A sweet sexy soufflé - The love affair with Gurr n how it got soufflé-d in love

                                                                                    Valentine’s Day is long over, thankfully so. I am not fan of Valentine’s Day in general, it’s quite commercialized and what is so special about a day when on that day red roses and every flower costs so much. Now in fact when it’s all over, now if you gift someone a red rose, yellow rose, or anything out of love it makes this extra special. There is no pressure of giving gift because it’s Valentine’s Day, so now it’s really comes from within you. I do believe in the power of sweet sudden surprises. If you want to express your love to someone make him/her this soufflé and you will touch him/her deeply. If that someone is a person you romantically involved with, try sleeping beside him/her without his knowledge while he/she is asleep, so when he/she wakes up, sees you. Now that’s something.

Forget about romance and all its lights and shadows and let me tell you about this soufflé. First things first this is a soufflé made with a type of Jaggery, date-palm jaggery. You know there are these date-palm trees and people collect the flavored sap from the tree by putting cut marks or incision at the top part of the tree and they make a way for the sap to come n get collected in a hanging earthen vessel tied to the tree. Now this sap has a distinct flavor and you can drink it fresh, when it is put on heat and reduced by simmering for long periods of time it develops an unique taste, more intensified. That’s the rough idea of how it is made, as for turning it into jaggery it is further reduced and then it solidifies as it cools down.

                                                                                                  Now for the soufflé I could have made it without the addition of crème patissiere, in that case it would have been even more light n puffed up, but then I thought I want it make it a little more rich so I made the crème patissiere with the melted Nalen gur, which gave it a pronounced flavor of that golden gur. And it does bring a touch of creaminess in the soufflé, however on another day I might make it without the special crème patissiere. Do you know that in French the word “soufflé” literally means “puffed up “? I read somewhere that day when we will make a soufflé of something it will mean to arrive at a texture, like airy, light, puffed up-now that is a way of looking at this word now. The word “soufflé” made into English vocabulary in the early nineteenth century, where it used to be described as an airy cooked confection of beaten egg-whites with the egg yolks with a savory and sweet flavoring.

                                                                 One thing about this special soufflé is that it tastes better the next day, as least that what I found out, I kept them in the freeze and next morning it was such a pleasure eating it, soft airy gurry goodness.  And I thought this is quiet it! So fit for the Valentine’s Day and in fact for any day when we want to make it special and we make this soufflé for the people we love and watch the smile on their face as they get soufflé-d.  somehow I ended up imaging this- I am little kid and my mom makes this soufflé sometimes, and I watch her at times curiously how she makes it, she beats the egg-whites, makes the pastry crème, pile them high on little ramekins and when she gets them out of the oven- woooo! They have risen like sweet monsters! And my anticipation makes them even tastier. So if you are a mom reading this having little kids, do make them this and they will have such wonderful memories.

                                                                                         By the way that morning was quiet eventful when I made this soufflé, first I was so cautious that there is no trace of egg-yolks in the egg-whites, not a drop fat in it and in this super-cautiousness  I tumbled the egg-whites on the table…errghhhh! Disaster! Disaster! And it was only the beginning. I fixed the egg-whites telling myself to calm down as I started making the crème patissiere and the point comes when it starts to get thick and you have whisk it all the time at that point for a minute, so there I was whisking madly and I checked my mobile too see if a minute is over and somehow in a sweet sleepery moment my mob jumped into the crème patissiere bowl! Lol! I couldn’t believe it, I snatched it out before it even submerged a bit into the crème since it was so thick...it all happened within some seconds-the fall and the rescue. But oouch ouch!  What an event! Ha-ha…I ended up laughing about it after that and even after these small disasters in the kitchen the soufflés puffed up like good boys. So V for victory and P for puffed up.

                               You can beat the egg-whites with a hand beater or a stand mixer or if you are like me young and energetic trust your hands. After making that mayonnaise, beating the egg-whites to soft peak was a Childs play to me, literally. And it’s fun, as I beat in with my hands I literally see the change I bring in, starting with the liquid egg whites as they absorb the air and become so airy and white.

                                      So now I will tell you the special recipe. Whisk whisk puff puff.

The recipe:  you will need

For the crème patissiere/pastry cream:     

 50 g shaved nalen gur/date palm jaggery

2 egg yolks

25g corn flour

250ml milk

25m unsalted/salted butter.

Begin by making the crème patissiere because it will take some time to cool off while you will prepare the egg whites. Whisk together the shaved gur, egg yolks and corn flour together in a bowl. Put the milk in heavy based saucepan n slowly let it come to a boil, just then remove it from the heat and whisk one third of the milk into the egg mix. Now quickly tip the egg mix back into the milk pan and keep whisking. Then put it back in the low heat, stirring constantly let it come to a boil, as it comes to a boil give it 1 min, don’t stop whisking. After that take it off the heat, add the butter, stir until it melts. So let it cool off to warm and then cover it with cling film and leave to cool it off. Remember when we have to fold the pastry crème with the beaten egg whites; we need it a little warm, not cold.

For the Nalen gur syrup: 

4-5 tbsp of shaved nalen gur, melt in a low heat with 1 tbsp of water, once melted keep in a low heat for 2 mins. Pour 1 tbsp or more each into 4 ramekins with base diameter of 2 1/2 inches (6cm), top diameter 3 ½ inches (7.5cm), 2 inches (5cm) deep, lightly buttered. Pour so that the base of the ramekins is coated with the syrup.      

 Pre-heat the oven to 170 Celsius, 325 Fahrenheit, gas mark 3.

 For the soufflés:   

3 large eggs

1/8^th of big lime or 1/4^th of a small lime or 1 tsp of lemon juice

2 tbsp of castor sugar

Separate the eggs, I find it to separate the eggs safely when they are just out of the refrigerator, then I let them come to normal temperature. Take a big airy bowl and make sure it is very clean and grease free, just to be sure take a little lemon or lime wedge and wipe the bowl with it. Next put the egg whites into the bowl and squeeze the lime or lemon juice into the egg whites. Start beating with a big wire whisk or with a electric hand beater, if you are using an electric beater, start slow, then to medium to high, beat the egg whites to almost stiff peak but the tip of the egg whites should bend down a little when you pick them up, so we don’t need stiff peaks actually, lower than that, slightly higher than soft peak, while your egg whites are getting to become fluffy as you are beating them add the castor sugar slowly. If you are whisking by hands like me add the castor sugar once you see the egg whites reaching the soft peak, first add 1 tbsp and after sometime add another. We are doing it just to give the beaten whites a little sweetness and to stabilize it also.

                            Now when you have reached that stage where it is almost stiff peak but the peak bends down a little as you put it up, so now it is time to fold the warm pastry crème into the egg whites. So take about 2 tbsp of the egg whites into the pastry crème and whisk it vigorously to light it up, then take about one fourth of the egg whites and still vigorously beat it in, then take half of the egg whites and gently fold it with a spatula by gently lifting it up along the circumference of the bowl and slowly folding it in the middle. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

                             Now spoon the mixture into the ramekins, pile it high if you want to, then run a finger into the inside rim of each one. Now place them in a baking sheet and put them in the middle shelf of the oven and bake for15-20 minutes or until the tops start to get golden. Then take them out and  you can see your soufflé is so puffed up, as you take them after 5mintues they will sink, that’s normal, don’t let your heart sink, let it rather sing a song because it is so delicious, even more on the next day. Why they will mostly sink is because we have folded the heavy crème patissiere into it, which is the reason. Enjoy them completely now whenever and however you like them hot or cold or normal. Bon appétit.

My Green Pea stuffed fried flat bread or should I say Karaisutir kachuri!

  Just 2 evenings ago coming back home I realized it was quiet late, there was hardly anyone in the street, it was chilled night, that’s the thing about winter nights, it wasn't even that late, 10.45! I was all alone, walking as fast as I thought I should, and then something happened! I reached home and I had company with me…

A kilo of fresh green peas! 

Yeah, sorry for shattering your ongoing imagination dear reader, but that’s the truth, well as it turns out there was this man near the train station, selling his last heap of green peas and  because it was so late in the night n he has to run back home also, he gave it to me as fast as he could. So there I was with a heap of fresh green peas looking at me and I just knew what to do with them. Fried flat bread stuffed with a paste of flavored green peas…yum-mm….

Next day when I got myself ready to cook again, I started to get the pods out of their green shells, as I kept doing that I could smell the slight sweetness they have. If you just eat them raw, which many people do, you will find them softly sweet, the fresh crunch and the flavor of the green peas. And this flat bread thing that I was gonna do I have eaten this before many times, it is a favorite in this time of the year; people usually have it as a snacks in the evenings and mornings with potatoes in light gravy. It is a traditional Bengali/Indian dish, perhaps eaten for many hundreds of years. In the region of Bengal they are known as “Karaisutir Kachuri” and in the Hindi speaking regions it will be “Hare Matar ki Kachori”-which is flat bread made from all purpose flour, stuffed with a paste of the peas, then rolled flat with a rolling pin and deep fried. It tastes delicious and it reflects the season so much. Green peas comes fresh in the months of the winter in India, so out of the many ways the peas makes its way into our palate, these kachuris  are one of the celebrated ways. Often they are eaten in get-together, in small and big celebrations like birthday parties, marriages.

I will tell you how it really feels special when you eat it, there is this slightly crunchy outside of the flat bread because it has been deep-fried and then as you bite you get to the green core of the bread, as it spreads in your mouth, you begin to taste the subtle sweetness of the peas, the flavor of the masalas (spices) and the peas still mingling in your mouth. Now does that not make you hungry! I am already! Writing in detail has its own effect on me.

These kachuris are best eaten with something light, perhaps lightly flavored potatoes in gravy. If you eat it with something intense, which you can, the flavor of the kachuri gets overpowered by that. So if you really want to enjoy it, choose something light, even beaten creamy yogurt seasoned with salt n sugar will be just fine.

I should tell you this sweet reader that “Kachori/Kachuri” are flat breads stuffed with something and then deep-fried, in this case stuffed with a paste of green peas.

A flat-bread without a stuffing and deep-fried will be called a “Puri/Luchi”

I do have childhood memories of eating this, I can still run those scenes and the whole experience runs in my head. It was my elder sister who is fond of cooking started cooking this in frequent winter evenings; I remember how the evening air in our home used to be heavy with the aroma. Every day after coming from college she would start cooking something special and delicious for the evening. Most of the evenings I spent were in the green fields with my friends playing cricket and football, and coming back home it was my time to smell the air and find out what is cooking in the kitchen and then dig in like a hungry panda. Some evenings I watched her cook, she used to knead the dough, cut the potatoes…it was those evenings that has memories of this kachuri stored in them and I can only access them when I remember it deeply or when I make the kachuris myself. It is yesterday once more. This is my own version.

The recipe: you will need

For the paste of peas                                                                

300 gms of green peas in their shell, then separated

1 tbsp of butter

1tsp of shahi jeera (long cumin) or cumin seeds

5 Methi ( fenugreek) seeds

1 clove

½  broken dry red chili

1 pinch of red chili powder

1/1 ½ tsp of Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp of sugar

2 pinches / ¼ tsp of Hing ( Asafoetida)

3 tbsp of water

1 tsp of soy bean oil/olive oil/sunflower oil.

For the dough

200 gms all purpose flour

1 tsp of flavorless vegetable oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp powdered sugar

½  tsp baking powder

About ½ cup water (lukewarm, though not necessary)

                               Let’s begin with the dough, sprinkle the salt, sugar , baking powder and oil in the flour and mix well, then make a well in the center, add some water and mix the flour from around the well, keep adding water a little part and mix well until all the dough comes together. Don’t add a lot of water in the beginning or at one time, add a little water and let the flour absorb it all, then if you think it needs more water, add a little more. A time will come when the dough will just come in one rough lump; at that point there is no need to add more water. Knead the dough for 4 mins, sprinkle some water with your fingers in between if you think it needs, after 4mins the dough will become smooth. Pour 1 tsp of oil on top the dough, spread it with your hands, cover the dough and leave it for half an hour.

While the dough rests we will prepare the peas. In a shallow frying pan place the butter and 3 tbsp of water, the pea pods together, place the pan on medium flame, cover it. After 2 mins you will see steam is coming out of the pan, reduce the flame to low and give it about 4/5 minutes.  After that take those off the pan and in the same pan add 1 tsp of oil, as the oil gets hot add 1 clove, shahi jeera/long cumin/cumin, methi seeds, and dry red chili. Give those 30 seconds in low flame and then add 2 pinches of hing powder, add the peas, mix well. Give them 1 minute, then add sugar, then salt to taste and a pinch red chili powder, lastly add the Worcestershire sauce in the pan, mix well. Take it off the pan and take out the broken dry red chili, then put into a small blender and make a paste of them while they are still hot. For the paste we need almost smooth texture, let the paste cool off.       

                                                          Now we have to put both of them together. Take the dough and roll it on a wooden board with your hands until it becomes elongated in long cylindrical shape. Now tear out small balls of dough from that which are around 1 ½ inch in diameter, flatten each ball lightly with your palm. Now when we are done using the whole dough making the balls, take out your rolling pin and start with one ball. On a wooden or smooth surface, rub the working surface lightly with oil, place one ball and with the 3 longest fingers in your palm together, press the ball lightly, and spread it lightly. Now with the rolling pin just roll the ball only slightly so that it just spreads just a bit, take it up in your hand, now take 1 tsp of the pea paste and spread it almost in the shape of a flat disc with your thumb in your other hand and place it in the middle of the flat ball dough. You will see the corners of the dough are clean while the pea paste sits in the middle, imagine a small circle of pea paste inside the big circle of the dough, now start pulling up n pinching the dough around the disc together while pressing down the pea paste as you do so, it will become natural as you start to do so. When you have pinched and collected all the dough around the pea paste together, hold that dough, pull it slightly and twist it a bit. Remember how they make the Chinese dumplings! Then place it on the wooden surface again, press it lightly with your fingers until it looks like a rough circle, keep pressing with your fingers lightly as u spread it a bit, work lightly always, the action of your hands is as important as the action of the rolling pin. Now with the rolling pin roll it lightly into a rough circle until it is about 4 inches in diameter. Prepare all the balls like this into flatten breads.

 

So now it is time to heat the oil for deep frying, so in a deep wok or in your deep fryer  heat any flavorless vegetable oil, I used soy bean oil around 4 cups. Heat the oil until it is quite hot, then reduce the flame to mid low, before you put the whole flatten bread into the oil, test it by dipping only a little part of the bread into the hot oil, it should begin to give off little bubbles and you will hear the sound of slight sizzle after 2/4 seconds. Now place 1 flat bread at a time carefully, give about 1 minute on both sides, as you place the flat bread in hot oil you will see it will drown first and the sides of the flat bread will start to bubble first, after about 10 seconds it will start to float up, that time lightly press with a slotted spoon in the middle of the flat bread and keep pressing lightly, you will see it will begin to puff up, after 1min, turn it over and again lightly press in the middle, give it 1minute,  what we need the flat bread gets light brown all over.  When it has got nicely light brown all over take it off carefully and then put a new one in the oil. Finish all the flat breads like this. We are doneJ

                                          So now just dig in, it is best eaten warm, enjoy it with a cooked potatoes in light gravy or with yogurt or just on their own when you can truly appreciate their flavor. Enjoy eating dear reader…Let me wish u Bon Appétit.

My Christmas cake

                                The Christmas cake with Date-jaggery and Black Cardamom

It is 4 days past Christmas now, but its memory is still very alive in my mind. I remember specially the evening, an evening spent with friends…walking with them in known streets, biting cakes in between, looking at the big crowd and wondering where they are all heading to, there was music in the air (though I can’t say I liked that music), the air was chilled and crisp and filled with the humming of the human-beings. This is the thing about winter days n nights, they are crisp and clean; they can uplift our spirit in minutes and push us to new adventures.

I quite remember the morning that day, as I woke up I felt fresh n light, but as the morning hours dissolved into the noon, a gloom came over me-like it was there waiting for me ,patiently, I did not know when it entered my soul, the transition was smooth. I was beginning to think being under the shadow that I will spend the evening at home with myself and cancel the evening with friends. Glad that I did not. And all the while I was thinking I have to make the Christmas cake and I knew if I do this I will be fine, my mother was waiting for the cake  I knew, so without any more delay I set myself to the upcoming cake.

I wanted to make something special, satisfying. I was running short of time and I couldn’t bother to making icing or decorate with patience, I was literally running around with measuring cups. What I knew I wanted the flavor of “Date-jeggery(Nalen Gurr)” in my cake, it is such a lovely pleasant flavor and I wanted my cake to reflect that. So being in motion I finally lined my tin, melt the Gurr, make the batter, ground brown cardamom, scatter candied peel and surrendered it to my oven. And did it do justice? Yes it did, I’m very happy to tell you my dear reader. The cake looked wonderful, homely, beautiful color on the top, the candied peel looked beautiful on the surface and the smell in my home was sweet, comforting warm, I was a happy man. Now the cake was light, spongy and not dry, in every bite you will get the mischievous presence of the Nalen gurr, the black cardamom.

What made me even happier was that I was going to share this with my friends just in 1 hour! As I start to get myself ready I slice the cake and ran to my father n mother with them, and they loved it J so after that packed the cake for my friends and there I go off.

                    My friends had a good surprise, I didn't give them a hint and that I’ll be bringing a cake for them! That was my little Christmas surprise with them, and the speed at which the cake disappeared made me feel very satisfied. We kept walking for an hour through the street filled with people in different colors, absorbing all the scenery, all the life and we kept talking all the time. Later on we had a dinner together in small restaurant which was luckily not over-crowded and the food was just yummy. When I reached home I got a call from my friend telling me that he gave a piece of cake to his aunt and she loved it and she could tell the cake had Nalen Gurr in it without being told.

The recipe: you will need

150 g of softened butter                                                        2 ½ medium eggs at room temp.

150 g of plain flour                                                                1 brown cardamom                           

100 g of Nalen Gurr, shaved from the block                           Pinch of salt

50 g of caster sugar                                                               50 g of candied peel

1 ½ tsp of baking powder                                                      40 ml of water  

If you are using salted butter you can skip the salt. 

Nalen-gurr:  It is a form of jaggery made from the concentrated sap of the date tree; it is a form of brown sugar with the molasses in it. It has a lovely elegant unique flavor.      

 

Pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius/325 Fahrenheit/gas mark 3. You will need an 8 inch round cake tin, line it with baking parchment or baking paper and butter it lightly.

We will make this cake beginning with melting the Nalen gurr which is kind of raw brown sugar made from the sap of the date tree, over a low flame in a pan with the 40 ml of water. Let it melt completely and then give it 3mins while it simmers, as it simmers the flavor develops a bit more and it thickens a bit. Take it off the heat now and pour it in a flat shallow dish and let it cool. In a pan on a low heat keep the brown cardamom and give it around 4-5mins, turn it in between with a fork, after 5mins it is ready to be grounded to a fine powder in a mortar n pestle, so do it until it is a fine powder, keep aside.

Begin creaming the soft butter and the caster sugar with a whisk until it is pale in color and the volume has increased a bit. Now add the 1^st egg and whisk until it is combined, now add the 2^nd egg and on top of the broken egg in the bowl shift some flour, then whisk again until combined, then half of the egg, shift some more flour and whisk again until blended smoothly. The reason we shift the flour in little bits over the broken eggs is it prevents the mixture to curdle easily. Now pour the liquid Nalen gurr in the mixture and whisk until smooth. Put the flour, baking powder, salt, black cardamom powder together and shift it from a height over the mixture, then fold or whisk until well combined, in between when you are combining everything put half of the candied peel  and  combine. Don’t over mix it; leave it just as everything combines together.

Now pour the mixture in the prepared cake tin, scatter the rest of the candied peel over the top and pop it in the oven for about 30-35mins. Don’t open the oven door until 30mins have passed no matter how much you wish to do it. After 30mins insert a skewer into the cake, if it comes out clean it’s done. Take it out and leave it to cool for about 10mins, then take it out of the tin and place it on a wire rack to cool before you cut it and indulge in it.

The Recipe for the Nalen Gurr Cookies

The recipe

Here is how to make the cookies:

Makes about 50-60 cookies

You will need

350 g plain flour                                              200g Nalen gurr

Pinch of salt                                                       90g castor sugar

2 tsp baking powder                                        1 egg

2tsp ground ginger/dry ginger powder        Flour for dusting

100g butter                                                        Butter for trays, Baking parchment

60ml water                                                         Raisins, sultanas, candied peel

You can skip the salt if you are using salted butter.

Begin by melting the gurr which is a form of deep brown sugar, a concentrated product of date sap, without the separation of the molasses, on a very low flame with the water. When the gurr solid has completely melted let it simmer for about 3 minutes. After that take it off the heat and pour it on a plate and let it cool.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and ginger powder together into a bowl and rub in the butter softly, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles like crumbs. And then stir in the castor sugar, and then make a well in the center.

With a whisk first blend the egg, after that combine the liquid gurr with the egg until blended smoothly. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to a smooth dough. If you are beginning to doubt how you will roll this later on because the dough looks quite soft to roll and handle, well 2 hours in the refrigerator will settle that problem. Now cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/gas 4. Lightly butter the baking parchment and spread them on the baking tray. Divide the dough in half and start to roll out one portion at a time to a 5 mm thickness. For ease I rolled it by putting a cling film between the roller and the dough. While you are rolling out one portion place the other half of the dough back in refrigerator because as it will get soft, it will be tricky to cut the cookies out of it. Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes of your choice, place on the parchment, leaving space between to allow room for spreading. While you are working if you feel the dough has gone quite soft and it becomes challenging to take the cut shapes out nicely place the dough back in the refrigerator for about 10 mins, so working quickly is a good idea. You can decorate them with raisins or sultanas or candied peel just the way you like it. Bake now in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes or until farm and lightly brown, but still with some give if pressed lightly with a finger. If you can’t fit both trays on the same shelf, bake in 2 or 3 batches.

Leave the cookies now on the baking tray for a few minutes to firm up before you transfer them to a wire rack to cool off and then you can attack them.

The Nalen Gurr winter cookies

Its 2 days since winter solstice, henceforth the days have started to grow longer slowly and I see it in the sky.  Where I am in, I spotted the change looking at the evening sky from  my work room, almost from a week ago I noticed the lightness of darkness in the colors of the sky where almost a week ago it was quite different and my mind danced a little dance! I don’t know why..Somehow my mind really likes this fact that the days have started to grow longer. Just 2 days from now we have Christmas...And I think of Christmas and I think of raisins soaked in rum, cakes, laughter, candles, cookies, old friends, new friends, the new Nalen Gurr, which is a form of liquid sugar made from the sap collected from the date trees, which we know of Khejur/Khajur. It has such a wonderful flavor; I feel it’s really elegant, deep amber gold- a winter specialty.  I wonder why we don’t have tradition where a young man or woman going on a date or going to meet someone special wouldn't carry a little sweet made of Nalen Gurr or a little bottle filled up with this delicious sugary thing or perhaps little cakes made from it! Wouldn't it be really nice to have a tradition like that! I know most of you will agree with me.

                                                                                         The winter evenings are lovely, there is sense of comfort in them, here where I live in this season I have seen mostly smoky evenings so far, the sky was smoky  and the pale burning orange sun makes you look at it again n again. It is not so cold here, the temp is running around 18 degrees so you can imagine it’s quite comfortable. The biggest attraction of this season of winter is reflected when I go shopping for food- whole new kinds of vegetable have emerged all of a sudden,  some of them were hiding  beneath the earth a month ago- the reddish orange carrots, the beetroot, the white n red radishes, the cauliflower, the bunch of  turnips, the mustard greens, the methi greens, the fresh spinach,  the new potatoes of winter, the slender green spring onions-it’s like the earth was preparing a surprise for months and she was doing it secretly beneath the soil, then she presents us with all those bountiful vegetables. Well it is certainly a sweet way of thinking about it like a story for children.

                                  While 2 evenings back I was eating a tiny little block of  Nalen Gurr I  decided I must make cookies with them, and not just any cookies I wanted to make gingerbread cookies with them, but I had my doubts whether the combination of ginger n Nalen Gurr will work or not. Another thing was in a traditional gingerbread cookie there is use of dark treacle, I did not wanna use that, my star was Nalen Gurr and I have to do justice to it. So there I was after an hour melting the Gurr over blue flame, measuring the flour, doubting dry ginger powder, mixing the egg with the Gurr and then after a couple of hours our whole house was literally filled with smell of Nalen Gurr n butter, imagine an evening like that! When air gets that heavy carrying such smell I’m ready to sink in. The cookies were finally there-they looked wonderful and I think you will be happy and smiling looking at them.

  Yesh I made little elephants, cute tiny hippos, some ginger man and some sweetheart cookies. When I finally bite into one I was literally surprised, they were such tiny cookies but so satisfying and full of flavor! J 

Oh my mind instantly jumped because it is a moment of success for me, indeed it is, the combinations of flavor worked, the bake was fine and the cookies looked so much cute n fun, I just imagined that moment making these cookies with children, it is going to be a time span filled with creativity n fun.

 If you are a parent with small kids I insist you to make these cookies with your children and the rest u will see! After all we must not forget inside of each of us no matter how big we are now, there lies a small kid.So munch on my dear reader…munch like a child.