Indian Lime Cookies



Indian Lime Cookies

When you crave a cookie…

Valentine’s Day is almost here! Now life is buzzing with the parties in school and my chirping gals hiding in their rooms to make Valentine’s cards and crafts for us.

The little one tenderly held A’s hand before going to sleep and asked him if he would be his Valentine? How could he ever refuse the sweet princess! This time also calls for cute desserts; for me something quick and easy to do with the kids. The Lime Cookies are just perfect. They are very much like the short bread cookies that we are so familiar with, require only a few ingredients and are done in less than half an hour.

When my MIL was here to visit us last year, she had mentioned that she remembers the “Bina pani ka roti“, (which translates to Roti/Flatbread without water), from her childhood. This  “roti without water” happens to be sweet, with ghee and nuts. We did give it a try on the stove top and also in the microwave, but it was not quite what we wanted it to be. No more explorations were done thereafter – we let matters rest.

While I was leafing through Anjum’s New Indian, I came across this recipe which  sounded pretty much similar to what we had been trying to accomplish. Anjum’s recipe tells how to make it on the skillet as well as the oven. I tried the cookies several times in the oven and they were really good! I have not tried the stove top method, but have written it in the recipe; if anyone wants to give it a try, do let me know how they fared.

Lime cookies Ingredients

After the first time, I made some changes to her recipe by using nut flour and using less ghee/butter and adding a little bit of milk/cream.Keep in mind that these cookies can be flavored with any kind of spice, instead of the lime zest. Cardamom, saffron, nutmeg, ginger or any spice and flavor that is your calling.

So when you crave a cookie, you better get it quick. They make fantastic tea cookies and also works fairly well to sandwich them with jellies or melted chocolate or Nutella.

Indian Lime Cookies



Indian Lime Cookies

(Adapted from Easy Lime Cookies by Anjum Anand’s Anjum’s New Indian)


Ingredients:

  1. 1/4 cup fine almond meal
  2. 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  3. 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
  4. 1.5 tablespoon ghee or melted butter
  5. 1 tablespoon milk/cream
  6. 1 teaspoon lime or lemon zest
  7. 1 teaspoon fine sugar
  8. pistachio or almond flakes to garnish the top (optional)
  9. coconut flakes to garnish the top (optional)



Preparation:

Mix together almond meal, all purpose flour, half the zest, confectioners’ sugar, cream/milk and ghee. Work the dough until it comes together, and no longer crumbly. Pound together the rest of the zest and the superfine sugar. This will be a lime colored sugar.

Divide the dough in to 8-10 portions. Flatten them between the palm of your hands to form discs about an inch in diameter. Carefully place each cookie on a baking sheet, and flatten the cookies with your finger – to 1.5-2 inch diameter. Top with a sprinkle of lime sugar and nuts (if you are using them).

In a pre heated oven at 350 degree F, bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges get light golden. (in my convection oven, the cookies were done in 6-8 minutes).Place the cooked cooking on a cooling rack or plate. The cookies will crisp once they are cool.

To cook the cookies on stove top:

Work in batches; make flatten four balls of dough to 1 inch discs and place them on a cold nonstick frying pan. Using your fingers, flatten them further so they are as thin as possible, about 1.5 -2 inches in diameter. Top with a sprinkle of lime sugar and nuts (if you are using them).

Place the pan over stove and cook over very low heat for 7-8 minutes. Once the base is light golden, flip them over with a spatula and cook this side over very low heat for about 4 minutes. Try not to let this side turn brown or even golden. Place the cooked cooking on a cooling rack or plate. The cookies will crisp once they are cool. Work with the second batch in the same way.

Indian Lime Cookies



Related Posts:

Orange Ginger Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies

Speculaas – Spice Cookies

Liquor Soaked Chocolate Fingers




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