SHF/IMBB- Holiday cookie swap

Making cookies is a lovely tradition and I do it every year with my friends. Exchanging family cookie recipes along with some great pictures is exciting and this is what this SHF/IMBB is about. It is hosted by none other than the Domestic goddess, Jennifer and Alberto of Il Forno. From these creators of SHF and IMBB, this is a super-duper bloggers event.

My family does not share the cookie-making tradition since most families in India do not own an oven. I grew up on bakery cookies and packaged biscuits, most of them are eggless, catering to the predominantly vegetarian population. For this SHF, I recreated some of my childhood favorites.


cardamom sandwich cookies

Cardamom cream sandwich cookies- I love True Elaichi biscuits. This homemade version is based on Gale Gand's recipe. It has ground cardamom and some crushed saffron in the dough. The cream filling made with butter, powdered sugar and milk has ground cardamom and I also added a drop or two of cardamom extract from India. Truly exotic and I will have to make more for swapping.


macaroons

Coconut macaroons- A common macaroon recipe that I baked to a perfect golden brown as those I get from Indian bakeries (not just pale on the edges). It is crispy on the outside and chewy inside.


'Nice' biscuits

Faux Nice biscuits- Nice biscuits are perfect for eating on their own or dunking in coffee. They have a lot of coconut and a crisp sugar sprinkle on top. This recipe tastes exactly the same though in a different shape.

80 gm Flour
40 gm Butter
1/4 tsp Baking powder
50 gm Powder sugar
40 gm unsweetend Desiccated coconut
about 4 T Water/Milk (this recipe has only approximate measurements to form a soft dough)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp coconut extract (optional)
Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Sieve/sift flour and baking powder. Cream butter and sugar. Add flour and desiccated coconut, extracts and make a soft dough with milk/water. Roll into a cylinder and further roll the dough into a square butter paper. Chill it for 4-5 hours or till hard (Do not freeze). Bake at 350 F for 15 mins or till dark golden.