Nankhatai (Indian Eggless Butter Cookies)

My daughter can not imagine how Mommy's home did not have an oven growing up! But it is true, a home oven was very rare in those days in small Indian towns where I grew up. Baking at home was a rarity and a very elaborate procedure using pressure cooker generally left to kids birthday cakes only. 

Our main source of everyday baked goods was a single bakery in town which is where we would go to get freshly baked loaves, cupcakes, toasts and other yummy baked goodies. I still have vivid memories of that bakery, though I haven't visited it in decades!

Going to baker's was a major treat for us as kids. I loved visiting the baker shop - taking in enticing wafting baking aromas along-with simply joys of tearing up the freshest loaf of bread straight from oven was such a treat to a young foodie self! 

We liked almost everything in the bakery but our favorite treat was this Indian buttery flaky cookie/biscuit called nankhatai which is perfect for dunking into tea or milk. It is not very sweet, just sweet enough to nibble on it's own and take up the flavor of tea when dunked. Kinda like the scones without the sugar sprinkled on top.
I was craving nankhatai recently and looked for it at our Indian store but didn't find a fresh(ish) batch so I decided to whip up a batch myself. The recipe is very simple and quite forgiving unlike some of the more pickier baking recipes. From the time I decided to bake a batch to the time I popped one in my mouth was about an hour - quite fast with ingredients generally available in an Indian pantry.

Recipe:
Makes about 20
Ingredients:
  • 1 1/4 C all purpose flour
  • 1/4C besan (chickpea flour)
  • 1/2C butter (must be room temp)
  • 1/2C powdered sugar - see note below (must be powdered for the texture)
  • 1/8tsp nutmeg powder
  • 1/4tsp cardamom powder
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2tsp baking soda
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • Dash of milk (if needed to hold the dough together)
Recipe:
  • Cream the butter and sugar together (I used my handy hand mixer)
  • Sift all purpose flour, besan, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cardamom together and after sifting add to the creamed butter and sugar along with vanilla extract.
  • Mix together using hand mixer or stand-up mixer until dough forms. If dough is not sticking together, add just a dash of milk and mix again.
  • Cover the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30mins.
  • Pre-heat oven to 375.
  • Make small balls (about 20 or so), flatten them slightly and spread on a parchment paper.
  • Using a paring knife make a small cross on each (not sure if this is for decoration purposes or has a baking impact, but I remember every nankhatai has it, so I do it anyway :) )
  • Bake at 375F for 12-18mins. At 12mins on a top rack, I get slightly browned exterior but soft chewy interior, which is how we like it. You could bake a little longer if you like the nankhatai to be more crunchy instead of chewy.
  • Remove from oven, let cool for 10 mins. Enjoy with hot tea! 
Notes:
  • 1/2C sugar makes it just right sweet for us. Not overly so. You may want to up the sugar to 3/4C if you like your cookies on the sweeter side.
  • Please don't reduce the butter; this recipe relies on it for the flaky texture so characteristic of nankhatai!