Nan Khatai

I love Nan Khatai.. It has been my favourite cookie since childhood.  I used to have it in old Delhi.  If I am in Old Delhi the first thing I would do is looking for these cookies.  The heavenly aroma of these cookies can make your day and the melt-in-mouth texture oh my is simply divine.  I can have lots of these cookies in one go :D

After leaving India, like so many other things, I miss my Nan Khatais too :(  I tried to make them at home twice with different measurements but didn't get the desired results.  Though the taste was good.
Last week I tried one more time and finally nailed it.. yes yes yes I nailed it :)  Just seeing the final product, I started jumping with joy as they were so perfect.  I got those beautiful cracks on top too.  I took the first bite and it just melted in my mouth.  mmmmm.. The whole batch finished up in no time.  My toddler loved them too as they were so soft.  Needless to say my nan khatais were super duper yummilicious :)

While making the dough I used only 6 and a half tablespoons of Ghee / clarified butter as my dough got the desired texture with that even I had to add one more tablespoon flour.  As nan khatai is famous (infamous) for its ghee content, I was not so sure about the texture with so little ghee but it came out delicious just like the market ones.  Finally my efforts paid off.  Its my NO-FAIL recipe that I am proud of :)

I was so full of confidence that on the same day I tried another cookies with orange flavour.. that too came out well.  (will post the recipe soon).

I was dying to share this recipe here.  So don your aprons and start making Nan Khatai.  Simply follow the recipe (read the notes before making) and enjoy a mouthful of heaven. Happy Cooking :)

For more cookies recipes:
Vanilla Horlicks Cookies
Bakery Style Cake Rusk
Eggless Whole Wheat Cumin Walnut Cookies
Eggless Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies 
Eggless Whole Wheat Oats and Ragi Cookies

Makes- 13 cookies
Baking time -  20-22 minutes
Temperature -  170 degree

My 1 cup measure 250 ml

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/Maida    -    1 cup + 1 tbsp

Ghee/Clarified butter         -    6 and a half tbsp

Castor Sugar                      -    1/2 cup

Baking soda                       -    1/4+1/8 tsp

Baking powder                  -    1 big pinch
Green Cardamom              -    3 (crushed)

Method:

• Mix together all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Set aside.
• Take castor sugar in a mixing bowl.  Melt ghee and add to castor sugar.  Mix together till it becomes a smooth paste.  Add crushed cardamom and mix again. Add in all purpose flour little by little and make a soft dough.  Chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven at 170 degree.  Lightly grease a baking tray.  Set aside.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and pinch out a small portion and roll it to a lemon size ball.  Likewise make balls with the remaining dough and arrange them in the greased baking tray.  Press the balls a little on the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or till the bottom gets a little brown,  You will get beautiful cracks on top.  
• Remove and let them cool for 2 minutes in the tray.  Carefully shift to a wire rack and let them completely cool down.
• Enjoy and store the remaining cookies in an airtight container.

Notes:

1. In place of Castor Sugar you can use powdered white sugar also.
2. The consistency of dough should not be too loose or too firm.  You should be able to roll the soft balls without any cracks.
3. If your dough doesn't come out together you can add 1/2 tbsp more ghee.  Do not add milk or water to make the dough.
4. Do not let the top get the browning while baking.  Check the bottom after 18 minutes, if it gets brown your cookies are ready, if not bake for another 3-4 minutes.
5. As oven settings varies, keep an eye on the cookies after 15 minutes.

Vanilla Horlicks Cookies

I am back.. Yes, I am cooking and experimenting like before but sharing it with all of you my lovely readers becoming a little less as I feel so lazy to type :D But now I have recharged myself and am going to post more frequently :)

Today’s recipe is Vanilla Horlicks Cookies.  The easiest cookies one could ever make.  You would be surprised to see that so little effort and easy peasy ingredients could do such a magic. I bought a small pack of vanilla horlicks to make my double decker choco vanilla horlicks burfi that I totally in love with.  I also tried some cakes with it (vanilla horlicks) and they too came out nice. I do not like vanilla horlicks with milk but love it in my bakes. It takes the baked goodies to another level. 

When I started making these cookies, I had no idea what I was going to add other than horlicks.  Whatever came to my mind I simply added and trust me I was clueless what was going to come out from the oven.  And when I took the first bite, it was simply divine.. so delicious and crunchy cookies were ready right in front of my eyes.  I kept them a bit healthy by adding wholewheat flour and oats flour. 
I liked these cookies so much and so did V and my baby. I think now I am going to get another pack of vanilla horlicks just to make these beauties. 

Making these cookies is just like 1-2-3.  Recipe is so easy to follow so I hope you won’t feel any kind of difficulty while making them. I baked my cookies till I find the top slightly brown. They would be so soft at first but let them completely cool down and they would become crunchy. 
Do not forget to go through the notes given at the end. Happy cooking :)

Makes-20 cookies

Temperature - 180 degree

Baking time – 18 minutes

Ingredients:

Horlicks (Vanilla Flavour)	1 cup
Oats flour	¼ cup
All purpose flour / Maida	¼ cup
Whole wheat flour / Atta	1 tbsp
Salted butter (softened)	½ cup
Caster sugar	¼ cup
Baking powder	½ tsp
Baking soda	1 big pinch
Tutty fruity (I used my homemade tutty fruity)	6 tbsp

My 1 cup measures 250 ml.

Method:

• In a wide bowl, mix together Horlicks, oats flour, all purpose flour, wheat flour, castor sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Add in softened butter and mix well with your fingers. Add in tutty fruitty and knead the mixture to a soft dough.
• Make three logs with the prepared dough and cover them with a cling film. Chill them for atleast 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile, take a baking tray and line it with aluminium foil. Grease the foil. Set aside.
• After 30 minutes, with a sharp knife cut the logs into round cookies. Arrange the cookies in prepared baking tray. Set aside.
• Preheat oven at 180 degree and bake the cookies for 18 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Shift to a wire rack and let them cool down completely.
• After cooling down cookies would become crunchy.
• Store them in an airtight container. 

Notes:

1. In place of castor sugar, you can use powdered sugar.
2. Instead of tutty fruity, you can add your choice of nuts or dried fruits.
3. If you find the dough a bit dry, you can add a tsp of milk.
4. Do not skip the chilling part, it would make the cutting easier.
5. You have to be very patient while cutting the cookies as they may get broken so do it very carefully. If it gets broken while cutting then don't worry, you can take the broken pieces in your hand and press them a little and your cookie is good to go. 
6. Do not over bake the cookies. Once they get slightly brown on the top, remove from the oven. 
7. Cool down the cookies completely before storing them.

Eggless whole wheat cumin walnut cookies

Today's recipe is specially for kids.  I made these cookies for my 16 months old toddler.  She is a fussy eater so I always try to make something new for her.  I experiment with healthy ingredients and different flavours to make her take the food.  Sometimes it goes well and sometimes she doesn't even take it to her tiny mouth.. :D

This week I thought to try out some soft and healthy cookies for her to take as snacks and I made these cookies.  Yippy!! she loved them.  Mission Successful :D

These cookies came out very tasty and the texture (as I wanted it to be) was a bit cakey and soft.  I used whole wheat flour with all purpose flour to make it healthy.  My baby loved them so much and so did I.  Its a healthy snack for adults too for that odd time hunger pangs.

So sharing this recipe here.  Enjoy.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour	¼ cup
All purpose flour / maida	¼ cup
Cornflour	1 tbsp
Salted Butter	¼ cup
Brown sugar or white sugar	¼ cup + 1 tbsp
Baking soda	1 pinch
Milk	1 tbsp
Vanilla essence (optional)	3-4 drops
Chopped walnuts	½ tbsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera	½ tsp

Method:

• Take all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cornflour and baking soda.  Mix well.  Sift them twice.  Keep aside.
• Preheat oven at 180 degree.  Take a baking tray and line it with aluminium foil.  Grease the aluminium sheet with oil.  Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, add butter and sugar.  Mix well and add milk.  Mix till fluffy. 
• Add flour mix to the butter mix little by little. (If you find the mixture a bit dry, add one more tablespoon milk).
• Add cumin seeds and mix again.
• Cover the dough with cling film or put in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Take the dough out and pinch a little portion from it.  Make a ball with it and press a little with your palms.  Make all the cookies in the same manner and arrange in the greased baking tray.  Press chopped walnuts on the top of the cookies.
• Bake for around 18 minutes.
• Take out the cookies from oven and shift to a wire rack.  Let them cool for about 10-15 minutes.
• Enjoy.  
• Keep the remaining cookies in an airtight container.

Notes:

1. My cookies got brown color as I used brown sugar.
2. If using white sugar, powder it first.
3. If using unsalted butter add 1/8 tsp salt to the flour mix.
4. You can use cookie cutter to shape the cookies.
5. Cookies would be very soft in texture while hot.  Don't bake them again.  Let them completely cool down, they would become a bit firm.  
6. Cookies would be soft and cakey in the final texture.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

Hi friends.  Marry Christmas to all of you.  I know its a bit late but there is no time constraint for sharing the good wishes :)

I had planned to make a fruit cake on this Christmas but couldn't manage the time for the same so now I will make it for the new year.  It would be an easy peasy recipe with no fuss.  No alcohol and nothing fancy going around.  So keep checking my space for the recipe.

Getting back to today's recipe i.e. whole wheat peanut butter cookies.  I had a bottle of peanut butter which I bought for some baking recipes.  I like peanuts but I can't have peanut butter on the bread.  So the bottle was almost full. Yesterday I was in baking mood so I mixed up different things with peanut butter and got these nice peanut butter cookies.  I added healthy flours to make it anytime craving snacks.  Fat is also very less.  Crushed peanuts gave a nice crunch to these cookies.  I used brown sugar for the deep brown color but you are free to use white sugar instead.  You can also decrease the sugar level, there wont be any compromise with the taste I bet.  We enjoyed these cookies with tea.  You also try out.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour	½ cup
All purpose flour / Maida	½ cup
Oats flour	¼ cup
Brown sugar	¾ cup
Peanut butter	½ cup
Dessicated coconut	2 tbsp
Baking soda	¼ tsp
Roasted peanuts (crushed)	2 tbsp
Golden syrup	1 tbsp
Cardamom (crushed)	1
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
Ghee/butter	3 tbsp
Water	3 tbsp

Method:

• Take a bowl and mix together wheat flour, all purpose flour, oats flour,coconut, baking soda and cardamom powder.  Keep aside.
• In another bowl, take brown sugar, peanut butter, golden syrup, vanilla essence and water.  Mix well and keep aside for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, mix together sugar batter and flours.  Add butter little by little. Add crushed peanuts and mix again.  Check the consistency.  The mixture would come together if you press it with your fist but it would not form a soft dough.  The texture would be a little crumbly. 
• Take a small portion of mixture and form a ball and press it between both your palms and shape it into cookies.  You can use a cookie cutter also as I did.  As the mixture is crumbly, forming cookies would take a little more time.

 

cookies ready to go in the oven

• Preheat the oven at 180 degree. Take a baking tray and line with an aluminum foil.  Grease the foil with butter.
• Arrange the cookies in the tray and bake for 15 minutes or till the cookies start getting brown.  Do not bake for more than 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest for 2 minutes. 

Just out of the oven

• Shift the cookies to cookie rack and let them cool for 15 minutes.
• Enjoy with tea or coffee.

Notes:

1. Sugar level can be adjusted according to your taste.
2. White sugar can be used.  Brown sugar will give the deep brown color to the cookies.
3. Use the butter/ghee at room temperature.
4. If you find the mixture is too crumbly to shape into cookies you can add some more butter.
5. Do not over bake the cookies else they would burn.

EGGLESS WHOLE WHEAT, OATS AND RAGI COOKIES

Hi friends, yesterday I had told you about my latest experiment and promised to share it with you today so here I am with delicious wholewheat, oats and ragi cookies.  As it was purely an experimental dish, at first I was not at all sure about how it would come out but the end result was sooooo good.  I loved the softness and flavour of these cookies.  Everything was just perfect.  These melt in the mouth cookies are surely gonna be loved by you too,  I made these especially for my LO so added healthy flours and the combination was superb.  Almost all the cookies got finished up same day (not by my LO but me n V :D)  I strongly recommend to try these cookies as they are very easy to make and taste great. Good option for that anytime hunger pangs :P  Perfect for kids school tiffin too.

Try out and enjoy.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Oats flour	¼ cup
Whole wheat flour	¼ cup
Ragi/Nachni/Finger millet flour	2 tbsp
Unsalted butter	¼ cup
Powdered sugar	¼ cup
Baking soda	2 pinch
Cardamom	2 (powdered)

Method:

• In a mixing bowl, take oats flour, wheat flour, ragi flour and baking soda. Mix well.  Keep aside.
• In another bowl, take butter and sugar (Butter should be at room temperature).  Mix well with the help of a spoon till it gets fluffy.  Add cardamom powder.  Mix again.
• In this butter mixture, add flour mix and knead well.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degree and grease a baking tray.
• Now divide the dough into small balls and flatten them with your hands.
• Arrange the cookies in the greased baking tray and with the help of a fork, make impression on them. (Shown in the pic).  

Ready to go in the oven

• Put the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Let them cool for 10 minutes in the tray itself.

Out from the oven.. 
excuse my small pan as I had no idea the cookies would expand so much..

• When cooled, cookies would turn a bit firm and ready to eat.  
• Enjoy with a cup of tea or as it is. (Store in an airtight jar)