In my world, if there is one little thing that can bring a smile to anyone's face, it will be homemade cookies. Sometimes with chocolate chips hidden in it and sometimes, without any surprising element. Just plain, buttery and delicious with lots of flavor! I think it helps keeping the child inside us alive and that is why, we all love cookies any time.
As a kid, whenever I used to watch movies where moms were shown baking cookies or cupcakes, I used to wonder why take all this trouble when there are so many options available in the market. Little did I know about the fun and satisfaction of baking.. Having said that, baking is not a very easy practice in my kitchen; lots of disasters and wastage happens in the process. It's either the ratio or the baking time that always goes wrong, resulting in a hard non-edible stone like object.. phew!
I am still learning the chemistry and art of baking. Cake is easy for me, cookies - not so much!
So the other day, with lots of courage, I decided to bake some cookies. My mantra was to keep it plain, simple, add lots of butter and keep my fingers crossed.
Inspired by the compound butter, I decided to flavor it with some crushed cardamom, a pinch of saffron and citrus.
I kept peeking in the oven non-stop. After about 15 minutes, they came out nicely baked. At the first touch, it didn't feel like a stone. I waited for a while to let it cool and then took a big bite, right in the center. They were chewy, soft and not so overly sweet. Loved the flavor! The cookies came out exactly the way I wanted it. No wastage happened this time. Best of all, Arvind approved it and he is still enjoying it.
Citrus and Saffron Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter (softened at room temperature)
- a pinch of saffron
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon crushed cardamom
- juice of half lemon
- zest of half lemon
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup semolina
- ½ cup chickpea flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a tiny bowl, mix the saffron with milk and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Mix the butter, lemon juice, zest, salt and sugar in a separate bowl. Now, add the milk-saffron mixture to the bowl along with crushed cardamom and whisk until its smooth.
- In another bowl, mix rest of the dry ingredients.
- Pour all the dry ingredients in the butter mixture and knead it to form a nice sticky dough.
- Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350F .
- Make tiny balls with the dough and press it slightly to form a flat shape .
- Bake it for about 15 minutes or until it pale white in color and forms slight cracks on top.
Nutrition
Jean (Lemons and Anchovies)
I have the same trouble with cookies and like you, I think cakes are so much easier. But maybe the stars aligned for both of us this time. I baked some cookies today and I was extremely happy with them. Yours are definitely winners, too. Love the flavor combo you selected for yours. 🙂
Russell
I've never thought to use saffron in a cookie. This pairing sounds scrumptious!
Mark
Great combo - cardamom and lemon. The cookies look delicious, Kankana.
Nisha
Cookies turning into stones, hehe ... the same always happens with me whenever I make Peanut Butter related cookies. Yesterday, again. Peanut Butter and I just don't get along!
These cookies look good, I find it interesting to try, seeing how you used besan & rava instead of maida or aata.
Tes
What a lovely cookies recipe 🙂 It sounds like a perfect recipe for summer 🙂
Magic of Spice
What a delightful flavoring for cookies...they look splendid!
Richa@HobbyandMore
love the citrus in these saffron cookies.. i think for me anything that comes out delicious and close to whatever i can call it.. works fine!.. cookie, muffin top. or for cakes, i'll call it a fudgy cake;). love the new look of the blog.. all sunny, clean, and cheerful!
Nami | Just One Cookbook
It's true - even though I'm not a baker, homemade cookies are worth making than buying store bought cookies. It's completely different thing! You said baking a cake is easier? Gosh I wish I can bake a cake. That remains my challenge still. You did a wonderful job baking these cute cookies - citrus and saffron sounds wonderful! I bet these are hard to stop eating after a couple... 🙂
Maja
Kankana, I love this big photos, they are so bright and tender in the same time! Love this cookies, saffron is actually very often used in our kitchen 🙂 Wonderful!