War and conflict are synonymous with untold losses and misery. But amid these negative outcomes, innovation is as much an outcome of chaos and crisis. One such innovation is margarine, the now common ‘bread-spread’. When butter was in short supply, margarine was made as an alternative. Likewise, sugar too was rationed during World War 2 and some bakers, therefore, began to add beet juice to their cake making flour.
The deep red hue from beet extract lent a beautiful colour to the finished product and it also kept the cake moist. This was how the red velvet cake came to be, or so the story goes. Meanwhile, New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel says the red-velvet cake originated there. This sounds similar to the debate of how chicken tikka masala came to be. Besides, a company called Adam’s Extract also stakes claim to being the red-velvet’s creator.
As with most food origins, each of these claimant’s red-velvet cake is possibly just an outcome of improvising and enhancing over the years. Currently, red-velvet is not limited to cakes alone; there are other red-velvet goodies, in the form of cookies, pancakes, ice creams and even lattes.
A red-velvet cookie, in particular, is simple to bake. The finished cookie looks vibrant in its shade of deep red. People across all age groups are drawn to it even if there are numerous other options on the table.
Ingredients
- Flour – 500 gms
- Butter – 400 gms
- Icing sugar – 64 gms
- Brown sugar – 64 gms
- Baking powder – 1 tbsp
- Red gel colour – 7-8 drops
- White chocolate – 25 gms
- Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Methodology
- Mix butter and icing sugar until fluffy.
- Add the vanilla essence and red gel colour, and mix further.
- Sieve the flour.
- Add baking powder and the flour to the mix from step 2 and mix well till it becomes doughy in consistency.
- Add parchment paper on a baking tray.
- Use a measuring scoop to ensure uniform size. Shape it with your palm and place it on the tray.
- Bake at 180 degree Celsius for 25 mins.
- Using 500 gms flour, you can make about 72 cookies that are about 1.5 inch in diameter.
Red velvet cookies are actually very easy to make. If you have been meaning to attempt a red-velvet preparation, and one that is simple, then set aside time immediately. Bake a red-velvet cookie and bask in the fulfillment of having done it yourself.
