Raisin n' Walnut Cookies

It was 10 years ago that I made Bangalore my home. I was introduced to this city by my dad who moved here on course of his transferable job. Back then, I was a young girl in my teens who had just completed 12th grade, having given Common Entrance Test (CET), I was on an ambitious lookout for an engineering seat in a prestigious college.

Those were the days when dad was staying alone in Bangalore, before we moved with him later. It was post the CET exams during the holidays that dad would take us around the fairly novel city, showing us the city with passionate enthusiasm. Malls were limited, but we had stretches of Brigade and MGs to stroll, Cubbons and Lalbaugs for weekends, Bannerghatta zoos to spend the entire day... Coming to this city, it was with high hopes and ambitions to build a good education and career. Both happened and succeeded.

I loved the city the very first instance for a few reasons which I still hold close to my heart. One of the best weathers throughout the year, which no other city in this country enjoys as much we do. The tranquility and sereneness is truly a paradise which makes it called as 'the pensioner's city'. This is also a city of youngsters with a lot of life, enthusiasm, energy and spirit.

Those were the days when Bangalore was on the brink of development. IT was springing to boom. Today it's a different scene all together. Bangalore has changed and is seeing changes at a galloping pace. Weather is changing steadily and it's alarming to see the rate at which the city is massively growing. With the decrease in number of trees and the invariable increase in traffic, noise and pollution, we really need to ponder where we are heading to. Bangalore is my home. It pains to see the city and the lifestyle changing rapidly. It's just a hope that this change would decelerate in unhurried and dawdling manner.

These were a few heavy words from my grave thoughts. The weather these days is very foggy and chill and I love to cozy myself in the warmth of the quilt. As I wake up every morning, the first thing I look forward to is a cup of steaming hot tea to warm up ourselves. These Raisin n' Walnut Cookies were made for these mornings and evenings to sip with the hot tea. They are just lovely with good crunch on the crust and chewy centers. You'll like them too.

Raisin n' Walnut Cookies

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour (150 g)
1/2 cups all purpose flour (50 g)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar (50 gm)
A pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted cold butter (100 g)
1/2 tbsp ground flax seeds
3 tbsp warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Add in:

1/2 cup raisins (50 g)
1/2 cup chopped walnut kernels (50 g)

DIRECTIONS

First grind the flax seeds with warm water till they become a mushy egg-like paste. Set aside for later use.

Mix in all the dry ingredients, both the flours, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add in cold butter. Using your fingers, work the flour–sugar mixture into butter until dough resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Next, add the ground flax meal paste along with vanilla extract to this. Fold in gently. Add the raisins and walnuts. Knead gently to form a smooth dough. Chill in fridge. Unlike last time where I was impatient to wait, I allowed the dough to chill for an hour in the fridge. Shape the cookies to rounds and flatten them a little. Place them on the baking tray and bake them a 180 deg C for about 10-15 minutes or till they brown. Remove and allow to cool before serving.

The nutty whole wheat flour combined with all purpose flour is a healthy permutation. Flax seeds have nutty flavors too. Raisins have a tangy sweetness and paired with these deeply wrinkled walnuts, all combined together bring out the best in them in form of these cookies. I have made these a little plumper this time, but the next time I may try to flatten them more for solely crispy baked cookies.