Oat and Ragi cookies

Ragi or finger millet is a part of the staple diet in the rural areas of Karnataka, especially among farmers. It is high in calcium, low on fat and provides a lot of energy to the body
I used a lot of ragi for my son when he was about a year old. I cooked the ragi flour in milk and then added some mashed fruits and it was a nutritious meal which kept him going for hours.



It is extremely rich in calcium and used regularly as baby food and for older people, who need the calcium intake. Ragi is also very cooling and in summers it is had with milk or buttermilk. Ragi with oats makes a very nutritious combination, though I must confess that I don't really like either of them unless its in a very interesting form, like these crunchy cookies.

You need to acquire a taste for ragi and it isn't something I can have as is, with milk or as mudde, the traditional way people have it in Karnataka.



I had seen this recipe for ragi cookies on Sanjeeta's blog and tried them once, but I must've gone wrong somewhere and it turned out slightly soft, so I added oats this time and it turned out really crunchy, just the way I like it. The oats adds to the taste and the nutrition and these cookies were a perfect snack with milk for my son. Thank you Sanjeeta for this recipe, would have never imagine cookies with ragi otherwise.

Ragi and oat cookies
(Adapted from Lite bite)

Makes about 30 cookies

What you need -

3/4 cup Ragi / finger millet flour
1 1/4 cup oats (I used quick cooking Quaker oats)
2 tbsp maida / APF
1 tbsp cornflour powder (I used custard powder)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar (slightly lesser would also work)
3/4 cup softened butter
2 tsp curd / yoghurt
1.5 tsp baking powder

What you do with it-

Roast the ragi flour in a pan for 2-3 mins on a really low flame. Ensure that it doesn't get burnt
In a large bowl, add the ragi flour, oats, cornflour, maida and baking powder
Mix well and set aside
In another bowl, add the butter, curd and sugar. Mix till the sugar dissolves
Add the wet and dry ingredient and make a hard dough with it. If it is very soft, add a little more maida and form the dough
Wrap it in cling wrap and refrigerate for about 10 mins at least
(I baked the second batch with the dough that was refrigerated for about 4 hours and it worked fine)
Take the dough and make small balls. Lightly press them between your palms and then place them on a baking sheet
I used this baking mat that needs no greasing and the baked cookies can just be pulled off with no effort
Heat the oven to about 180 C. In my OTG (Morphy Richards 40L), I preheat it at 160 C for about 12 mins
Bake the cookies at 180 C or 160 C, as per your oven requirements for 12-15 minutes
Enjoy these crunchy healthy cookies with a cup of milk or tea

Eggles Oatmeal Chocolate chip Cookies

Last weekend, I was itching to bake, tried these pesto rolls from Shaheen's blog, they looked pretty, but I had messed up on the yeast and they landed up getting a bit too yeasty had to just throw those beauties :(

Disheartened, yes, but the itch to bake was still on, so made a batch of cookies from this recipe here



Refrigerated the remaining batter and then baked the next lot 2 days later
Simple recipe, crunchy cookies, with lots of chocolate chips
My son loved them and when we set up to take these pics, he came up with his story books and toys and more toys, which is when the cookies almost fell off and we took more pics of him with his toys...He loves to pose and has a special pose and smile everytime the camera is out !

Eggless Oat Chocolate chip cookies

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

What you need (For about 30 cookies)

1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups APF / maida
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups quick cooking oats (I used Quakers)
1.5 cups chocolate chips

What you do with it -

Beat the butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy
Add flour and salt, mix well
Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to mixture
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.
Scoop the batter with an ice-cream scoop and drop on the cookie sheet
Bake at 180degrees C for 12-15 minutes
Allow it cool before you take it off the sheet
Some turned a bit soft, so I put them back in for 2 more mins at 180 deg C
My son enjoyed it with his milk and his favourite stories

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Some good-for-the-heart oatmeal cookies for Valentines Day...



Simple, easy to bake, crunchy oat cookies that I made straight from this recipe here.



Have a great day people...

Eggless Oat Banana Walnut Muffins

I've made muffins a number of times since this first attempt of mine...Its simple, quick, tasty and a big hit with kids. I've tried various combination based on what I had on hand - with eggs, eggless, with fruits, chocolate, oats, wheat and thankfully, so far, its always turned out quite successful !



These banana muffins turned out really awesome and I managed to take a picture before it was all devoured...

The milk we get here, from Amul, is really rich and I collect all the cream and make butter at home..I simply love the white butter with parathas and dosas and everytime I make butter, I make muffins ! This one is with oats and bananas. Turned out soft and yum !

I pretty much followed the recipes from Mytheyee's blog Paajaka, but substituted AP flour with oat flour, added some ground cinnamon and increased the quantity a wee bit
This made about 15 muffins

Here's the recipe...

What you need -

5 ripe bananas
2 cups oat flour (I used quakers oats and put it thru the blender)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar (depending on how sweet the bananas are)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup walnuts

What you do with it -

Keep the butter out for at least 15 mins before you use it
Chop the walnuts into little pieces
Line a muffin pan with the cups
Mash the bananas. I used a potato masher and the bananas were ripe, so they turned into a nice puree
Add the butter and sugar to the bananas
Pre heat the oven to 200 C
In a bowl, add the oats flour, baking powder and baking soda
Add the cinnamon powder and mix with a spoon or rubber spatula
Add this four to the banana and stir in well using the spatula
Stir in half the walnuts
Top the muffins with the remaining walnuts
Bake for 20-25 mins

The muffins turn out real soft and was soft even after I kept it out for 3 days
Reheat in the oven if needed