Sweet temptations

Here are some sweet temptations to lure even the most strict diet follower. An eclectic mix of cookies and cake, the hallmark of these recipes is that they can be made in a jiffy without too much of a sweat. These recipes are by home chef Mini Binoy.

Chocolate chip cookies

 Ingredients

• Plain flour.... 2 cups
• Cocoa powder....¾ cup
• Granulated sugar....¾ cup
• Baking powder....1 Tbsp
• Salt.....1/4 tsp
• Milk......1¼ cups
• Beaten eggs ....2 large
• Any veg oil....1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp
• Vanilla essence....1 tsp
• Milk chocolate chips.....1 and 1/3 cups

Method

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.. Whisk the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla essence in another bowl.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix, do not over mix. The batter should be lumpy. (over mixing will result in tough muffins).
• Spoon into paper muffin cups and bake in a preheated oven for about 25 mnts, until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Take out from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Carrot Banana walnut bread

Ingredients

• Carrots grated.... 1 cup ( pressed measurement)
• Walnuts chopped roughly......  3/4 cups
• Granulated sugar..... 1 1/2 cups
• Ripe Banana mashed...... 1 no
• Plain flour...... 1 3/4 cups
• Baking soda....... 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt........  1/ 4 tsp
• Cinnamon powder........  1/2 tsp
• Nutmeg powder......... 1/2 tsp
• Eggs........ 2
• Butter milk or milk at room temp- to which juice of half a lemon is added... 1/3 cup
• Oil......  1/2 cup
• anilla essence....  1 1/2 tsp

Method

• Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until combined well. There is no need to beat till light coloured or till fluffy or anything.
• Just mix well.. Thats all. The batter will be semi thick. Pour the batter into a loaf tin lined with nonstick baking paper or wax paper..
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 - 20 mnts..
• Cool and cut into slices as we do with a loaf of bread.

Snowball cookies

These are in fact very easy to prepare, need very few ingredients and can be baked and kept well in advance! Too yummy to resist, they will be loved by kids as well as adults. They make ideal 'holiday bakes' too.

Ingredients

• Plain flour..... 2 and 1/4 Cups
• Powdered sugar.... 1/4 cup
• Softened butter...... 1 cup
• rushed or chopped cashew nuts....... 1 cup
• Vanilla essence...... 1 tsp
• More powdered sugar for coating the cookies....  I usually powder and keep 1 cup of sugar for dredging.