Vegan Hobnobs Style Biscuits

My first attempt at homemade Hobnobs. They turned out reaaaaally yummy and crunchy, though not exactly like the packaged ones.

I did quite a bit of research online to find a recipe to work off of. Among them all, the one from Wendy Finn was the most appealing to me because she's simplified it beautifully.

I modified that recipe considerably to incorporate ingredients that are more accessible in India. I also switched the measurements from weight to volume because I know a lot of casual bakers here don't own food weighing equipment. And of course, in my usual lazy style, I had to make it even easier to make and clean up after. Haha

Commercial Hobnobs are often vegan too, but these are slightly healthier. Only because they don’t contain unpronounceable/numbered/chemically ingredients. There’s plenty of sugar and oil in there though. 😛

I fully intend to develop a much healthier version of these biscuits at some point. But for now, here’s the recipe if you’d like to try your hand at them.

Dry Ingredients
1 C Rolled Oats (I used the gluten free rolled oats from Jus'Amazin*)
1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour (use the slightly rough kind)
1/2 C Maida
Little more than 1/2 C Powdered Sugar (brown and white mixed)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

Wet Ingredients
Little more than 1/2 C Coconut Oil
1 T Maple Syrup
1 T Plant Based Mylk (a little more if needed)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F

• Whisk together dry ingredients 
• Add coconut oil and rub it in until the mixture is crumbly
• Mix in the maple syrup and mylk and form into a soft dough 
• Shape into balls, lightly flatten and place in a baking tray 
• Leave a decent amount of gap because these babies expand big time 
• Bake for 15-18 mins until golden 
• Cool completely and enjoy {crunch} 😁
  

*Use my code “VEGANOSAURUS10” during checkout on Jus’Amazin if you plan to order the rolled oats from them. They have many other absolutely delicious products too. When you use my code, you get 10% off on every order you place. This is above the already discounted prices on the website. And they offer free pan India shipping.

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Tiramisu Ice Cream - Vegan MoFo 2014 Day 6

It's the last day of Vegan MoFo. I can't believe I'm sharing recipe number six! I'm not sure if I should be surprised that I created only 6 ice creams or that I even managed to create that many at all. Ha!

I made this Tiramisu Ice Cream at Carrots a few weeks ago and it was quite a hit among everyone who tried it out. I've used our famous Almond Jowar cookies in the recipe. At the end of the post, I've shared a video of Ram and me making the cookies. They're really easy to make and super yum!

You're welcome to switch the cookies out with your favourite vegan cookies or biscuits too.

Tiramisu Ice Cream

100 g Cashews
80 g Sugar
500 g Water
500 g Strong Black Coffee
100 g Vegan Whipped Cream
6 Almond Jowar Cookies (recipe video follows)

For the garnish:
Almond Jowar Cookies
Melted Dark Chocolate mixed with a splash of Soy Mylk

- Grind the cashews into a fine powder
- Add the sugar and coffee and blend to a creamy consistency
- Pour in the water and blend well
- Add the vegan whipped cream and blend until it's incorporated

- Pour into an airtight container and freeze for 8-10 hours
- Transfer to mixer jar and blend the frozen mixture once again
- Stir in crumbled cookies and re-freeze for 8-10 hours

- Scoop onto a plate and top with melted dark chocolate
- Crumble a cookie over the ice cream
- Serve and enjoy! :)

Here's the recipe for our Almond Jowar Cookies:

ENJOY! :)

Pan Baked Hazelnut Mocha Crunch Cookies aka Tava Biskut and Vegan MoFo 2014

Howdie howdie howdie! Hope all you awesome people are doing great!!! :)

I miss you all and I've been wanting to blog for a long time now. But as I've mentioned in my previous posts, I've been super duper busy ever since I became the Countess of Cuisine and Jollification at Carrots - the bestest, wonderfulest place to work ever!

I did something a few weeks ago in one moment of sheer madness...I signed up for Vegan MoFo!!! *gasp* Now as September is around the bend (tomorrow, to be precise), I'm beginning to freak out just a teeny tiny bit. I should probably be freaking out a lot more, but I think I'm still in denial. :P

What's more, I signed up for a theme. A verrrrry specific theme (thanks to hubby's bright idea *grumble grumble*)...Ice Creams! And guess how many new ice cream recipes I have ready and under my belt? Exactly ONE! *gaaaah*

So my master plan is keep making new ice creams and other frozen desserts on an almost daily basis. I'll make many of these at home yes, but also plenty at the restaurant, because that's where I have all my minions to help out. :D

Bangalore peeps, whenever you visit Carrots, remember to ask about the "special edition ice cream made by Susmitha". If you're lucky, some of the recipes you see on the blog here through September might just be available on the menu the day you visit. :)

Now on to today's recipe - Pan Baked Hazelnut Mocha Crunch Cookies, which I lovingly refer to as Tava Biskut. :D



These cookies can be baked in an oven at 200C/400F for 20 minutes, but they're special because they can be quickly made on a pan too. :)

Hazelnut Mocha Crunch Cookies

140 g / 1 C Hazelnuts
110 g / 1 C Quick Cooking Oats
5 g / 1/2 t Salt
140 g / 1/2 C Sugar
2 g / 1 t Instant Coffee Powder
10 g / 2 T Cocoa Powder
5 g / 1 T Flax Seed Powder
3 T Water

- Grind hazelnuts to a buttery consistency in a dry grinder jar and transfer to a mixing bowl
- Grind oats to a coarse meal and add to hazelnut butter
- Mix in the remaining ingredients with your hands
- Shape into flat cookies
- Cook on a pan on medium heat for a few minutes, press gently with a flat spoon
- Flip and cook the other side while gently pressing down again
- Cool on a rack
- Store in an airtight box
- Enjoy! :)

Vegan Baking Demo at Carrots on Saturday, 20th July 2013

About ten days ago, I had a vegan baking demo at Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen and Store. I've mentioned Carrots, the first vegan restaurant in Bangalore, in my blog posts many times this year.



A few weeks ago, Krishna, the co-founder of Carrots, invited me to teach baking/cooking classes to his staff. Many people who follow my blog and facebook page have asked me to conduct vegan baking classes, so I figured that since I was going to teach some recipes to Chef Ram (Carrots' new Bakery Chef), we could extend that into an interesting demo event. We decided on a Monsoon Afternoon Chai and Baked Goodies theme.

About 11 people signed up to attend the event but we had a bunch of walk-ins and ended up with a total of 15 participants. A couple of them were my good friends who attended to support me but most others were people I met for the first time. I was very happy that I got to meet and speak with all these new, interesting people. It was also nice to hear that some of them have been following my blog and trying out the recipes here for a while now. :)

The event went well for the most part and despite certain imperfections, many participants said that they enjoyed the demo and would be trying out the recipes at home once I posted them here.

My darling hubby, Milesh, patiently recorded the demo. It has taken me some time to edit the videos. I wanted to do this last week but I was travelling. As soon as I got back this week, I started working on the videos so I could share them here along with the recipes. I've divided them into multiple parts for the purpose of organisation.

I apologize in advance for the annoying background noises in the videos. The screaming toddler, creaking buffet vessels, clanking cutlery, the buzz of customers and staff talking in the background - we hadn't anticipated any of these disturbances. The expectation was that the buffet would be closed and the crowd cleared out by 3:30 or so, leaving us with a fairly silent space to do the demo. The participants themselves were watching the demo with rapt attention and were NOT the ones responsible for the ruckus. :p

Now without further ado, let's move on to the recipes you've all been waiting for.

--

Basic Vegan Chocolate Cake



Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour or Maida
3 T Good Quality Cocoa
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder (or 1/2 tsp Baking Powder and 1/2 tsp Baking Soda)

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 to 1 C White or Brown Sugar
5 T Coconut or Olive Oil
1 T White or Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Coffee Powder - or Vanilla/Orange/Almond/Mint Extracts
1 C Cool or Cold Water

* Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
* Lightly grease an 8 or 9 inch, round or square cake pan (no greasing required if using a non-stick pan).

* Sieve the dry ingredients together a few times.
* Whisk all the wet ingredients (except oil) together until at least half the sugar has dissolved.
* Add the oil and whisk some more.

* To make the cake batter, pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and quickly mix until there are no large lumps.
* Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and immediately pop it into the preheated oven.
* Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a few cracks have formed on the cake's surface.
* Cool completely in the pan.
* Slice and Serve.
* Enjoy! :)

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Whole Wheat Buns



For the yeast proofing:
1/2 C Warm Water
2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 T Sugar

Dry ingredients for the dough:
3-4 C Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 C Sugar - can be less
2 tsp Salt
2 T Flax Seed Powder

Wet ingredients for the dough:
1 C Vegan Mylk or Water
3 T Coconut Oil or Olive Oil

* Add 2 T sugar and yeast to 1/2 C warm water.
* Stir and keep aside for 10-15 minutes, until the yeast has dissolved and is frothing a bit.

* Mix 3 C of the whole wheat flour with the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl.
* Add the oil and mix.
* Add the yeast mixture and 1 C vegan mylk or water and whisk.

* Gradually add whole wheat flour and mix until the dough comes together into a rough ball.
* Transfer to a floured surface and knead very well until you get a soft, elastic ball of dough.
* Pour some oil in the large mixing bowl, place the ball of dough in it and twirl to coat with oil.
* Cover and allow to rise in a warm spot for 2 hours, until doubled in volume.

* Press down on the risen dough and shape into buns.
* Optionally stuff the buns with your favourite vegetable mixture (a potato palya filling tastes yum).
* Place the buns on a tray, cover and keep aside for 1 hour, until the buns have risen well.

* Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F.
* Bake the buns for about 40 minutes.
* Cool in the tray for 10 minutes.
* Transfer to cooling rack and cool well.
* Enjoy! :)

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Quick and Easy, Gluten Free Almond Coconut Cookies



1 C Almond-Sesame Flour (grind almonds and sesame seeds in a ratio of 3:1 to get this flour)
1 C Desiccated Coconut Powder
1/2 C Bajra (Pearl Millet) Flour
1/2 C Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
Water

* Preheat oven to 250°C / 480°F.
* Lightly grease a baking tray or line it with aluminium foil.

* Mix all the dry ingredients.
* Add a little water at a time to form a stiff dough.
* Pinch off small balls of the dough and flatten into 1 1/2 inch cookies that are about 1/4 inch thick.

* Bake for 10 minutes.
* Allow to cool slightly and transfer to wire rack.
* You can have it warm or at room temperature.
* Enjoy! :)

--

Vegan Mylk and Masala Chai



For the Nut and Seed Mylk:
1/4 C Cashews
1/4 C Sesame Seeds
1/4 C Flax Seeds
Water

* Grind the nuts and seeds together into a fine powder.
* Add a little water at a time and blend to get a smooth, creamy paste.
* Add more water and blend until you reach the desired consistency.

For the Masala Chai:
3/4 C Water
3 Cloves
1 Cardamom Pod
1/2 inch Cinnamon Stick
1/2 inch Fresh Ginger - crushed
5 Black Pepper Corns - crushed
1/2 to 1 tsp Sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp Tea Powder
1/2 to 3/4 C Nut and Seed Mylk (should not be too thick)

* Boil the spices in the water for a couple of minutes.
* Add sugar at this point and boil.
* Add the tea powder and boil for a few seconds.
* Reduce the heat to low, quickly pour in the mylk and stir.
* Bring to a short boil and turn off the heat.
* Strain and serve hot.
* Enjoy! :)

--

If you attended the demo, I'd love to hear your thoughts about how you liked it and how we can make future events a better experience for you.

Thanks for reading and watching all the videos. When you try out the recipes, do leave a comment here letting me know how you like them. :)

Pepita Oatmeal Raisin Raisin Cookie Bars - guest post by Somer of Vedgedout

This month's guest post is from my friend Somer of Vedgedout. She has shared the recipe for a delicious Valentine's themed treat. It looks super yummy and easy to make so I'll be giving this recipe a try very soon.



We had a vegan food swap recently and a few days ago, I received a package filled with all kinds of delicious vegan goodies from Somer. So the timing for this post is perfect because I wanted to share a photo of my stash with all of you.



There's Chia Peanut Butter (I'm saving this so haven't opened the jar yet), Hazelnut Chocolate Butter (orgasmic!), Probiotic 'Cheesy' Almonds (yummers!), Textured Soy Protein Curls (nom!), Wild Orange Essential Oil (*deep, content sigh*), a bar of Handmade Soap (smells amazing!), the Winter 2012-13 issue of Vegan Health and Fitness Magazine...

...and the best one of all, Cocoa Grounds which can be *brewed* like coffee!!! :O

Thanks to Somer, hubby and I have been starting our mornings with this awesomeness!



Thank you so so so much Somer for spoiling me with all these goodies. *Super Hugs* You are awesome and I'm going to rig all future vegan swaps to have you as my partner. :oP

Before we move on to Somer's post today, you should read her remarkable Vegan Journey. I also urge you to check out the fantastic Green Smoothie Challenge which she has designed after putting in a lot of time and effort. Even if you don't follow the challenge completely, all the delicious recipes in it will surely inspire you to eat at least a few super healthy meals.

And now, without further ado, on to Somer's post. :)

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Sweets for the Sweet

Hey, I'm Somer from Vedged Out. I'm totally excited to be guest posting here at Veganosaurus. Especially so close to Valentines Day! Thanks Susmitha for inviting me! :)

My husband isn't really into desserts, cookies or cakes. So I don't bake as often as I'd like because I'm usually the one who ends up polishing off the goods or trying to pawn them on some poor unsuspecting neighbor. Like any of us though, he does have a few weaknesses in his very slight sweet tooth AND since it's a special holiday, I thought I'd make a treat that he does actually love. I'm sure you'll love it too.

Pepita Oatmeal Raisin Raisin Cookie Bars

• 2 C. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 C. rolled oats
• 1 C. organic sugar
• 1 C. raisins
• 1 C. pepita seeds (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. baking powder
• 2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 T. flax seed powder
• 1/2 C. plant milk of choice
• 1/3 C. melted coconut oil
• 2 t. Mexican vanilla
• 3 T. water

Method: Preheat oven to 350°, In a large mixing bowl combine the first 9 ingredients (all the dry stuff). Then stir in the last 4 ingredients (the wet stuff). Press dough into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cook for 30-35 minutes on a lower rack in the oven so that the top doesn't get overly browned. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing into bars and serving.

If your Valentine prefers dark chocolate chips and chopped pecans to raisins and pepita seeds, go ahead and swap em out. I won't tell. ;)
xoxo & Happy Valentines,
Love, Somer

Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies: guest post by Harini of Tongue Ticklers

Today I have a very special guest on my blog - Harini of Tongue Ticklers. I have mentioned her beautiful vegan blog here many times before and I also guest blogged for her early last year.

I 'met' Harini on a Facebook group (way back when her blog was called Tum Yum Treats) and we became friends because of our shared passion for vegan food photography and blogging. I should thank Preethi of Krya for connecting us, otherwise I might not have seen Harini's blog when I did.

I have since then had the pleasure of meeting Harini in person. And today I am really happy to finally have her here with a recipe for delicious Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies. I am especially thrilled to have Harini's GLORIOUS photographs of the cookies here on my blog.

In the pic above, I want to have my mouth open at the end of the white slab so the cookie comes rolling right into my mouth. :oP

Harini, thank you so much for taking the time to do this blog post on Veganosaurus and for all the love and effort you have put into the photographs. :)

Now on to Harini's post...

--

Susmitha and I are very well acquainted but I am not sure whether you know me. Since I believe in forging bonds over food, I won’t take up much of your time. Let’s proceed quickly over to the introduction to what I think are the best vanilla sugar cookies I have ever baked. Does that make you curious?

Calling these ‘my vanilla cookies’ is not entirely correct. I made them mine but they originally belonged to Maggie Beer. I don’t think she will be able to tell that because they have taken quite a turn from the original recipe. So much that I do not recall the original recipe anymore. I first came to know Maggie Beer through MasterChef Australia, and most of her recipes introduced in the show sounded well. You know what I mean, don’t you? I do not try recipes that do not ‘sound’ good, by which I mean that reading the recipe should make my mouth water, must look good and look technically sound. Most of Maggie Beer’s recipes are just that, except that they are not vegan. They are, however, easily adaptable.

You do not need any special or hard-to-find ingredients for making these cookies. All ingredients, save the olive oil, are usually available in any pantry.

Recipe: Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies
(Inspired and modified from a Maggie Beer recipe)
Yield: 24 cookies, about 1.5inches in diameter

Ingredients:
Refined flour – 2 cups | 288g
Soaked and ground cashewnut paste – 2 tbsp | 32g
Pink salt – 2 generous pinches | 1g
Baking powder – about ½ tsp. | 3g
Vanilla seeds from 2 vanilla sticks
Olive oil – ½ cup | 80g
Caster sugar – ½ cup | 88g
Soy milk / Water / Coconut milk – 1-2 tbsp.

Method:

Place flour, cashew paste, salt, baking powder and vanilla seeds in a blender and blend till even. Remove the blended dry flour into a mixing bowl.

Blend olive oil, caster sugar and 1 tbsp. of soy/coconut milk/water lightly and add this to the dry mixture to form a soft dough. Do not knead. Make the dough by mixing with your finger tips, gather and press with your palm. The resultant dough should be soft but break when pressed. Add more milk only if needed. Adjust consistency by sprinkling a teaspoon of flour if too soft. You should not feel the liquid on your finger tips while gathering.

Divide the dough into two thick discs. Wrap them in separate cling films and refrigerate for at least an hour, or till needed. I usually prepare the dough in the night and bake the cookies the next morning.

When ready to bake, remove the dough and let thaw till it softens slightly and you can handle it. Pre-heat oven to 160 deg. C.

Sprinkle your platform with a little flour; place the disc with the cling film on it. Open the cling film and fold it back a little loose. Dust the rolling pin with flour and roll the disc to desired thickness, preferably 3-4mm. The cling film may break as you roll but that should not be a bother. When rolled, peel away the cling film.

Using a 1.5 inch circular cookie cutter, cut several circles. Place them on a baking tray lined with foil/baking sheet. Gather the remnants into a ball, flatten into a disc, place inside the cling film and roll again. Cut and continue making cookies as before.

These do not spread much after baking; hence they can be placed close, separated by just an inch. Place the baking tray in the center rack of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or till the cookies start turning golden around the edges.

Remove and using a flat spatula, carefully transfer the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Store in air-tight containers till needed. If you are traveling, stack ten cookies and roll them in cling film, and again with foil. Fold the ends. They will travel well this way without breaking.

Healthy Date Almond Bakery Style Biscuits

Quick to make and just as quick to be polished off, these cookies are a hundred percent healthy. That means no cane sugar, no processed oil, no white flour.

They taste a lot like the salt benne biscuits we get at small, local bakeries here. You could add pepper and spices to turn them into masala biscuits or more dry fruits to make them sweeter. They are really versatile.



1 C Almonds
1 T Sesame Seeds
1 T Flax Seed Powder
8 Pitted Dates
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Bajra Flour
1 T Water

Preheat oven to 250 C
Grind the almonds, sesame seeds, flax seed powder and salt together to a fine meal.
Add the pitted dates and grind again until it turns into a slightly sticky mixture.
Mix with the rest of the ingredients to form a slightly crumbly dough.
Shape into cookies by making balls and flattening between your palms.
Line on cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes, until browned.
Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Enjoy guilt free goodness! :)

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chunk Walnut Cookies

My baby sis, who is not a vegan *yet*, loooooves my chocolate chip walnut cookies. It's one of her favourite desserts ever and if she had her way, I'd be making it every week! A few weeks ago, she went out with our dad to shop for nuts at this speciality store called Manak Mewa which stocks a huge variety of high quality dry fruits and nuts and sells them at reasonable prices. Ever since my parents attended the Reversing Diabetes seminar by Dr. Nandita Shah last November and turned vegan, my dad started to munch on a few nuts and raisins with salad for his mid morning snack instead of the crappy processed biscuits and stuff that he used to eat before. It's turning out to be healthier and cheaper but it calls for a regular visit to Chickpet to shop at Manak Mewa.

But I digress. I was telling you about my sis at the store. She called me with great excitement in her voice and said in one breath, "Akka, you said your stock of walnuts was over no? There's plenty here. I'll bring some, you make me choco chip cookies." She wanted a whole batch to herself this time, as opposed to the one batch I make and share with her, so she asked me to make two batches, "one for you, one for me". I agreed to spoil the brat this time.



The vegan chocolate chips I'd brought back from the US was long over so I told her to pick up some vegan chocolate bars on her way here. Since chocolate bars are a tad overly sweet in my opinion, I halved the quantity of sugar and the cookies were perfect!

I also wanted to make the cookies slightly healthier so I tweaked the recipe around a bit. So these turned out quite different and much much more scrumptious than the already delicious basic chocolate chip cookies I have been making all these years. These have a softer crumb and a texture that's in between a chewy cookie and a cake. It's just amazing what flax seed powder and Bajra can do to baked goods!!

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chunk Walnut Cookies

Dry ingredients:
2 C All Purpose Flour (Maida)
2 C Pearl Millet Flour (Bajra)
1 1/2 T Baking Powder
2 T Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Salt

Wet ingredients:
1 C Sugar
1/2 C Olive Oil
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
3 T Flax Seed Powder
2 1/4 C Water

Additions:
1 C Broken Walnuts
4 Bars Dark Chocolate Cut into Chunks

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
Sieve together dry ingredients.
Whisk together wet ingredients for a few minutes.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chunks.
Drop onto cookie sheets by spoonfuls.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes.
Transfer to wire rack and cool some more.
Serve warm.
Bite into the soft, gooeyness and be transformed into a state of bliss.



While the cookies were baking, a strange phenomenon occurred. I had negligently left one unbroken walnut half lying around on my kitchen counter (apparently on white paper to get the perfect lighting :oP). I heard a soft shuffling sound and when I looked, I beheld three little zombie veganosaurus monsters walking towards the walnut half with a greedy gleam in their eyes. "Brains, brains, brains", they said. But suddenly...

Simple Healthy Vegan Gluten Free Coconut Almond Bajra Cookies Biscuits

A few weeks ago, hubby and I decided to try a GF diet for a while, just to see how we'd feel. After 3 weeks of this, we didn't really see any marked differences in our health (probably because we are already pretty healthy to begin with) but since it is a healthy diet anyways we decided to switch to an as-Gluten-Free-as-possible diet. This means, we do indulge in wheat products once in a while, but mainly stick to other grains.

In this period of being GF, I've cooked and baked with a variety of local millets and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Luckily for us, we even had a Millet Mela (Fair) during this period where we could stock up on a variety of grains and flours.

Among the flours, the one that seems to be best suited for baking is the Pearl Millet flour. Pearl Millet is known as Bajra in Hindi and Sajje in Kannada (my language). It is native to regions which are prone to drought and cannot support the growth of wheat, rice or other such grains which require a high water content. I've tasted Sajje Rottis, a sort of thin, crispy flatbreads made of Pearl Millet, as a child. One of my aunts, who is from the Northern part of Karnataka (a fairly dry area), used to bring them back whenever she visited her hometown and all of us kids used to delight in eating it dipped in a spicy peanut powder and yogurt mixture.

Until I attended the Millet Mela, I didn't know that Sajje was in fact Bajra and that it could be used to make anything, other than the Sajje Rottis. haha But once I did learn this, I've bought a lot of Sajje flour and have been experimenting with it, as you can see in my GF Flatbread post from 2 weeks ago. Since the grain itself has a really nice flavor, whatever I've made with it has turned out pretty tasty. But the most delicious of all are these Healthy Coconut Almond Bajra Cookies/Biscuits.



I started with Dr.Nandita Shah's Healthy Cookie Recipe from the SHARAN India website. It's a an extremely simple, quick and very versatile recipe. I made a few changes to it based on the ingredients I had on hand and came up with this one. It really hit that cookie craving spot. :)

Plus, because it has no refined oils, white flour or baking powder, hubby and I could stuff our faces with as many as we liked. The sugar syrup is the only 'unhealthy' ingredient in my recipe because I don't like Date Syrup or Jaggery in my baked goods. I would have preferred Agave or Maple Syrup but I had run out of them.

Simple Healthy Vegan Gluten Free Coconut Almond Bajra Cookies Biscuits

1 C Dry Coconut Powder (Desiccated Coconut)
1 C Almonds - ground into a coarse powder
1/2 C Bajra Flour
1/2 C Sugar Syrup
1 Tbsp Tahini (Sesame Butter)
Salt (a small pinch)

Mix everything together in a bowl.
Lick a few fingerfuls of the yummilicious cookie dough.
Wash hands. :oP
Form half inch balls of the dough between your palms.
Flatten slightly and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet.
Bake at 250 C (480 F) for 10-15 minutes, until the edges and top have browned.
Press the top of a cookie with your fingertip to check for doneness. If it's slightly soft it's okay but it shouldn't be doughy.
Let it cool in the turned off oven for a few minutes.
Transfer to cookie racks and cool completely.
Enjoy! :)



Before I end this post, I'd like to request all of you to please visit Richa's Fundraiser for VSPCA.



VSPCA is a wonderful organisation, doing amazing work for the animals! It is an organisation that is very close to my heart and the preferred charity for my Art by Susmitha etsy store. I've donated a few of my jewelry creations to this fundraiser.







So please visit the fundraiser page and pitch in by bidding on the many, many beautiful and delicious offerings.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Pecan Cookies

My chinni wanted chocolate chip cookies and my DH wanted coconut ones. The happy compromise? My favorite vegan chocolate chip cookies with a coconutty twist. :)



1 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 C All Purpose Flour
1 T Baking Powder
1 t Pure Vanilla Extract (if you don't have the pure kind, then don't bother using it at all)
1/2 C Agave Nectar
3/4 C Chopped Pecans
1 C Vegan Dark Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 C Cold Ricemilk or Water
Dessicated Coconut Powder

Preheat oven to 180C/350F

Spread as much coconut powder as you like on a small plate.

Put the rest of dry ingredients (except pecans and chocolate chips) in a large bowl and mix. Make a deep well in the center. Pour the wet ingredients into the hole and mix everything. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips.

Form cookie dough into little balls and roll them around in the coconut powder and press gently. Place on cookie sheets 1-2 inches apart.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet. Transfer to cooling rack.

Serve hot or cold. Enjoy! :)

These cookies were so yum that the Veganosaurus monsters loved them too! They had a big munching party and there was plenty to go around. They ate and they ate and they ate and in the end they fell over backwards, patted their tummies and fell into a deep, chocolate-y, comatose sleep.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I often make these delicious vegan chocolate chip cookies and they are always a hit! :) Most recently, I made it for one of the Diwali nights for all my cousins and they were polished off super quickly! I have been asked for the recipe multiple times and I figured it's high time I post it up on my blog so I can just link it the next time someone asks me how to make them. :)



1 C whole wheat flour
1 C all purpose flour (maida)
1 C vegan chocolate chips (chopped vegan dark chocolate bars would work too)
3/4 chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 maple syrup (can be replaced with sugar syrup too but please no date syrup or liquid jaggery because they just don't produce the best taste or texture)
1/2 C oil (I like to use either coconut or olive oil)
1 T Baking Powder
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/8 t Salt
1/2 C water (or any vegan milk like ricemilk/soymilk etc...)

Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F
Mix the dry ingredients together (except chocolate and nuts).
Add wet ingredients and mix.
Stir in the chocolate and walnuts.
Pop some fresh cookie dough in your mouth and take a deep, blissful breath.
Resist the temptation to finish the rest of the dough.
Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
Bake for 15-20 mins.

Serve hot and enjoy! :)

Crunchy Coconut Biscuits

Coconut biscuits (cookies are called biscuits here) were one of my top favorites while growing up. Particularly the ones sold at local bakeries. Sadly they are not vegan at the bakeries so I don't buy them anymore. Needless to say, I couldn't resist putting together my own recipe for them and am highly pleased with the results.

If you have the ingredients on hand, this is one quick and easy easy recipe. I find that these biscuits taste best when freshly out of the oven. So it's a great idea to mix together all the ingredients (except water) and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. Then whenever the craving hits you, just pull out as much as you like, mix in the water and bake.

Crunchy Coconut Biscuits

1 C all purpose flour
1 C dessicated coconut (dry coconut powder)
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C coconut oil (yes it must to be coconut oil)
1/4 t salt
1 t baking powder

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Rub the oil into the mixture. Add a little cold water, just enough to form a dough. Knead the dough a little.

Pinch off balls, lightly flatten on your palm and place on a cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the edges brown.

Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the sheet and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

The sugar caramelizes in the oil and gives a special crunch to these biscuits. When you eat them warm they will be slightly chewey. After cooling completely, they become fully crunchy. Both ways are yum! :)

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Coconut Crumble Cookie-Cake

Made this for my granny's birthday. Since she's a huge peanut butter fan and prefers cookies over cakes, it was a perfect recipe. The inspiration was a no-bake cookie recipe which I modified in various ways to concoct this one. :)

Adjust quantities of all ingredients according to your taste. This is an extremely flexible dish. I made this one extra sweet just for her because she has a predominant sweet tooth. Just remember that the coconut oil tends to bring out the sweetness even more so always start with a lower quantity of sweetner and then increase it if required.

I just threw the ingredients into a bowl by handfuls and container tilts, but I've tried to put down measurements here to give you a general starting point.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Coconut Crumble Cookie-Cake.

1 1/2 C Oatmeal
2 T Rice Flour
1/2 C Dry Coconut Powder/Flakes
1/2 C Chopped Walnuts
1/4 C Vegan White Chocolate Chips
2 T Coconut Oil
1 large scoop Peanut Butter
3/4 C Sugar

1. Toast the oatmeal in a dry pan for a few minutes by stirring constantly.

2. Put this into a mixing bowl. While it is still hot/warm add the peanut butter, coconut oil and sugar onto it and mix well. This softens the peanut butter and coconut oil helping them to get incorporated well.

3. Finally mix in the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust.

4. Put this 'batter' into a microwave safe dish and nuke for about 2-3 minutes. You can skip this step and directly go to step 5 but I liked doing this so the sugar would be slightly caramelized to add an extra crunch.

5. Cool down to room temperature. Press into a desired container/plate and pop into the freezer. Let it set for at least 20 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, get your toppings ready. You can serve the cookie just as is but since I made it for an occasion, I figured it called for a bit of decorating.

For the Topping:

1/4 C Vegan Semi-Sweet Dark Chocolate Chips
2 T Peanut Butter
2 t Tutti-Frutti (or other dried, chopped fruit)

Put the peanut butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 30 seconds. Stir and put it back in for another 30 seconds if required. Just stirring well now will melt the chocolate chips completely and mix the peanut butter in.

7. Once the cookie is set completely, take it out of the freezer. Decorate it with the melted chocolate (you can pipe it on but I just used a fork and drizzled it on in thick lines) and sprinkle the tutti-frutti over it.

8. Pop it back into the freezer for 10 more minutes for the chocolate to set.

Enjoy! :)

Please do share the variations (vegan only of course :)) you used to make your own in the comments section.