Healthy Almond Blondies and Chocolate Pudding

These days I am shying away from sweets and oily stuffs.Though this phase is only temporary;) it’s a punishment for S in the real sense…coz he has a huge craving for sweets and has the habit of eating a dessert or a piece of mithai (Indian sweet) after every meal not that I don't but am learning the to tame my craving big time :) I have been bad enough to deprive him from eating sweets for quite sometime now….the last I made dessert was about a fortnight back :( I made aamras but then not with puris …we had it with chapattis ;D I’d made mango kulfi too but most of it was over since we had friends visiting …lol.. It was getting a bit too much so I thought I’ll make something really nice for S to make him happy and satisfy his sweet tooth (actually mine too ;))

I had come across some recipes with fewer calories and less sat-fat in one of the magazines. So this was the right time to put them to use. I made Rich chocolate pudding and Almond blondies….these turned out really good. S was a happy guy with the tasty treats, I was really glad about the good health factor and pleasing the taste buds too .

Almond Blondies
Ingredients:

½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup butter
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup silvered almonds, divided ( I used toasted almonds cut into thin strips)

Method:

Heat oven to 350* F Coat a baking pan with cooking medium and line the bottom with foil.

Put oats in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Whisk together oats, flours, sugar, salt, baking powder in a bowl and set it aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stir in sugar and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and stir until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into a large bowl
Add vanilla extract and reserved dry ingredients and mix well.

Fold in ¼ cup of the almonds.

Pour batter into prepared pan/tin and spread evenly, and top with remaining almonds.

Bake until a knife inserted comes out with a few crumbs. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until done.

Cool it thoroughly. Lift out the foil and cool completely on the wire rack.

Cut into bars and store in air tight containers.


Rich chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
Pinch of salt
2 cups milk
1 egg
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate bits
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, instant coffee powder, ½ cup of the milk in a medium sauce pan and whisk well.

Pour 1 cup of milk into sugar mixture while whisking. Bring it to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Beat egg lightly in a small bowl. Pour 1 cup of hot milk mixture from the sauce pan into the bowl while whisking the egg. Pour egg mixture back into the pan.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Add chocolate. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla extract.

Pour mixture into 4 serving dishes. Chill for 2 hours or over night, covered.