Healthy Dates & Carrot Quick Breakfast Bread

Dates & Carrot Breakfast Bread

So now I am on a health trip - trying to find ways to reduce the sugar, all-purpose flour from my recipes...did a bit of experimentation with yeast...and then found my way back to the quicker variety with baking powder & soda...

Though right now I am still continuing with the carrots & dates & banana or apple pulps combinations, this particular bread recipe had agave ( for sweetness)  which I replaced with honey...the previous recipe was a whole wheat bread which was very dense - so decided to go a bit lighter this time with a combination of flours...and since this had oats(loads of goodness)...felt I could add in a bit of AP flour...the sweetness is due to the dates and honey - both of which just barely flavours the bread - and that is good for a breakfast bread..which is where I was going with this one...
However if you would like it more like a dessert you make add more honey or dates or even sugar to the mix.

The spices in this bread brings out the flavours of dates, the slight aroma of banana...and brings to mind the Christmas plum cake...making it absolutely yummy !!!

Ginger Cookie....

Ginger Cookies

There was a loud noise...like a gunshot...no worries...we do not have a gun at home...but it did startle us all...me and my cook were trying to open a bottle of nolen gur...I had not heard of this jaggery before...it is a speciality of Bengal...available during the winter months...this is got by collecting palm saps...
My sister picked up one bottle for herself ( she used this while making some kheer )...and had asked me if I would like to try it out too...I am ever game...so said yes...not sure how I would use it...
It had been laying around in my fridge for the past month or so...and finally when I took up this recipe for ginger cookie...which had an ingredient as molasses - decided to try this gur(jaggery) which was in in a liquid form as a substitute.
The sealed bottle was giving us a tough time - and finally it came open with such a bang...the top flew out the kitchen ( had to hunt it down)...the second seal somewhere closer to us...guess this gur(jaggery) generates some gases if stored too long...
Nyways...that was something...be still my racing heart...and calm the cook down(letting her get back to our lunch preparations) and me getting back to my cookie....

This cookie project was a long time in the making...first in idea, then in thought, then in planning....

It all started...{if I may repeat myself ( as I have already written some of this before)}....with one of our get togethers...and I had made some cinnamon cookies which were a big hit...
The idea germinated at that gathering...that I could perhaps make some ginger cookie to take for some friends(who love ginger cookies) and who stay in Pondicherry where we were all visiting later...our cousins B, R, A were going on earlier, we would be meeting up there...looking forward to that...(sorry here I go meandering again).

Then the thought process started - I needed ginger powder - so set about making that ( check out my blog for help on that )....and then the planning...gathering of the rest of the ingredients...did not stop at only making ginger powder - got more enthused and made some cinnamon and cloves powder too...as those were required as well...and the most important part of the process...organising time for it...

Well finally got it all together...and so here we are...with it all done...phew !!! it was a bit tedious, the dough turned out quite sticky..so added some extra flour, and then kept it in the fridge for an hour to harden ...that really helped - it made it easier to work with...

The first lot I took out as per the time mentioned, it was too soft, so kept it a bit longer...by the time the second lot came out, I was a pro...and the next couple of batches were a breeze...it looks amazing...the taste of ginger, along with a touch of cloves & cinnamon...the chewiness and softness of the cookie...it was all too yummy...so to get to the actual cookie, you need to get first to the recipe and then try it out for yourself...so here goes...

Cinnamon Cookies & the misadventures in the making...

I guess the title tells it all....but here goes the whole long tale...

Cinnamon Cookies

There was a story which we had heard when we were young, do not remember it properly - but it goes like this - a monkey ( or maybe a kid  who knows ) was given a banana - and asked to split it equally and give it to two children. 
He peeled it and broke it in half - the halves were not equal - so to make it equal - he took a bite from the bigger half...and then he saw that the other half was a bit bigger - so then he bit from that one...and so on...
You can guess how this one ends...lol !!!

My misadventures was sort of like that story - I did follow the recipe as mentioned...but somehow found that my dough was a little dry ...to counter that I added some ghee (Indian clarified butter) - and that made it too soft and moist...so added some maida ( all purpose flour) - and then felt the sweetness was less, so the final batch was rolled in some sugar/cinnamom powder. (Now I am not sure if my story matches the one above...it just somehow bought that one to my mind)

Nyways...I made a batch with every alteration - so have some 5 different varities of the cookies...with just the one dough. :-). 
See below pictures...                                                                                                                                                                                                     

All 5 varities

Different textures of the cookies