Almond Cardamom Cookies

 Remembering the flavour and texture of the soft biscuits which were immensely enjoyed during my childhood days, I tried to mix up ..substitute..and finally tailor the nankhatai recipe to this one..
I have almost managed, I believe, to recapture the essence of those lovely bakery cookies.. :)
Don't think they might have added the gram flour.. but I feel it gives a nice nutty warmth to the cookie.  

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tblsp cornflour
2 tblsp gram flour
a pinch of Salt
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup ghee
1/2 cup powdered sugar,
6 cardamom pods powdered


Powder the almonds with a tblsp of cornflour. Mix all the dry ingredients except sugar in a bowl.
Take ghee and powdered sugar in another bowl and beat well.

                                                              Add dry ingredients.

                                    Mix well and bring the dough together using your hand.
                                                                       Do not knead.
                                       Rest the dough in a cling film wrap for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven (both heating rods ) to 350 degree Fahrenheit (180 degree Centigrade) for at least 10 minutes. Divide dough into 15-18 equal portions and make round shaped balls from it. Line a baking paper over the baking tray. Take each ball and press a little between your palms to flatten and place it over baking tray. Keep enough space between each cookie because it will expand in size during baking.
Bake for about 20 mins.. or till light golden.. keep an eye on it after 15 mins.
Remove the tray from the oven and cool on a wire rack and enjoy...:)
(Cookies will be soft at this stage but they will harden as they cool down.)

Nankhatai / Indian Butter Cookies

My Nankhatai are done. . :)
Tastes like mysore pak cookies. .as I added besan.. After all there is no fun in making a plain butter cookie with ghee .. so the gram flour. :P.. Have given a close up of the crumb. . :) a nice crunchy texture. . Tried Vanilla flavoured.. next time will give it cardamom. .:)

Ingredients
1 cup Maida (all purpose flour)
1/4 cup gram flour
a pinch of Baking Soda
a pinch of Salt
1/2 cup ghee
1/2 cup Sugar, powdered
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sieve 1 cup maida in a bowl, add gram flour, baking soda and a pinch of salt.Mix them with a spoon.
Take ghee and powdered sugar in another bowl and beat them. Add vanilla.
Add sieved dry ingredients.Mix well and make a dough using hand. Do not knead much.
Rest the dough in a cling film wrap.
Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit (180 degree Centigrade) for at least 10 minutes. Divide dough into 12-15 equal portions and make round shaped balls from it. Line an aluminum foil over baking tray. Take each ball and press a little between your palms to flatten and place it over baking tray. If you want, you can make a criss-cross cut using a knife over top surface of each cookie. Top each one with a little bit of finely chopped pistachio or any nuts of your choice and press gently with your finger. Keep enough space between each cookie because it will expand in size during baking.
Bake for about 20 mins.. or till light golden.. keep an eye on it after 15 mins.
Remove baking tray from oven. Cookies will be soft at this stage but they will turn crispy and hard as they cooldown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy...:)