Sunday, May 17, 2009

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.

34 comments:

Deepthi Shankar said...

that really is yummy

Lena Jayadev said...

woww...i just loved the way you presented it..really nice.. :)

Lisa Turner said...

I'm actually making chocolate brownies right now. They are in the oven as I type. If I had seen your brownies recipe, I probably would have tried this instead. And I am just loving the sounds and look of that pudding. I am usually more of a savory girl, but sometimes you just want some sweet stuff to share with friends and family.

Mangala Bhat said...

wowow! yummy deliciousooo

Ammu said...

Both of the dishes looks delicious & inviting. Nice entry.

Priya Suresh said...

Yum yum, both looks yummmm!!!

Cham said...

I love anything with nuts, the blondies are scruptious and the choco pudding is very rich !

Vibaas said...

this is so yummy! unfortunately i can't try it for now..as my oven is not working :(

Gita Jaishankar said...

Both the dishes look so decadent...I am also constantly on the lookout for low-fat recipes...thanks for sharing these :)

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

Those blondies look sooo good! Wow - that must have been a real treat! Want some here too...

chef and her kitchen said...

hmmm...chocolate pudding..i m in....looking yummy...lovely blondies too..

Suparna said...

Thanks gita,deesha, leena, cham, mangala,mangala, ammu, vibaas for ur time :)keep visiting.

Lisa,

I too made brownies a couple of days back for my brother :)I too have a big time sweet tooth but am conciously trying to lean towards savory stuff. Making sweets for sharing with family and friends is always a common exciting event at my place;)

ARUNA said...

both the dishes r very tempting!!

Raks said...

Thats looking so yummy Suparna! Would love to hav those nuts in between while enjoying the pudding! Great recipe:)

indhu said...

love the almond blondies... and the pudding looks fantastic :)

- Indhu (www.thayirsaadham.com)

Unknown said...

wow both looks so delicious especialy that chocolate pudding mmmmmmm yummy yum yum

Savi-Ruchi said...

lovely blondies & chocolate pudding looks very rich.., good one dear

Saritha said...

yummy suparna,never tried this,ur snaps are tempting me to do it :)))

Kalyani said...

it looks lovely & yummy ........

Suparna said...

Thanks for dropping by friends :)

Soma said...

Almonds oats & all thing healthy.. a guiltfree luxury:-) the pudding sounds sinfully good.
Soma(www.ecurry.com)

Rachel said...

Delicious..I made similar blondies from the Reader's Digest.

Parita said...

Something special for you on my blog..pls do visit..btw blondies and pudding both look mouth watering..delicious dear :)

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Both looks yummy and delicious.

Laavanya said...

The blondies look great and that chocolate pudding is just perfect.

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Love the recipe Suparna. My hubby too has a sweet tooth.And this recipe will definitely help me give him something a bit more healthy than usual.
Thanks

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Oh Suparna, I had a hard phase just by not eating desserts after food splly lunch... I would love those almond blondies with a scoop or 2 of icecream, mmm!!!

Uma said...

mmm. both of them look so tempting. Yum!

suvi said...

yum...i could lick that chocolate pudding clean!!

Chitra said...

Looks nice suparna,I haven't tried anything with chocolates.great recipe:)

Anonymous said...

Wow...the blondies look wonderful and the pudding looks just like an icecream! Absolutely sinful :)

Sharmila said...

Wow! Cookies sound healthy and delicious! So does the pudding. :-)

AnuSriram said...

Both looks yummy! Nice recipes...

Pooja said...

Looks tempting..yummy ones..