Checkered Cookies and Cherry Cake

Hi to all.I tried these cookies for kids as they begin their '79 days' of vacation :) 

I had bookmarked these crisp beauties long back, from Dyann Bakes.

 Checkered / Checkerboard Cookies

Checkered n In Baking Tray

Baked n bit successful in checks :)

This is a combination of Vanilla Shortbread and Chocolate Shortbread, which gives a wonderful output, pleasing to eyes and our palettes of course!!

Ingredients for Vanilla Shortbread :

150 gms butter softened

1/3 C granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon (right not tsp) Vanilla essence

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 C APF (maida)

Method : 

In a bowl, beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Tip in yolk and vanilla essence, beat well. Add flour in tiny lots and beat till combined. Turn out and knead on a flat surface, pat to a rectangular block, cling wrap and refigerate for 1/2 an hour.

Ingredients for Chocolate Shortbread :

100 gms unsalted butter softened

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 tsp Vanilla essence

1 large egg

1 1/2 C APF (maida)1/2 t baking soda

1/3 C cocoa powder (best quality)

1/8th tsp salt

Method :

Sift flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt together and set aside.

Beat butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla essence, beat well. Add the flour-cocoa mixture in divided lots, till combined. Turn it out on a flat surface, knead well, make a same sized rectangular block, cling wrap and refrigerate for 1/2 an hour.

The egg white from 1st set of ingredients can be used as egg wash during assembling.

Please watch Dyann's video for accurate idea of assembling or layering this. 

Assembling :
Once done, preheat oven at 170C. Lay a cookie sheet with parchment, place cookies one inches apart from each other and bake for 10-11 mins till we get lightly golden edges. Cool on wire racks, place in airtight containers, enjoy!! Makes manyyy cookies depends on how you cut it, I have kept the remaining two logs in cling wrap, refrigerated, got 48 cookies from remaining dough! :) 

Enjoy with tea/coffee or simply snack on them !!

Coming up next,  is a light crumb cake, very moist. Uses sliced glaze cherries. Family and Friends liked it alike. 

The recipe's from Tasty Food Lovers. 

Cherry Cake

 

 Ingredients : 

150 gms + 1 Tbsp All Purpose Flour (maida)

150 gms unsalted butter-softened

150 gms caster sugar

 1/2 tsp baking powder

 3 eggs

 1 tsp vanilla essence

50 gm almond -ground

6 tbsp glaze cherries (multicolor would do, I chose red)

Method :

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line and grease a loaf pan.

Sieve 150 gms of flour and baking powder. Set aside. In another small bowl, mix 1 Tbsp flour to sliced glazed cherries and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar, till fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla essence. Now fold the flour, gently in lots till combined. Mix in the cherry-flour mix and lastly combine the ground almond. Pour this mix into a prepared loaf pan and bake @180C/40-45 minutes.

Cool on rack and slice it. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!!