No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

These flourless cookies made with oats and cereal topping are crispy and crunchy, more or less like cereal bars really, just that they are shaped in the form of cookies.  Healthy and nutritious for breakfast or just to snack on! Crispy Ceral Oat Cookies ~  香脆燕麦饼干 Ingredients                            140 gm cereal topping 75 gm rolled oats 70 gm vanilla sugar 90 gm salted butter 1/2 tsp baking soda 1.1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 Tbsp golden syrup 1 Tbsp milk Method Melt butter with the golden syrup, let cool, then mix in milk. Mix cereal, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in rolled oats and sugar. Pour the milk mixture into the rolled oats mixture, mix to combine. Form into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven @ 10 deg.C for about 12 to 15 mins. till golden brown. Cool and transfer ...

To kick-start 2016, I'm sharing with you a sweet and delectable chocolate slice.  Adding some fizzy cola to this chocolatey slice not only makes it soft and moist and with the nutty topping, it's just impossible not to go for a second helping. Recipe for Coca Cola Chocolate Slice ~   可乐巧克力片 Ingredients 115 gm plain flour     70 gm caster sugar 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 large egg, whisked 1/4 cup buttermilk  (milk + 1/4 Tbsp of lemon juice/vinegar to make up 1/4 cup) 3/4 tsp vanilla 57 gm butter 15 gm cocoa powder 1/4 cup canola/sunflower oil 1/2 cup coca cola pinch of salt                          Frosting 70 gm icing sugar, sifted 57 gm butter, melted 10 gm cocoa powder 2 Tbsp coca cola 3/4 tsp vanilla 50 gm toasted nibbed almonds Method Pour melted butter into sifted icing sugar, whisk well. Method Whisk flour, sugar, ...

These Cornflake squares are good for snacking and not only that, they can be addictive too.  Crispy and crunchy with a hint of fruit, just delicious to go with a good cuppa of hot tea or coffee! Recipe for Cornflake Squares  ~    四方 形 玉米片     Ingredients 90 gm cornflakes 100 gm butter, melted 60 gm brown sugar 50 gm dried cranberries 1/2 tsp vanilla Method Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper, set aside. Mix the cornflakes, butter, brown sugar, cranberries in a mixing bowl. Firmly press the mixture into the pan. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for 25 to 30 mins., or till golden brown and let cool in the pan before cutting.   I'm submitting this post to the Little Thumbs Up event, organised by  Zoe of   'Bake for Happy Kids'   and Doreen of 'My little favourite DIY' and hosted by  'Bakericious' Theme for  August is Brown sugar and Molasses a...

These healthy, nutritious crunchy crisps are always a favourite in my family during the festive season.   Not much preparation is needed to produce these crisps and only a few ingredients are required but the end result is unbelievably addictive, fragrant and yummy crisps which are difficult to refrain! Recipe for Orange Sesame Almond Crisps    杏仁片脆饼 (adapted from   'here'  with mofidication) Ingredients 1.1/2 eggs 45 g sugar 23 gm plain flour, sifted 15 gm almond meal 150 gm almond flakes Zest from 1 orange black sesame seeds 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence Method Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla till sugar has dissolved. Stir in the sifted flour, almond meal, almond flakes, orange zest and black sesame seeds, mix till just combined. Drop half teaspoon of batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet and using the back of the spoon, spread batter thinly leaving a s...

B aklava is a Middle-Eastern sweet pastry which is made only with thin dough pastry and loaded with nuts and then soaked with honey or syrup.  It is widely believed that  Baklava   is of Assyrian origin, dated back to around the 8th Century B.C.  They, the Assyrians baked this sumptuous treat only on special occasions and at that time only the rich could afford this luxury. But not anymore.  Nowadays, this sweet dessert is readily available and is found in the Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, Greece, Iran, Turkey and Lebanon.  However, each culture has its own distinct way of preparing this decadent dessert.

Made these Banana almond slice with some leftovers that I salvaged from my fridge .... near expiry Digestive biscuits and slivered almonds.  I adopted the recipe from  The Australian Women's weekly, Biscuits and Slices but had to modify the recipe to suit my 9" x 13" pan.

Itching for a snack?  Ahhh.... think these crispy cornflake slices are just what you need to satisfy your craving along with a hot cup of coffee, tea or even a glass of  milk.

Attempted this  'Apple Slice' with some green apples that had been sitting in the fridge, nearly half forgotten!

I've been pondering what to do with the egg whites, leftover from making the egg glaze for bread, and yes I remembered coming across a Pumpkin Seeds Cisps from MaryMoh of Keep learning keep smiling, a blog with many original recipes.   As for this recipe, I reduced the sugar, replaced pumpkin seeds with almond flakes, tweaked the method a bit and here's what I got  ......  34 pieces in all.

These health biscuits are good for breakfast and can also double up as a snack. They will come in real handy to satisfy sudden hunger pangs!

This is a light and healthy dessert, best eaten with a dollop of ice-cream or even on its own.  It's more or less like my other recipe on apple raisin crumble .  Refrigerate leftovers and reheat before serving if desired.

Date and Walnut Slice  ..... a health biscuit, simple  and  easy to make, suitable for a quick bite at breakfast or serve with tea or coffee.

Having some left-over Green Apples from baking the Apple Walnut Yoghurt Cake, I baked this and while making it, can't help reminiscing of my nieces in Aloha and Aussie land, they'll only be too glad to whack this up for me.