Eggless Gingerbread Man Cookies With Royal Icing- Christmas Recipes

Eggless ginger bread men cookies & fruit cake are the ones that flash in my mind whenever I think about Christmas recipes. Last year I shared eggless fruit cake/Plum cake and this year I tried these ginger bread cookies with royal icing for the first time and I was completely happy with the results. I was looking for some gingerbread recipes without molasses and eggs and I found them here. 

As I have not seen or tasted these cookies, I passed some of these cookies to my friends who had already tasted them in abroad and got thumbs up from them. Raksha was very much excited to see a batch of cookies with royal icing and she herself started decorating them enthusiastically. Though I am not happy with the decoration I did, I was satisfied with the cookies. I hope I can make perfect icing in my next attempt.

 After baking these cookies, I am much more confident to try some more Christmas special cookies like snowball cookies,tutti frutti cookies and sugar cookies.I will try to share them in upcoming weeks. 

Friends, do try this cookie recipe even if you are a beginner or first timer. I am sure u will get it perfect. I got these cookie cutter from Institute of Baking and Cake art,Bangalore. Don’t worry if you don’t have a gingerbread man cookie cutter. You can try in any other shapes as you like. The best thing with this cookie is that the dough can be made well in advanced, refrigerate and make it for Christmas parties or get together. 

These cookies are considered as one of the special Christmas gifts too. So try these cookies, wrap them in a sheet and gift your nears & dears for this Christmas 2019 ! Enjoy. Check out my eggless tutti frutti cake recipe if interested !

Lets see how to make these awesome gingerbread man cookies recipe below.

Icing done by my daughter Raksha 

Eggless Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe

Eggless gingerbread men cookie with royal icing

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Cookies

Serves: 30 nos

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 12 Minutes

Total time: 22 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 240 ml All purpose flour/Maida - 2.5 cups Unsalted butter - 100 gms Powdered jaggery - 1/2 cup ( somewhat tightly packed) Honey – 1/2 cup Baking powder - 1 tsp Cooking soda/Baking soda - 1 tsp Dry ginger powder - 1 tbsp Cloves powder - 1/2 tsp ( i ground 15 cloves) Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tbsp Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp ( freshly ground) FOR ROYAL ICING Icing sugar – 1/2 cup Cornstarch/corn flour – 1.5 tsp ( I used corn flour) Lemon juice – 1/2-1 tsp A few drops of  food coloring Milk or water – 2 to 3 tsp

HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD MAN COOKIES - METHOD

In a wide bowl,take the powdered jaggery and butter in room temperature.Beat them using an electric beater till it turns creamy and fluffy. Now add the honey and again beat the mixture till they get combined well. In another bowl, take maida and all the powders. Mix well and sieve them. Set aside Add this sieved maida to the creamy butter mixture and fold them gently. Now use your hands and make a non-sticky dough. Knead the dough well ( do not beat it) in a lightly dusted surface. Use very little maida for dusting only if its needed ( I dint dust the surface.I just made a non-sticky dough and proceeded. My dough was just right for this measurement) Now wrap the cookie dough in a cling wrap or polythene sheet and refrigerate them for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the dough and make a small ball out of it. Dust the work surface with maida and roll the dough using a chapathi rolling pin. Make sure dough is not sticky. Roll it for 1/4 inch thickness. Make it thin. If you make it thick, cookie will become chewy. So roll it thin and uniform. Cut it with the cutter. Arrange the cookies in a greased baking tray. Preheat the oven at 180c in convection mode and bake at 180c in convection mode for 10-11 minutes till they turn light brown. Keep an eye after 8-9 minutes. Take the tray out and cool them completely by keeping them in racks. The cookies will seem a little soft when hot but they will become crispy once they have cooled completely. Store in an air tight box till you make decorations. Prepare the icing and proceed. For Royal Icing, sieve the corn flour & icing sugar. Add a tsp of lemon juice and a tsp of milk/water. Mix well to make a smooth paste. If the consistency is too thick, add a tsp of more milk and make a creamy paste. Divide the icing into small portions and add your preferable food colors. Fill the icing in a plastic bag or zip lock cover and do the icing. Decorate the cookies as per your wish.Initially icing seems to be thin but it will thicken as time proceeds. I felt the taste of icing was very similar to glucose ;) Wish you all merry Christmas and a very happy new year in advance !

Note

Make sure your cookie dough is non-sticky. Do not add more flour if you feel the dough is sticky. It makes the cookie chewy. U can also replace all these spices with “All spice Powder”. In that case, use 1-1.5 tsp of it. Roll the cookie dough uniformly thin else cookies may turn chewy and hard. After baking the cookies for 10 minutes, you may feel it soft to touch. But it will become hard and crispy once it cools down completely. First make one batch of cookies,check whether it has come out perfect after cooling down. Then make the remaining batches by adjusting the baking time.

Try these gingerbread man cookies for this Christmas and gift your near & dear ones !

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Vegetarian Nasi Goreng Recipe / Indonesian Fried Rice Recipe

Nasi goreng or Indonesian fried rice recipe is a popular rice dish in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.It was in my try list for long time.I took this recipe from a magazine.I had already tried chinese style”Chilli garlic fried rice”which is a hit recipe in my blog.So i confidently tried this recipe too.This is a very simplified recipe and may not be the authentic one.I compared this recipe with some of the vegetarian nasi goreng recipes on net,modified it and prepared for sunday lunch along with tomato soup.We had a nice international lunch menu  at home. I used shallow fried tofu and spring onions as per the magazine recipe.For variations and make it more healthy,u can also add thinly sliced vegetables.Do try this recipe with ur variations this weekend.Have a happy meal.
It is often served with various sides like fresh vegetables such as lettuce, sliced cucumber, and sliced tomatoes. But i served it with plain tomato sauce.It tasted simply yummy !

Nasi goreng recipe

Vegetarian Nasi goreng / Indonesian Fried rice recipe

Cuisine: International

Category: Lunch

Serves: Serves2-3

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 35 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

To pressure cook Basmati rice - 1/2 cup Water-3/4cup To grind Red chillies - 8 nos (I used kashmiri red chilli to get a nice color) Garlic cloves – 6 nos Small onions/Shallots - 3 nos To Shallow fry Tofu - 50 gms(cut into small cubes) To saute Gingely oil - 3 tbsp Small onions/Big onion - 10 nos/1 no(finely chopped)  Garlic cloves - 5 nos Soya sauce – 1/2 tsp Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp Salt- as needed Spring onions – 2 tbsp (to garnish)

METHOD

Wash and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes.Pressure cook it adding 3/4 cup of water and a drop of oil.Remove and spread in a plate.Rice should cool completely and should be fluffy. Grind all the ingredients to make a smooth paste. Chop the onions and garlic cloves finely.Cube cut tofu into small pieces and shallow fry in 2 tbsp of oil. Remove in a tissue and set aside. In a kadai,heat gingely oil and saute the onions,garlic cloves and the ground paste.Saute till the raw smell leaves completely. Now add the cooked rice,soya sauce and mix well.Finally add the shallow fried tofu pieces and toss well.Garnish with spring onions and serve hot ! NOTE U can use the combination of brown rice and regular rice to get the reddish brown colored rice. U can replace tofu by mixed vegetables.The original recipe called for deep frying tofu.But i shallow fried it.As i had cut the tofu into big pieces,i felt the masalas din’t infuse well inside tofu.So i feel , making small pieces would help.

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VEGETABLE FRIED RICE RECIPE

Vegetable fried rice is our favourite Chinese rice recipe. When my husband was in US for a short period , he used to have this rice for lunch in which the quantity of vegetables was more than rice. After he came from the trip, he told me to make fried rice adding more vegetables than rice. I started making the same way and it made the rice more healthy. I used to add ajinomotto but after knowing its ill effects I stopped using it. But It din’t make any difference in taste and flavour. The only part I feel lazy/difficult is to chop the vegetables finely. Otherwise its an easy to make dish. It will come out very flavourful too. Make sure you add all these vegetables to get the exact taste of fried rice.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml

Basmati rice – 1/2 cup Water – 3/4 cup Vegetables [cabbage , carrot (2 nos) , beans ( 5nos) , potato (2 nos) ] – 1.5 cups (finely chopped) Cooking oil – 2 tbsp Big onion – 1 no (chop finely) Ginger -  2 tsp (-do-) Garlic – 2 tsp (-do-) Capsicum – 1/2 no (-do-) Spring onion – 1/4 bunch Soya sauce – 1/4 tsp White pepper powder – 1/2 tsp Sugar – 1/2 tsp Salt – As needed

METHOD

Wash and soak the rice in water in for 30 minutes. Mean while chop all the vegetables finely.For spring onion , cut the stem part & leaves part separately.. Pressure cook the rice adding a drop of oil .. Rice should be separate & fluffy. Spread the rice in a plate and cool down completely.. In a wide kadai , heat oil till it slightly fumes ..Now add all the finely chopped vegetables including onions ,capsicum, stem of spring onions ,ginger & garlic pieces.. I don’t follow any order..I just add everything together.. Add sugar, salt and toss in high flame for 2-3 minutes by mixing continuously.Keep stirring , adjust the flame to low if necessary..Adding sugar helps to maintain the color of vegetables and salt helps to sauté quickly. .After the vegetables shrink into half , add soya sauce, rice and mix well.Mix well and add white pepper powder.Toss for few seconds and switch off the flame..Garnish with leaves part of spring onions..

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VEG LASAGNA RECIPE WITH EASY HOME MADE PASTA SAUCE/ BECHAMEL SAUCE

Last month I was asking my sister & friends in abroad to suggest me some international recipes. They told me about this famous lasagne and I had no clue about it. To be frank , I did not even know how to pronounce & spell ( it is la-zaa-ne-aa). I asked my hubby regarding the same & he said he had tasted this in US & UK.. I searched for some good recipes.  Most of them were with beef and egg. I wanted a pure veg recipe. 

There are 2 choices for veggies. One with spinach & the other one is with veggies like carrot , aubergine & mushrooms. I finally decided to go with my Microwave oven manual recipe. By referring some videos on youtube , I got the idea of how to arrange it. I bought the lasagne sheets in Nilgiris , Brigade road.. 

Somehow I successfully prepared it yesterday. We loved it. My husband told “This tastes better than the ones served in restaurants”. I felt it had a slight bland taste. But he said it would be more bland with lots of cheese but mine was spicy, flavourful & better. Please make sure u eat it hot , atleast warm.

One sad thing is , I had no casserole or lasagne pan .I made with my baking pan .I was not able to make many layers as my pan was broader and lesser in height. Also I prepared less quantity of sauce & vegetable mixture. So I made a single layered lasagna. But I have given the quantity of ingredients to make 3 layers. Soon i’ll update the picture with many layers. Do leave your  suggestions if any changes can be made in this recipe.

About the sauce , I got béchamel sauce recipe from the manual and the pasta sauce from here .. Both are very simple and easy to make. No fancy ingredients..All are easily available in stores..I’ve tried to capture step by step recipe. If you have ready made store bought sauce , this dish can be made in jiffy. Ideal for potluck & parties. 

As I prepared the sauce @home , I felt it time consuming. But the sauces can be prepared well in advance and refrigerated. When I was preparing the sauces , my hubby sniffed , came to kitchen & asked me whether I am making any Italian recipe. It smells awesome. Try this recipe and let me know how it turned out !!

INGREDIENTS FOR PASTA SAUCE

Big ripe tomatoes – 6 nos ( blanched & pureed ) Big onion – 2 nos ( very finely chopped ) Garlic – 6 cloves (minced) Olive oil – 4 - 5 tbsp Black pepper powder – 1 tbsp Parsley ,oregano , thyme and basil mix –1 tbsp ( i used garlic bread seasoning ) OR Oregano – 1/2 tbsp & Basil – 1/2 tbsp Bay leaf – 1 no Sugar – 1 tsp Salt  & water – as needed Cheese – 2 tbsp (optional)

METHOD

In a bowl , boil the tomatoes till it cracks. After it cools down, remove the skin and grind them coarsely to make a puree. In a kadai , add oilve oil and saute the finely chopped onions & garlic cloves. Saute till turns translucent.Now add the tomato puree , salt , bay leaf & 1/4 cup of water..Allow it to boil for few minutes. Then add the seasoning ( crush it lightly with ur hands), black pepper powder & some more water.Allow it to cook uncovered for 10 - 15 mins in low flame. Finally when it turns thick ( sauce consistency) and leaves oil, Switch off the stove.. U’ll get a nice aroma..Remove the bay leaf & store in a bottle after it cools down .Refrigerate it till use. Its shelf life is around 5 days..The sauce gets a nice color if u use ripe , coloured tomatoes..No need to add canned tomato puree. I dint use. NOTE: This sauce can be used for making simple pasta & spaghetti recipes ..Ur kids would love this..

INGREDIENTS FOR BECHAMEL SAUCE / WHITE SAUCE

Milk –  1.5 cups Bay leaf – 1 no Pepper corns – 6 nos Big onion – 1 no ( cut into slices) Maida / All purpose flour – 2 tbsp White pepper powder – 1 .5 tsp ( i used black pepper powder) Nutmeg powder – 1/4 tsp Butter – 3 tbsp Salt –1/2 tsp Sugar – 1/2 tsp Water – as needed

METHOD

In a  milk pan , boil the milk along with bayleaf , onion and pepper corns.Boil it for 5 mins. Strain the milk and allow it to cool. After the milk cools down , add maida to it and mix well without lumps. Now melt the butter in a pan and add the milk mixture to the pan  with sugar & salt. ( as per the actual recipe , maida has to be roasted well in butter before adding milk , but u may get lumps while roasting. So i added the maida with milk without roasting.) . I kept the milk in a bowl . I added the melted butter to the bowl.I got this step from here.. Now allow the milk to boil till the raw smell of maida emanates. Keep in low flame. Add more milk if necessary.Finally add the pepper powder & nutmeg powder.Boil for few mins.It will thicken and reaches sauce consistency. Remove & store.Make the sauce slightly thin (ie tomato ketchup consistency)

INGREDIENTS FOR VEGETABLE LASAGNA

** Lasagna sheet – 9 nos ( Follow as per the instruction given in the box. Put the sheets in salted hot water for 10 mins , make it soft & then arrange them) Brinjal ( long green variety) – 4 nos Mushroom – 7 nos Carrot – 2 nos (finely chopped) Bell pepper – 1/2 no ((finely chopped ) Big onion – 2 nos Garlic cloves – 6 nos (minced) Salt & pepper powder – 1/2 tsp each Lasagna pan (13x9x2) – 1 no Thermal foil – 1 sheet Ricotta cheese – 1 can Grated Mozarella Cheese – 1 cup  ( I used pizza cheese alone )

METHOD

Chop the brinjal into round slices & immerse in water till use. Clean & cut the mushroom into small pieces. Finely chop the carrot & capsicum . Boil in water till it is cooked. Heat water in a big vessel , add salt & a drop of oil , allow it to boil. Add the lasagna sheet and keep it for 10 mins in fire-off. This makes the sheet soft. Remove the sheet & proceed.. Finely chop the onions & garlic cloves.In a kadai , heat the olive oil and add the onions & garlic cloves .Saute till turns transparent.Add the cooked carrot &capsicum. saute for few seconds. Then add 3/4th of the pasta sauce.Mix well. Add salt & pepper powder.Mix well and switch off the flame. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a separate pan and saute the brinjal & mushroom pieces till it shrinks in size. Add the required salt & set aside. Now take the lasagna pan or casserole..Brush with oil or butter.I kept a thermal foil at the bottom as my pan is in a bad condition but that is not necessary.. Boil the lasagne sheet in a bowl of water for a minute.Take it out and then place the lasagne sheet in the pan.. Fill the gaps by keeping small pieces of sheet..Spread the white sauce over the sheet .. Now spread the carrot mixture with pasta sauce which we kept ready. Spread a layer of sauteed brinjal, mushroom mixture.. Again spread a layer of white sauce and cover with ricotta cheese. Place another sheet above this and repeat the same procedure starting & ending with white sauce. Make 2-3 layers as per the quantity of vegetables available..Finally cover the mixture with a lasagne sheet & spread 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over it. Cover it fully without any gap. Now close the pan with a thermal foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180c in convection mode for 30-40 minutes. Mine took 35 minutes. Please keep an eye after 25 mins.If the color of the sheet turns golden brown on top & cheese melts, stop baking and give a standing time of 10 minutes. Remove and enjoy eating hot !! Note :I baked for 30 minutes with thermal foil and it dint get brown. So i uncovered it and baked for another 5 minutes.The point is the outer layer has to be slightly browned. So keep an eye !!

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