Coconut Almond Sesame Shortbread Nankhatai (Vegan)
Nankhatai is an Indian shortbread cookie. It gets a sandy delicate texture from the use of semolina and is traditionally made without eggs. It has loads of ghee or clarified butter. In this version, I have substituted coconut oil for ghee, giving the cookies a delicate coconut flavor and a melt in your mouth texture. They come together in about 15 minutes. A little chilling and then baked in 20 minutes.
These are a perfect weekend kind of tea cookie. Chill overnight and pop in your oven while your tea if brewing.
My Vegan Shortbread Cookies Story
I do the cooking in my house. I love to cook (well, you knew that!) and I am happiest cooking for my family. There is however a catch! Cooking also is the task I do in our household. This means when I am not there, I need to make sure that food is around. The basic stuff and a little sweetness, just as an icing. These easy to make cookies, ended up being just right for the recent few days that I had stepped out for. Not all the fall color I had expected, but, a great ocean view certainly helped. Among other things left for them, there were these shortbread cookies. Delicate, with a crisp crumb these received a whole bunch of compliments.
The sesame seeds are a great addition, in my opinion especially since I have more that I need lying around the house. And the good news is that sesame seeds are very healthy for you. In fact, this cookie needs very little effort, can be passed off as healthy and keeps the household happy. All in all, it is my kind of cookie.
I have another round of meal planning and freezing coming up. I am planning to go to India, in time for Durga Puja. Sans kids. Not all the reasons for this is delightful, but for today the child in me is just super excited to be contemplating to be home for the holidays.
So why is these are my kind of a cookies
- It pretty much gets mixed in a single bowl
- There are enough ingredients that are somewhat healthy – almonds and sesame, to come up with these shortbread cookies.
- Mostly done with pantry staples
- Makes my kids happy
So, try the recipe and tell me what you think. Other easy shortbread cookies include these walnut shortbread cookies and almond shortbread cookies.
A delicate and crisp cookie, that makes a perfect sweet treat with a cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons coconut oil, plus extra for greasing
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (about 20 cardamoms, shelled and pounded)
- 1 and ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Grease and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the coconut oil in a mixing bowl and add in the brown sugar and cardamom and mix well, until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, mix in the flour and almond meal. Add to the coconut oil sugar mixture and mix until well incorporated. You should eventually have a soft dough that feels light to touch.
- In a large flat surface mix the sliced almonds and the sesame seeds.
- Shape the dough into small (about 1 inch) piece, shape into a round and flatten. Roll in the sesame almond mixture and place on the baking sheet.
- Chill the cookies for at least an hour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool in the oven.
- Enjoy with a good cup of tea!
Notes
The prep time includes 1 hour of time to chill the cookie dough.