Small Batch Brownies

Posted in Brownies and Bars, Desserts by Spatula in My Pocket

What does your parents being away all weekend mean? It means a kitchen all to yourself! It means partyyy! And party means brownies.

Brownies solve everything! They even make your headaches and cold go away. I swear they do.

There I was lying sick in bed, craving warm gooey brownies but did not have the energy nor the people to make a whole batch of brownies for. With just me and my sister and brother home, it seemed like the perfect time to try this handy dandy recipe for a small batch of brownies I had bookmarked ages ago.

Small batch of brownies not meant for sharing!

The left side is obviously intended for me.

The original recipe yields 3 to 4 brownies. I cut them into 8 tiny squares just so I could savor one bit at a time. These brownies are just as fudgy and dense as the normal kind. And they are so easy to make too. Just one bowl, and only a handful of ingredients, all of which you probably already have on hand.

And the best part? The recipe calls for only half a stick of butter! Awesome for if, like me, you are always running out of butter.

Small Batch Brownies

Prep Time: 5 minutes Yields: 4 large or 8 small squares

Cook Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (57g) butter

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted

3 Tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted

¼ teaspoon instant coffee powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Butter an 8×4 inch loaf pan*. Line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Heat butter in the microwave, for around 25-30 seconds, or until melted. Mix in sugar and cocoa powder. Cool slightly. Then mix in the egg. Add in the vanilla, coffee powder, and the flour; mix until just combined.

Pour into prepared loaf pan. Spread into an even layer. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*using a pan any bigger than a loaf pan will yield in thinner brownies.

Recipe source: Cooking Classy

30Aug2015

Foolproof Pizza Dough

Posted in Savoury by Spatula in My Pocket

Homemade pizza dough; so simple, so delicious, with guaranteed perfect results every time!

*Step-by-step photos at the BOTTOM.

*Please excuse the bad quality of the pictures, light went out and I had to make do with that one tiny bulb in the kitchen.

Here you go, as promised, my foolproof pizza dough which isn’t just for pizza. You can make anything out of it!

Chicken bread
Dinner rolls
Buns
Mini pizza pies
Chicken pinwheels
Pizza pockets
Sesame swirl sticks
Chicken buffalo turnovers
Cinnamon rolls
Italian Pirazo pie

These are only some of the things I’ve made using this dough (recipes on the blog soon), there are countless other options. It freezes well too. Before use let it thaw, and then use it in the same way as you would use freshly made dough.

I first came across this recipe around five years back on a TV show, Masala Mornings, and since then I’ve made it a bazillion times, and it has never once let me down. It’s simple, tastes amazing, and rises perfectly every single time.

It comes together in just minutes, is inexpensive, and it makes a ton; 2 large pizzas, or 2 large loaves of stuffed chicken bread, or 24 mini pizza pies!

I gave you a sneak peek on Instagram a few days back of what I made out of one batch of this amazing dough. See my next post for a recipe of one of these freshly baked goods.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Noor | spatulainmypocket (@spatulainmypocket)

You probably have all the ingredients on hand, try this for yourself now!

Foolproof Pizza Dough

Yields enough for two large pizzas

Ingredients:

4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 standard packet (1/4 ounce) or 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ cup whole milk

Lukewarm water, as needed

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, the egg, oil, and the milk. Slowly mix in the water with your hands till all the ingredients are mixed well and dough starts to form.

Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes on a floured counter top till the dough becomes smooth and is no longer sticky. Add more flour if it is still sticky.

Bang the dough on the counter top 7-8 times for elasticity.

Shape the dough in a ball and place in a greased bowl. Brush the top lightly with some oil. Cover with plastic or a kitchen cloth, and allow the dough to rise somewhere warm until doubled in size, around 2 hours.

Punch the dough to release air. Use or freeze as required.

Notes:

Dough can also be made in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.

Recipe source: Shireen Anwer

Place all of your dry ingredients in one large bowl.

Add in the egg, oil, and the milk.

Now, slowly mix in the warm water. Water should be lukewarm NOT hot or else it’d kill the yeast. Mix together everything, either my hand or in your stand mixer with dough hook attached, till just combined.

When it resembles something like that, it’s time to plop this sticky piece of not yet dough on a floured counter and it’s time to knead.

Knead and sprinkle flour on the counter and the dough from time to time till it no longer sticks to your hands or the counter top. Knead for a good 5 minutes. Tip: bang dough, on the counter top, hard for a good 7 to 8 times for elasticity. Then shape it into a ball, and place in a greased bowl. Flatten it a bit and lightly brush the top with some vegetable oil.

Cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest somewhere warm, for me that’s my microwave turned off, till its doubled in size, around 1 ½ – 2 hours.

And tada! Look how nicely it has poofed up.

Look at how yeasty it is!

Punch it down to release air, and it is now ready to be rolled out, customized and baked into something delicious!

AN OVERVIEW

17Aug2015

S’MORES BROWNIE PIE

Posted in Brownies and Bars, Puddings and Pies by Spatula in My Pocket

Campfire. Marshmallows. Graham Crackers. Chocolate -> S’mores. Something I’m sure, like me, you’ve grown up reading about in story books. I’ve always wanted to be one of the kids sitting around a bonfire, roasting marshmallows and sharing spooky stories. Remember Sweet Valley?

And so, on a random shopping trip with my mom, the sight of the big bags of jet puff marshmallows had me enticed. And with no second thought, I threw one in our shopping trolley. And that bag of marshmallows has been there in our kitchen closet for months, lain forgotten till just now.

Summer arrived, and so popped up hordes of s’mores stuff everywhere all over the internet. I had to try them, I had to see what all the brouhaha was about. And what better way to try it than in the traditional pie form.

Who doesn’t love a slice of good ole pie?

This isn’t just any pie. Oh no no no. For starters it has a biscuit crust instead of the short cut pastry that pies usually have. The filling is a brownie mix…yum! And on top….gooey roasted marshmallows.

The biscuit crumb base is pretty simple. Use any crackers you have on hand. I used digestive biscuits, the standard kind you get in every store. Crush em up with some melted butter, press it down on your pie dish, bake it for 8 to 10 mins, and there you go, first step done.

The brownie filling is your standard brownie mix. Its thick, dark and fudgy…the perfect combination with the sweet marshmallowey top.

This pie is best served warm. Eating it cold is okay too but know that marshmallows will harden up and will become chewy. So, warm up the pie before serving. Heat it enough so that the marshmallows are gloopy again.

Enjoy 🙂

S’mores Brownie Pie

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

CRUST

1.5 cups digestive biscuit crumbs*

6 Tablespoons (90g) melted butter

1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar

BROWNIES

10 Tablespoons (150g) butter

1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (74g) cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold

1/2 cup (62g) all-purpose flour

25 large marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Crust: Mix together the biscuit crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Press into an ungreased 8-inch or 9-inch pie dish. Set aside.

Brownies: Melt the butter, sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl in the microwave. Melt in 30 second increments and stir after each time until the butter is completely melted. The mixture will look gritty. Let cool slightly. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time. The mix will be thick and shiny. Fold in the flour. Pour over the prepared crust.

Bake for 25-30 minutes till the brownie is set. Remove from the oven and top with marshmallows. Return to the oven and continue to bake for an additional 3 minutes to melt the marshmallows and get a golden brown tinge on the top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing.

Best served warm. Store at room temperature. Heat in the microwave before serving again.

Notes:

*pulverize the biscuits in a grinder or a food processor till they turn into fine crumbs.

Recipe source: Sally’s Baking Addiction

14Aug2015

GREEN VELVET CUPCAKES

Posted in Cupcakes by Spatula in My Pocket

It’s 14^th August!

Time to bring on the green and white, and what better way to do that than with cupcakes! These super light, “green” cupcakes are topped with a very fluffy “white” vanilla frosting. They are so delicious! And festive!

If you’re lying bored and thinking of making a last minute tasty treat this 14^th August, then give these Green Velvet Cupcakes a try! They take just minutes to make and are the perfect patriotic treat to enjoy on this fun celebration of our independence and freedom. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate Pakistan than with some green velvet cupcakes?! I know I do! Heck I’d celebrate every day if you let me.

The cupcake is your standard red velvet cupcake turned green in spirit of the 69^th Independence Day of Pakistan. The frosting is plain vanilla because

I did not have any white chocolate chips on hand to make the classic White Chocolate Frosting that goes with these cupcakes
Neither did I have any luck in my search for Cream Cheese round Islamabad. Hence, no Cream Cheese Frosting either.

So vanilla it is. Whip it well or else it’d be all stodgy and claggy. Yuck!

Happy Independence Day Pakistan! May your day be filled with green and white!

And firecrackers…and fairy lights…and freedom and joy.

Mostly freedom.

And joy.

While I’ll be spending my night at a dance practice with friends, what will you be doing? How are you celebrating? Share in the comments below!

Green Velvet Cupcakes

Yields: 25 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

2 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup oil

1 cup buttermilk¹

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoon liquid green food coloring²

Frosting

½ cup (115 g) butter, softened at room temperature

2 ½ cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon milk

Directions:

For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.

In a bowl, whisk together all the liquid ingredients; the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, vinegar and the green food coloring.

In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients; the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and the salt. Mix well.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix till just combined.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tray, 3/4^th of the way full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes.

Cool completely before applying frosting.

For the frosting: beat the butter on high till smooth and creamy. Add in the sugar, 1 cup at a time. Beat on slow. When all of the sugar is mixed in, add the milk and the vanilla extract. Beat on high till frosting is smooth and fluffy. Add more milk if stiff.

Notes:

1. Substitute for buttermilk: 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice + 1 cup milk

2. Gel food color can also be used (a 1 oz bottle)

Adapted from Love from the oven

9Aug2015

MOLTEN LAVA CAKE

Posted in Cakes by Spatula in My Pocket

Dark, rich and oh so’ decadent.

First blog post yayee!

About time I put down Downton Abbey and hit publish on the first post I had secretly stashed away waiting for the right time. Well this is it, as good as it can get. With summer almost over for most of us, with college opening up soon, I am just about now getting started with the blog I had to presumably launch last year, and then this June, and then in July…. Alas, better late than never. And what better way to kick start this, hopefully, burgeoning blooming fabulous blog than with…..CHOCOLATE!

That thick sludge of chocolate with the melting vanilla ice cream; makes for one killer combination.

The recipe is so easy and takes just about thirty minutes from start to finish. A few ingredients is all you need.

A molten lava cake is all about the chocolate. So I’d highly recommend using the best quality brand of chocolate you can find. You can really taste the difference.

I use a combination of dark chocolate, Lindt 70% Cocoa, and Hershey’s semisweet chocolate chips, just to get the right balance. You could go all semi-sweet or all dark, and, fair warning, just stay away from milk chocolate or you’ll end up with sickeningly sweet cakes.

To make these tiny pieces of chocolate haven you need to melt the chocolate along with the butter, beat in the eggs and sugar. Then fold in the flour. Transfer the mix in the prepared pans. Bake for about 12 to 15 mintues, and that’s it! You’re done.

The key is in the timing. Cook these cakes for a smidgen more than the stated time …will result in cakes good enough but minus the lava, minus the ooey gooeyness. Undercook them and the cakes won’t hold their shape.

You can make them in ramekins, and then serve them in the ramekins. But if you, like me, don’t have ramekins, and see no need to go buy them, then go ahead and make them in a muffin tray like I did. They turn out beautiful. Miniature molten lava cakes, the perfect serving size.

They’ll be wiped out in seconds.

Molten Lava Cakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes Yields: 8 mini ones

Cook Time: 12 to 15 minutes

Ingredients:

8 ounces (227g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

½ cup (115g) butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Butter a muffin tray or ramekins well. Sprinkle cocoa powder, shake off the excess.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (in a bowl over a pan of simmering water).

In the bowl beat the eggs and sugar until pale, about two minutes, beat in the vanilla.

Stir in the egg mixture into the chocolate and then add the flour, mix well. Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins or a muffin tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, the edges should be firm and set but the center will still look a little wet.

Run a knife loosely around the edges and turn them out of the muffin tray or ramekins.

Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

What does your parents being away all weekend mean? It means a kitchen all to yourself! It means partyyy! And party means brownies.

Brownies solve everything! They even make your headaches and cold go away. I swear they do.

And the best part? The recipe calls for only half a stick of butter! Awesome for if, like me, you are always running out of butter.

Small Batch Brownies

Prep Time: 5 minutes Yields: 4 large or 8 small squares

Cook Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (57g) butter

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted

3 Tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted

¼ teaspoon instant coffee powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Butter an 8×4 inch loaf pan*. Line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Heat butter in the microwave, for around 25-30 seconds, or until melted. Mix in sugar and cocoa powder. Cool slightly. Then mix in the egg. Add in the vanilla, coffee powder, and the flour; mix until just combined.

Pour into prepared loaf pan. Spread into an even layer. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*using a pan any bigger than a loaf pan will yield in thinner brownies.

Recipe source: Cooking Classy

Share this:

Homemade pizza dough; so simple, so delicious, with guaranteed perfect results every time!

*Step-by-step photos at the BOTTOM.

*Please excuse the bad quality of the pictures, light went out and I had to make do with that one tiny bulb in the kitchen.

Here you go, as promised, my foolproof pizza dough which isn’t just for pizza. You can make anything out of it!

Chicken bread

Dinner rolls

Buns

Mini pizza pies

Chicken pinwheels

Pizza pockets

Sesame swirl sticks

Chicken buffalo turnovers

Cinnamon rolls

Italian Pirazo pie

These are only some of the things I’ve made using this dough (recipes on the blog soon), there are countless other options. It freezes well too. Before use let it thaw, and then use it in the same way as you would use freshly made dough.

I first came across this recipe around five years back on a TV show, Masala Mornings, and since then I’ve made it a bazillion times, and it has never once let me down. It’s simple, tastes amazing, and rises perfectly every single time.

It comes together in just minutes, is inexpensive, and it makes a ton; 2 large pizzas, or 2 large loaves of stuffed chicken bread, or 24 mini pizza pies!

I gave you a sneak peek on Instagram a few days back of what I made out of one batch of this amazing dough. See my next post for a recipe of one of these freshly baked goods.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Noor | spatulainmypocket (@spatulainmypocket)

You probably have all the ingredients on hand, try this for yourself now!

Foolproof Pizza Dough

Yields enough for two large pizzas

Notes:

Dough can also be made in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.

Recipe source: Shireen Anwer

Place all of your dry ingredients in one large bowl.

Add in the egg, oil, and the milk.

Now, slowly mix in the warm water. Water should be lukewarm NOT hot or else it’d kill the yeast. Mix together everything, either my hand or in your stand mixer with dough hook attached, till just combined.

When it resembles something like that, it’s time to plop this sticky piece of not yet dough on a floured counter and it’s time to knead.

Cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest somewhere warm, for me that’s my microwave turned off, till its doubled in size, around 1 ½ – 2 hours.

And tada! Look how nicely it has poofed up.

Look at how yeasty it is!

Punch it down to release air, and it is now ready to be rolled out, customized and baked into something delicious!

AN OVERVIEW

Share this:

Campfire. Marshmallows. Graham Crackers. Chocolate -> S’mores. Something I’m sure, like me, you’ve grown up reading about in story books. I’ve always wanted to be one of the kids sitting around a bonfire, roasting marshmallows and sharing spooky stories. Remember Sweet Valley?

And so, on a random shopping trip with my mom, the sight of the big bags of jet puff marshmallows had me enticed. And with no second thought, I threw one in our shopping trolley. And that bag of marshmallows has been there in our kitchen closet for months, lain forgotten till just now.

Summer arrived, and so popped up hordes of s’mores stuff everywhere all over the internet. I had to try them, I had to see what all the brouhaha was about. And what better way to try it than in the traditional pie form.

Who doesn’t love a slice of good ole pie?

This isn’t just any pie. Oh no no no. For starters it has a biscuit crust instead of the short cut pastry that pies usually have. The filling is a brownie mix…yum! And on top….gooey roasted marshmallows.

The biscuit crumb base is pretty simple. Use any crackers you have on hand. I used digestive biscuits, the standard kind you get in every store. Crush em up with some melted butter, press it down on your pie dish, bake it for 8 to 10 mins, and there you go, first step done.

The brownie filling is your standard brownie mix. Its thick, dark and fudgy…the perfect combination with the sweet marshmallowey top.

This pie is best served warm. Eating it cold is okay too but know that marshmallows will harden up and will become chewy. So, warm up the pie before serving. Heat it enough so that the marshmallows are gloopy again.

Enjoy 🙂

S’mores Brownie Pie

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

CRUST

1.5 cups digestive biscuit crumbs*

6 Tablespoons (90g) melted butter

1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar

BROWNIES

10 Tablespoons (150g) butter

1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (74g) cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold

1/2 cup (62g) all-purpose flour

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Noor | spatulainmypocket (@spatulainmypocket)