Try these melt-in-the-mouth Indian shortbread style cookies for Christmas. This one has hints of rose and cardamom. A delicious surprise for Santa indeed!
You will need:
All-purpose flour (maida) - 1 cup
Chickpea flour (besan) - ½ cup, the fine variety
Semolina (sooji) - ½ cup, the fine variety
Salt - ¼ tsp
Baking soda - scant ½ tsp
Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp
Ghee or butter - ¾ cup, softened at room temperature, but not melted
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Rose water - ½ tsp
Dried rose petals - 1 tbsp, chopped
Almond flakes - 2 tbsp, chopped
How to:
Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the ghee/butter for a minute till smooth. Add sugar and beat on medium speed to combine. Increase the speed and beat for 2-3 minutes till the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add rose water and mix to combine.
Add the sifted dry ingredients and combine to form a smooth dough. The dough will be very soft and a bit sticky. Gather to make a ball, cover with cling wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove dough from the refrigerator and gently smooth the dough ball with your hands. Using a tablespoon measure or a small cookie scoop, take small portions of dough and smooth into a slightly flat disc. Press a few rose petals and almond pieces on the top of each cookie. Space cookies apart on the baking sheet as they will expand while baking. Chill the formed cookies for 10 minutes if possible.
Place the baking sheet in the oven, reduce oven temperature to 325 deg.F and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cookies should not be browned on top, only their bottoms will be lightly golden. Cookies will be soft to the touch out of the oven, but will turn crisp as they cool.
Using a flat spatula, remove cookies gently onto a wire rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Cookies will keep well for at least a week. Enjoy with milk for the little ones or a cup of hot chai for you!
Notes:
1. You can increase the amount of chickpea flour and reduce all-purpose flour or even use some whole wheat flour here. As long as the proper flour ratio is maintained, the cookies will turn out fine. 2. Make sure the ghee or butter you use is just softened and at room temperature. It should not be melted all the way and completely runny. This will affect the texture of the cookies. 3. Try different flavor pairings. Use vanilla essence and chocolate chips or rose and pistachios. 4. Technically, you can bake these cookies right away, but it just makes it easier once it is chilled for just a short time. 5. You can shape the cookie dough into a log and freeze to make slice and bake cookies too.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2015/12/04/christmas-baking-nankhatai-indian-shortbread-cookies/