EGGLESS COCONUT COOKIES

 Quick and easy coconut cookies recipe, made with simple ingredients. Everyone deserves a tasty teatime treat every now and again and these sweet, coconut biscuits are the perfect recipe – and ready in no time! It's one of those simple delights great to serve for any occasion, a 'looks simple but you can't eat just one' kind of cookie. These eggless coconut cookies have a nice chewy texture with the right amount of sweetness. You know, when you feel like something sweet - but the smell of freshly baked cookies is in your head and you just need to make something NOW? Homemade cookies just don’t get easier than this. Here is the easy and very simple recipe. These eggless coconut cookies are crisp around the edges and soft, chewy from the center that is filled with crunchy toasted coconut.   

                                              (8-10 Big size cookies)

INGREDIENTS :

1/2 Cup Ghee/ Butter

1/2 Cup Powder Sugar

1 Cup All Purpose Flour /Maida

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup + 1/4 Cup Desiccated Coconut/ Coconut Powder

1-2 tablespoons Milk at room temperature

METHOD :

STEP 1 - Pre-heat the oven at 170 degrees C for 10 minutes.

STEP 2 - In a big mixing bowl, add ghee and powder sugar and whisk it with hand whisker for 2 minutes or until the mixture turns light and creamy.

STEP 3 -  Now sieve maida, salt and baking powder.

STEP 4 - Also add desiccated coconut and 

mix it using a spatula untill combined.

STEP 5 - Add milk slowly in small batches(1 teaspoon at one time) and make a smooth dough. (See notes)

STEP 6 - Cookie dough is ready. Keep in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

STEP 7 - Line a baking tray with parchment paper and keep aside. (See notes)

STEP 8 - Pinch a small lemon size ball from the dough.

STEP 9 - Roll it with your hands and slightly flatten it.

STEP 10 - Put the remaining desiccated coconut on a plate.

STEP 11 - Cover the cookies with the desiccated coconut.

 STEP 12 - Arrange the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking tray. Likewise, make all the cookies with the remaining dough.

STEP 13 - Bake in oven at 170 degrees C for 15-20 minutes or until nice . Keep checking after 15 minutes. (See notes)

STEP 14 - Remove from oven and wait till the cookies cool down completely

and then collect them and keep them in an air tight container.

Cookies are ready to serve with a hot cup of tea.

NOTES: *Do not add milk in one stroke. Otherwise the dough will be very loose and you are unable to handle.

            *Do not over mix the dough else the coconut cookies will become hard and dense.

                *You can not use fresh coconut for these coconut cookies.

                * You can use caster sugar instead of powder sugar.

                *Every oven is different, so try and check the cookies couple of minutes before the given time.

                   *Always place the baking tray in the middle rack, and use the baking mode, when both the rods are on, this will give you even baking from all sides.

                   *If you do not have parchment paper then grease the tray with ghee or butter and dust with refined flour.

CHAI MASALA POWDER/ MASALA TEA POWDER

 Indian chai or tea is a common beverage for us. We start our day with a blend of ginger-mint tea or cardamom-ginger tea. If you like masala tea then this is must try for you as the spice powder is handy so making masala tea is very easy. Chai Masala is an Indian aromatic spice mix mainly used to flavor the milk tea (chai). This masala tea powder is a dry, ready-to-use, gluten-free and vegan spice powder. The main ingredients in this chai masala powder is dry ginger also known as saunth or soonth. It has a long shelf life due to its dry nature and hence once prepared, it can be stored and used for months. This spiced masala powder to be boiled with tea powder. It gives a nice aroma and delicious taste to normal milk tea.  If you make the masala tea powder, then you don’t have to add any spices to the tea while making it, unless you want a strong hint and taste of a particular spice. 

INGREDIENTS :

2 tablespoon Saunf / Fennel Seeds

10-12 Kali Mirch/ Black Peppercorns

1 tablespoon Laung/ Cloves

10-15 Elaichi/ Green Cardamom

1/2 inch Dalchini/ Cinnamon Stick

1/2 tablespoon Sunth/ Dry Ginger Powder or 1/4 Cup Dried Ginger (saunth)  (see notes)

1/2 Jayfal/ Nutmeg

Pinch of Salt

METHOD :

STEP 1 -  Gather all the ingredients listed above in the ingredient table.

STEP 2 - Heat a pan on low heat.

STEP 3 - Dry roast all the ingredients one by one on a very low heat.

STEP 4 - Transfer to a plate and let them cool completely.

STEP 5 - Now put them in a  mixer pot and grind it until it turns a medium coarse powder. 

STEP 6 -  If needed, sieve it using a strainer to remove the fibers of dried ginger if any.

Chai/ Tea Masala Powder is ready. 

STEP 7 - Store in a clean air tight container for up to a year and use it to make addictive masala chai/tea whenever you want.

NOTE : * Use 1/4 th teaspoon tea masala powder to make 2 cups masala chai.

              * You can multiply the quantity of ingredients to make a bigger batch of chai masala.

                      * I have used 1/4 cup dried ginger as I don't have ginger powder. You can use whatever you have. Or you can make dry ginger powder by blending dried ginger in a mixer pot.