Eggless Thandai Cookies

Thandai is a milk mixture made on Holi day by North Indians. You get thandai syrup in the stores but here I used freshly made powder.

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 100 gms Maida

• 1/4 tsp Baking powder

• A pinch of salt

• 50 gms Powdered sugar

• 50 gms Butter

• 4 tbsps Thandai masala*

• 2 tsps kewra essence** or 2 tbsps Rose water

• 1 tbsp Milk with saffron soaked

• 3 tbsps gulkhand or rose petals***

Instructions

1. In a bowl, whisk together maida, salt and baking powder.

2. Soak saffron in a tbsp of warm milk, keep this aside

3. In a mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar together till it becomes light and airy

4. Add the gulkhand, kewra essence and the milk and mix well

5. Now add the thandai powder, maida mixture and with your hands form a pliable dough

6. Roll this into a log, flatten it slightly (to get squarish slices), cover with cling foil and refrigerate for an hour (after an hour it was still not very stiff so i froze it for 10 mins)

7. Cut it gently into 1/2" squares and line them in a greased baking tray

8. Bake them in a 160 degrees preheated oven for around 20-25 mins till you see the sides slightly brown.

9. Lower the temperature and keep it more for around 5-10 mins

Notes

*Thandai masala :

• Almonds - 1/2 cup

• Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup

• Pistachios - 1/4 cup

• melon seeds - 2 tbsp

• Peppercorns - 1 tbsp

• cardamom - 6-7

• Poppy seeds - 1 tbsp

• Fennel seeds - 3/4 tbsp

• Sugar - 2 tbsps

• Dried rose petals - 6

Dry roast the above except sugar and petals lightly in a pan and make a fine powder out of this, add sugar and mix

** I feel Kewra essence did the trick of a superb aroma, rose water may not be the same

*** If you dont have gulkhand , you can add rose petals but again gulkhand is more aromatic