one in the order listed above.

Pour into cupcakes cups till each are half full.

Bake at 180° c for 15 mins.

Insert a toothpick in any one cupcake and if it comes out clean, your cupcakes are done.

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup softened butter 

1/2 cup cream cheese

1/4 cup blueberry jam

1 1/2 cups or more icing sugar( add 1 tsp of cornflour to 1 cup regular powdered sugar if you want to make icing sugar at home)

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cold milk

DIRECTIONS:

Beat all ingredients together till stiff peaks form.

Fill into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle (the large the nozzle the more dramatic the icing will look)

Pipe out on top of the cupcakes.

Tips : Perfecting the frosting technique is everything when it comes to cupcake beauty. We plan to work on it ... learning to frost on paper ( instead of on cake) till we get it right and can do it beautifully and effortlessly the next time around. The nozzle you work with for frosting too can make all the difference. Bigger the nozzle the better, to achieve flouncy frosting.

I work with paste colour usually as its the easiest thing. If you are allergic to food colouring or don't like the idea of it you can try out boiled beetroot juice, in this case, for the pink.