Shrikand

Shrikand is a yogurt based Indian dessert, you sweeten it with sugar and mix your favorite toppings, it is so easy and simple to make! I use Greek yogurt which makes it really rich, creamy and tangy. The great thing about this dessert is that it is really versatile, you can use whichever fruits and nuts that you have on hand! Some add-ins that I have used are pomegranate, pistachios, slivered almonds, chocolate chips, mango...and the list goes on! Traditionally this dish has a few pinches of saffron, which gives the dessert this awesome pale yellow color and a distinct flavor but it is completely optional.

Ingredients
- 32 oz Carton 2% Greek Yogurt (I like Fage)
- 1 cup super fine sugar
- 2 pinches of saffron (optional)
- 1-1/2 - 2 cups of your favorite add-ins

Directions
- Empty contents of the yogurt carton into a large sheet of cheesecloth lined colander.
- Bring all four corners of the cheese cloth together, twist the four corners together and tighten it around the yogurt, squeezing any excess water from the yogurt. Secure with a rubber band. Place in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
- At this point most of the liquid will have drained, squeeze the tied cheese cloth a few times to get the last drops of liquid out.
- Place sugar and contents of cheese cloth in a large bowl (the yogurt will look like thick ricotta cheese), and with a hand held mixer, whisk on medium speed until the sugar is well incorporated (you will know the sugar has been well combined with the yogurt when the shrikand becomes shiny).
- Taste the shrikand, if it is not sweet enough add necessary amount of sugar and keep mixing.
- Fold in your favorite mix-ins along with the saffron and enjoy!

Serving size- about 6 people

Almond Biscotti

I am not sure if I've told this little bit of information about myself with you guys but one of my favorite things in the world is coffee (and more recently tea)! I simply CANNOT live without that caffeine intake every morning and trust me when I tell you, I have tried.  Anyway, one of the things I love to dip in my coffee or tea is biscotti. Biscotti just puts me in a good mood for some reason and let's just be honest, who isn't happy eating a cookie dipped in their favorite beverage?!  I had been looking for a recipe for a while and stumbled across a few but never made it.  But this week I decided to be brave and make this yummy treat at home to see if I could come up with a great egg free recipe to share with y'all (there are lots of recipes out there and this is one that combined ingredients from several of them).

Before I dive into the recipe, I will warn you of a couple of things...1. this recipe is somewhat time consuming but the end result is worth the time spent; & 2, I baked this 3 times but the batch turned out a bit more crunchy than I was hoping so I would recommend baking it twice instead of the 3 times if you're wanting something a little less crunchy.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour (you can also use wheat pastry flour) 

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

Dash of salt 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp anise extract 

1 cup raw almonds, toasted

7 & 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer powder

10 TBSP of warm water

1/2 cup semi sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Place your almonds on a baking sheet to toast for about 6-7 minutes. Checking to make sure they are not turning too brown or burning every so often (you will know they are done when they look a little brown and smell toasted). Once they're done toasting, pull them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Once they are cooled, pulse in a food processor a few times so that they are roughly chopped. 

3. While the almonds are toasting, combine all of your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

4. Wisk the Ener-G Egg Replacer powder and warm water together in a bowl until there are no lumps and the liquid is frothy.  Add the vanilla, almond, & anise extract and mix well.

5. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and add the almonds.  Mix until a sticky and dough is formed (you may have to use your hands to kinda kneed it - you can use a little Pam or flour your hands so that it is easier to work with).

6. Once the dough is formed, line your cookie sheet with wax (parchment) paper and form the dough into a log that is about 4-5 inches wide and 8-10 inches long. 

7. Bake the dough for about 40 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

8. Cut the dough using a knife into 1/2 inch thick slices.  The dough will be very hard but remember, it is supposed to be crunchy. (Tip: I used a pizza cutter bc it was easier for me to cut)

9. Place the biscotti sliced side down and bake for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown in color.

10. Pull them out of the oven and on to a cooling rack.

11. In a glass bowl, place chocolate chips in the microwave in increments of 30 seconds and stir in between for about 2 minutes until they have melted completely.  

12. Using a spoon or spatula, spread the chocolate on the bottom of the biscotti and let it finish cooling.

13. Store in an air tight container and enjoy with your favorite beverage.