Short bread cookies

Ingredients

Shortbread cookies
(Photo courtesy: Dave souza / Wikimedia commons)

White flour                         - 2 cup

Salt-less butter                   - 1 cup

Icing sugar                         - 1/2 cup

Corn flour                          - 1/4 cup

Salt                                    - 1 tsp

Vanilla essence                 - 1/2 tsp

Preparation

                Heat oven to 350˚F. Soften the butter, beating it in a mixer for about 15 minutes. To the butter, add the white flour, icing sugar and cornflour. Beat it at low speed for a minute and thereafter at high speed for 4 minutes. Arrange cookies on a baking tray and bake for about 12 minutes till the edges turn brown and crisp.

Ginger cookies

Ingredients

White flour                           - 2 cups

Ginger cookies
(Photo courtesy: vegan baking / Wikimedia commons)

Dry ginger powder               - 2 tsp

Sugar                                     - 1 cup

Salt-less butter                       - 3/4 cup

Eggs                                        - 1

Cloves (powdered)                 - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon (powdered)           - 3/4 tsp

Baking soda                             - 1 tsp

Jaggery (melted and strained) - 3/4 cup

Water                                        - Sufficient amount

Salt                                           - 1/4 tsp

Preparation

• Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Shrikhand

Ingredients

Curd                              - 1 1/2 litres

       

Shrikhand
     (Photo courtesy: Miansari66 / Wikimedia commons)

Sugar (powdered)         - 175 g

Cardamom (powdered) -1/4 tsp

Saffron                          - a pinch

Hot milk                        - 1 tbsp

Pistachios, almonds (crushed) - 1 tbsp

Preparation

• Pour the curd into a clean muslin cloth, tie and hang for about 6-8 hours till all the water in the curd is drained out.
• The solid curd is then mixed in a bowl with sugar and the powdered cardamom. 
• Dissolve the saffron in a tablespoon of hot milk. When the milk attains the colour of the saffron, pour into the curd, cardamom powder and sugar mix and mix well. 
• Transfer to the serving dish and decorate with the crushed pistachios and almonds.

Christmas cherry cake

Ingredients

Christmas cherry cake
(Photo courtesy: Douglas /
 Wikimedia Commons)

White flour              - 2 cup

Sugar (powdered)    - 1 cup

Butter                       - 1 cup

Egg (beaten)             - 2

Orange juice             - 1/4 cup

Baking powder         - 1 tsp

Raisins                      - 10 to 12

Red cherries             - 8 to 10 

Preparation

                   Cream butter and powdered sugar. Add beaten eggs and orange juice. Sift flour and baking powder. Reserve 1/3 cup of the flour mixture and toss with raisins and cherries. Add floured raisins and cherries to the dough. Bake in a greased pan at 300ºF for 2 hours.