Butter Biscuits/ Kerala Bakery Biscuits

Happy New Year to all my friends and readers!
This is my first post of 2015. I know I am a bit late to wish to all. Wishing you all a happy and rocking 2015!

Today's recipe is a sweet treat from Kerala. It is one of my favorite treats, Kerala bakery-style biscuits/cookies. Butter cookies are the best cookies ever- buttery, crumbly, melt in the mouth, and perfect for holidays. They are delicately crisp, flavorful, and sweet. Everything about this biscuit is good. It is addictive. Trust me on this. The Kerala-style butter biscuits have the flavor of cardamom powder and ghee. You will often find this in glass jars, in cozy old fashioned bakeries in Kerala. It brings back fond memories of childhood. It has a light melt in the mouth texture, similar to butter cookies like Benne biscuit or the nankattai. You might be surprised to find out that it is super easy to make at home.

Butter biscuits are sweet, flaky buttery goodness. To get the perfect texture and taste use good quality butter and powdered sugar. It is best to use unsalted high-fat butter is often called European-style butter. Ghee/ clarified butter adds a nutty taste to the biscuits. It is best to use a 3:1:1 ratio of flour, fat, and sugar. But you can reduce or increase the sugar according to your sweet preference. The best way to store cookies is in an air-tight container at room temperature. Does this sound exciting? Then check the recipe. It is super simple to make.

Butter Biscuits/ Kerala Bakery Biscuits Recipe

Ingredients
All purpose flour- 2 1/2
Roasted Chana dal powder- 1/2 cup
(pottukadala powder)
Butter- 1/2 cup
Ghee or vegetable shortening- 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil- 3 tbs
Powdered sugar- 1 cup
Cardamon powder- 3/4 tsp
Baking powder- 1/8 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Chopped cashew nut- 1/3 cup

Melt ghee and set aside. Make sure that the butter-soft at room temperature. Add sugar and cardamom powder into a blender, pulse, and make it a fine powder.
In a bowl, mix flour, roasted channa dal powder, baking powder, salt, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add ghee (or vegetable shortening), soft butter, and mix well till combined. Add powdered sugar and mix well till light and fluffy.
Add the flour mixture, and with a pastry blender or with your fingers, rub it into the flour until the flour resembles a coarse sand-like. Add the vegetable oil little by little into the flour. Mix until the mixture looks damp and crumbly. Add the chopped nuts and mix. Press a handful of the mixture to form balls. It should hold together and also easily break off when crumbled. If it does not hold together, add one or two tsp of oil ( you will need between 1/3 to half cup oil). Make small lemon-sized balls, place them on a tray and refrigerate for half an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Take each ball and arrange it on a baking sheet, placing it two inches apart. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Rotate the pans from front to back halfway through the baking time, to ensure even baking.
Let the cookies firm up on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, and then transfer the cookies to cooling racks. Allow the cookies to cool down completely. Leftover cookies can be stored, in an airtight container.