Oatmeal, raisins & choco chips cookies (Eggless & with eggs both version)

Oatmeal cookies are not new in our home as its liked by everyone hence an all time favourite snack for our family. Secondly its healthy too :). I have prepared them with & without eggs and frankly speaking didn't find much difference. They are crunchy outside and chewy inside. Have a nice buttery flavour with a sweetness of raisins & chocolate. I also add cinnamon powder to it as its my one of the favourite flavours, its totally optional but I must admit that it takes cookies to the next level :))))

Tomorrow I am planning to meet one of my foodie friend, so just thought to bake something for him. Made few goodies and will upload soon. The one thing which I thought to prepare first were these, as I am pretty sure it will be loved :). Presenting a food goodie to a foodie friend is quite tough na........But making my fingers crossed, I have packed them. 

They are very easy to prepare and have a longer shelflife. These can be stored in an airtight containers for a longer time. Having one cookie with a cup of milk is very healthy and believe me kids just love it. Once I prepared it for my niece and she became crazy for them, used to have them in her breakfast without any fuss, she is just 4 :))))). So lets quickly run through the ingredients following the method :)

I am also posting here a video for an eggless version, so all my vegetarian friends can see it. I didn't add chocolate chips in this version, if you like you can add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips too. 

Ingredients :

• Rolled oats - 1 + 1/2 cup (Old fashioned or quick any can be used)
• All purpose flour/Maida/ Plain flour - 3/4 cup
• Light Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup packed
• Castor sugar - 1/4 cup
• Butter - 1/2 cup (at room temperature)
• Egg - 1 nos 
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
• Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Raisins - 1/2 cup
• Choco chips - 1/4 cup

Method :

• Preheat your oven at 180 ° C/350 ° F
• In a big bowl beat butter till fluffy & light. 
• Now add both the sugars and continue beating till mixed well and the mixture becomes fluffy.
• Now add one egg and vanilla essence.
• In a separate bowl sift & whisk all the dry ingredients - All purpose flour + Baking Soda + Cinnamon powder + Salt.
• Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet (butter mixture)
• Incorporate oats + raisins + choco chips.
• Place the cookies with the help of ice cream scoop or spoons on the baking tray lined with parchment paper/aluminum foil.
• Bake them on the middle shelf for 17-20 minutes. If you like your cookies to be more chewer and not very much crispy then bake them till 15 minutes only. 
• Take them out, let them rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Later transfer them to a cooling rack and let them completely cool for atleast an hour. Once cooled store them in an air tight jar.

Note : 

• I have used brown sugar, but if its not available then you can use normal white granulated sugar too. If you can grind the sugar then that will also work great.
• Once baked, cookies tend to get bit harder when comes in contact with air. So don't panic if they are soft on touching after 15-17 minutes.
• Adding raisins & choco chips is totally up to your choice.

Enjoy with your family & friends :)

Do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :)

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy Baking 

Priyanka :) 

Baked Papdi/Baked crackers

These days I am on a mission of healthy snacks which have a longer shelf life and can be enjoyed guilt free. In our Indian homes, the most famous snacks are mathri, but........they have huge amount of ghee in it :((((, I can't even imagine the number of calories they have!!!!!. But at the same time they are so so addictive that one can't resist to have just one :))).  This is human tendency I believe, the food which is unhealthy is loved most and we always don't prefer healthy ones :). One fine day we friends were discussing about the same on a group chat, found that most of the people have green tea but just as a sake to have it and never preferred it above their proper Indian ginger tea :))). But at the same time there are many more who love to have it, I am among them.

I have a habit of munching something after every 2-3 three hours, need some biscuits, flakes or anything. If I have anything which is high in calories and have high fat content, then I am gone. So therefore I planned to have healthy snacks with full of flavours. Sushant's colleagues demanded for some Indian samosas (proper aloo one). So I prepared in a very large batch and was left with some dough. My mother always used to fry mathris from the left over dough and I am sure you all too do the same thing :)))). But I gave a new twist to it and just baked them and voila the results were outstanding - crisp, crunchy and light. Goes amazingly good with a cup of tea. As it was from the samosa dough hence made from Maida/ All purpose flour, but next batch I will prepare from whole wheat flour and soon share the results. So here is the recipe, its quite simple and easy to prepare, hope you all will like it too.

Ingredients :

• All purpose flour - 1 cup
• Vegetable oil - 2 tbsps (I used Olive oil)
• Carom seeds/Ajwain - 1 tsp
• Salt as per the taste
• Warm water - 1/4 cup (to knead the dough)

Method :

• Mix all the ingredients (except water) in a big bowl. 
• Now add little by little water, we need to have a stiff dough (not very soft). You can always adjust the amount of water. Once done cover and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
• Now divide the dough into two parts and roll like thin chapati. With the help of a cookie cutter or a bottle's cap cut into desire shape. Place them on baking tray, lined with butter paper/aluminum foil.
• Bake them on the middle rack at 180 ° C for about 18-20 minutes, do flip them in between. Mine were done in exactly 20 minutes but every oven varies in terms of power hence would advise to keep an eye.
• Also if u want dark brown color, then put them on broil (on the top rack with temperature 220 ° C) for just 30 sec. But make sure that you don't move from there as they might burn.
• Take them out from the oven, let them rest in baking tray for 5 minutes and then transfer on to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled store them in an air tight jars. These will remain good for a month.
• Now prepare a nice cup of tea and have them with a cute smile :)

Note : You can add flavours of your own choice like - chili flakes, kasuri methi/Dried fenugreek leaves, Italian herbs too if you like :)

Do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :)

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Enjoy making them :)

Thanks & Happy Baking
Priyanka :)

Oats & Whole wheat crackers with a kick of chili & lime

Today I have got something healthy for you guys and can bet you all that " no on can eat just one". Here in London there are various options for sweet snacks but very rare for savoury ones. Though I have a sweet tooth but sometimes really crave for something Chatpata :). Same thing happens with Sushant too, he needs to have something savoury with tea. So just thought to prepare a batch of these crackers. 

It was in my mind since a long time but never prepared, always was searching aisles in the supermarkets and returned with very mild biscuits or the one which we liked, had too many calories. 

While I was baking these, just gave a thought to add in some oats too as they are among one of my favorite ingredients. And yes the decision was right :)), Oats gave nice texture and made it healthy too. Secondly I used olive oil in place of butter and the results are not bad at all :). Adding chilies & lime was totally up to the preference. So lets quickly run through the ingredients following the method :)

Ingredients :

• Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup
• Quick Oats - 1/4 cup
• Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red chili flakes - 1/2 tsp (or as per the taste)
• Mixed dried herbs - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon Zest - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Salt - as per the taste (I used a little more than 1/4 tsp)
• Olive oil/Veg Oil - 3 tbsps
• Water - less than 1/2 cup

Method :

• Preheat the oven at 180 ° C.
• Mix all the dry ingredients well including the lemon zest.
• Add oil and mix nicely. The mixture should be a little crumbly and when you hold it in your palm it should come together. 
• Now add little by little water and try to gather it. Pleas don't knead it. Kneading will form gluten and the crackers will not become crispy then.
• Try to make a ball and transfer it to a flat surface. If required dust the surface with some dry flour and roll it to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut them into desired shape and repeat the same process with rest of the dough. Transfer them on to a baking tray lined with baking paper.
• Prick them with a fork, to avoid puffing.
• Now apply some milk with a brush on the top.
• Bake them for about 20-25 minutes. Mine were exactly in the oven for 25 minutes and I also flipped them after 15 minutes for even cooking. (Every oven varies when it comes to temperature)
• Finally, I kept them on to the top rack and increased the temperature to 220 ° C for 30 sec, to get a nice color.
• Cool them completely by keeping them on a cooling rack and store in an air tight container.

Enjoy with hot Ginger Tea or cold drinks :)))

Note : The addition of flavors is totally as per the taste buds, you can also add cumin seeds or carom seeds. If you are baking it for your kids, then decrease the amount of chilies.
Adding lime zest is totally optional, but it gives a unique flavor.

You can roll them thin also if you want :)

Thanks & Happy Baking 
Priyanka :)