Dark Chocolate Chips Cookies

Credit - Nigella Lawson

Quantity - around 20 pieces  

Time - 40 minutes

Ingredients -

• 125 gms. dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
• 150 gms. plain flour (I use wheat flour)
• 30 gms. cocoa powder sieved
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 125 gms. butter soft
• 75 gms. light brown sugar
• 50 gms. white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 medium eggs cold from the fridge
• 350 gms. dark chocolate chips (or semi sweet chocolate morsels)

Method -

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Melt the 125 g dark chocolate in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water.
2. Put the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3. Cream the butter and sugars in another bowl.  Add the melted chocolate and mix together.
4. Beat in the vanilla extract and cold egg, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Finally stir in the chocolate morsels or chips.
5. Scoop out 12 equal-sized mounds - an ice cream scoop and a palette knife are the best tools for the job - and place on a lined baking sheet about 6cm apart. Do not flatten them. (I made around 20 smaller cookies)
6. Cook for 18 minutes, testing with a cake tester to make sure it comes out semi-clean and not wet with cake batter. If you pierce a chocolate chip, try again.
7. Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to harden as they cool.

Serve - Serve with tea or coffee. 

p.s: Its really simple and a huge hit!! :-)

Phalanges Express

I have found out a great brain teaser for the breaks at work - "on line Typing Tutorial"! I know it sounds a little weird, but it is actually real fun! Over the years of using a QWERTY key board, I had kind of subconsciously started typing without looking at the key board and honestly, fairly fast. But just out of curiosity, I wanted to learn the systematic technique of the same and found this site.  Its real neat and a very refreshing break as well! While using this site I follow the basic standard chart of "Fingers : Letters." (Refer the picture below)

The nature of my work is quite sedentary and very varied as well. To begin afresh from one task to another, a short break always helps. In stead of playing a game of Solitaire or make a cold call or for that matter just whiling away your time thinking about what to do, this is a very interesting change over! You learn as well as get a complete break from the monotony! I hope you find it as constructive as I do!

Nankhatai

Credit - Internet (My little additions)

Quantity - 16 to 20 pieces  

Time - 15 minutes preparation 20 t0 25 minutes baking (Over night dough resting)

Ingredients -

• Maida/ Self rising flour - 1 cup
• Castor Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 Tsp.
• Ghee - 1/2 cup (melted and at room temperature)
• Baking Soda - 1/2 Tsp.
• Salt - a pinch

Method -

1. Stiff together the flour and baking soda.
2. Mix the ghee and sugar together till a smooth paste is formed. Add the flour and soda to this paste slowly till a dough is kneaded.
3. Rest this dough for overnight in an air tight container. (You can also rest it for an hour before baking. But overnight resting makes it more delicious.)
4. Pinch similar size balls out of this dough and place on a greased baking tray.
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

Serve - Serve with tea or coffee.