Nankhatai is an Eggless Indian Shortbread Cookie made with flour, butter, powdered sugar, cardamom, and nuts.
My mom always bought us Indian cookies from the desi grocery store - Punjabi Jeera Biscuits, Atta Biscuits, Nankhatai, and how can anyone forget the classic Parle-G biscuits?
These cookies pair beautifully with masala chai, hence why they're a favorite for most Indian households - we love our chai. What I love about Indian cookies is they're light and not loaded with sugar.
What are Nankhatai Cookies?
Nankhatai biscuits are buttery with a hint of cardamom and simply delicious. My version of Nankhatai is made with a touch of rosewater and almond flour, and thus you can call these Rose Almond Nankhatai Cookies.
The rosewater and cardamom combo is a classic pairing when it comes to Indian desserts. Enjoy them with a cup of tea.
Why You'll Love Nankhatai Cookies
- Eggless cookies
- Indian shortbread cookies
- Butter Cookies
- Made with simple ingredients
- Easy to prepare
- Flavored with cardamom and rose water
- They're perfect with a cup of tea
- Pretty cookies for any event - Diwali, Bridal Shower, Baby Shower, Mother's Day
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour - A cup of all-purpose flour or white flour is needed for this recipe.
- Almond Flour - Traditionally speaking, almond flour is not used for Nankhatai, but I love the nutty flavor of this flour. You can also use almond meal.
- Salt - A pinch of salt brings out the flavor of this cookie.
- Baking Soda
- Cardamom Powder
- Butter - You can use ghee or butter for this recipe, but I prefer the flavor of butter to ghee.
- Rose Extract - I used this rose water extract - a little bit goes a long way.
- Powdered Sugar - You will need powdered sugar, not cane sugar for this recipe.
- Ghee - Just a teaspoon of ghee is needed to bind the dough.
- Pistachios & Almonds - Chop the nuts and add them to the cookie just prior to baking.
How to make Nankhatai Cookies recipe
Prepare Nankhatai cookie batter
1. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cardamom powder. Mix and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add room-temperature butter.
3. Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
4. Add powdered sugar and rose water. Blend the mixture until light and creamy.
5. Now add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 2 batches. Using an electric mixer, mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
6. This is what you should have - the result will be a crumbly mixture.
7. Now using your hands, form a dough. This should only take about 1-2 minutes.
8. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Form Nankhatai cookie dough balls
9. In the meantime, chop the almonds and pistachios.
10. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Once the mixture is out of the fridge, add a teaspoon of ghee and knead the dough for a minute.
11. Now using a mini-scoop, you'll need 1 ½ mini-scoops to form the cookie dough balls.
12. Roll them up and place them on a greased baking sheet tray.
13. Using a sharp knife, form a kris cross pattern on each cookie.
14. Top each cookie ball with the chopped nut mixture. Place into the oven for 22 minutes at 350 degrees. Do NOT overbake these.
15. Out of the oven. The cookies will still be soft to the touch, but they will cool and harden. Enjoy these Indian butter cookies with a cup of tea.
Substitutions
- Almond Flour - instead of almond flour, you may substitute chickpea flour (besan).
- Pistachios / Almonds - if you have a nut allergy, simply omit nuts, including almond flour.
- Butter - if you'd like a richer cookie or prefer the taste of ghee, use ghee in place of butter.
Storage
Store Nankhatai cookies in a cookie jar or a pyrex dish. They keep well for up to 5 days outside the fridge during the cooler months.
Tip for Best Nankhatai Recipe
-> Make sure the butter is at room temperature before making these cookies.
-> Do NOT overbake these cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Simply use vegan butter in this recipe.
Absolutely not!
Rose extract is very concentrated - a little bit goes a long way, whereas rose water is more diluted.
By using rose water instead of rose extract, you will throw off the consistency of these cookies as you will need about 2 teaspoon of rose water (I haven't tested this). Please use rose extract which you can find on amazon.
Yes. You will most likely find almond meal that is the same as almond flour. You can use either one.
More Eggless Desserts
📖 Recipe Card
Nankhatai | Eggless Indian Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- pinch of salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon rose extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ghee
Garnish
- 1 tbsp pistachios, chopped
- 1 tablespoon almonds, chopped
Instructions
Prepare Nankhatai cookie batter
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cardamom powder. Mix and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add room-temperature butter.
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and rose water. Blend the mixture until light and creamy.
- Now add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 2 batches. Using an electric mixer, mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- This is what you should have - the result will be a crumbly mixture.
- Now using your hands, form a dough. This should only take about 1-2 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Form Nankhatai cookie dough balls
- In the meantime, chop the almonds and pistachios.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Once the mixture is out of the fridge, add a teaspoon of ghee and knead the dough for a minute.
- Now using a mini-scoop, you'll need 1 ½ mini-scoops to form the cookie dough balls.
- Roll them up and place them on a greased baking sheet tray.
- Using a sharp knife, form a kris cross pattern on each cookie.
- Top each cookie ball with the chopped nut mixture. Place into the oven for 22 minutes at 350 degrees. Do NOT overbake these.
- Out of the oven. The cookies will still be soft to the touch, but they will cool and harden. Enjoy with a cup of tea.
Jenny sethi says
So yummy! Everything you make is amazing!
Mannar says
This recipe is SO good and VERY simple to make!! It is the perfect amount of buttery and crumbly which will melt in your mouth. I made little smaller sized cookies than mentioned and adjusted the baking time to 15mins. These were a major hit for all age groups at our Diwali party!
Vikram says
Followed the instructions to a T but somehow the cookies got burnt 🙁 Actually I took them out of the oven at 19 minutes so I didn't overbake them for sure. Temp was 350F. What am I missing? I'll try baking them again and check on them at the 9-10 Mt mark.
Nisha says
HI Vikram. I am so sorry about this. My only guess is the oven - were the cookies placed super high up in the oven? I've made these cookies multiple times and that is the correct time. As you've seen from the reviews below, others who have made this recipe had the same results as myself. I honestly don't know what the issue could be except maybe the ovens are different - is your oven special? more high-end? Yes, try at the 9 minute mark and see how it is, and keep checking every couple of minutes. So sorry!
Purvi Bhatt says
Thank you for this recipe! This nankhatai turned out great!
honeywhatscooking says
So glad to hear that Purvi. Thanks for sharing!
Shivani says
Hi Nisha,
Thank you for a great recipe for a favorite snack. I made this for Diwali and it turned out delicious. Best part is they are easy to make! Will surely be making these again!
Dipa says
This recipe was super easy to make, directions are very clear. Thank you Nisha for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Reshma says
Amazing recipe so easy to make and really soft and yummy. Husband approved!!!
Thank you for the amazing recipe 🙂
sangita says
Hi, Am i missing something, Cant see the exact measurements
looks delish and want to make it.
honeywhatscooking says
Sangita - so sorry. My recipe card was missing, not sure how that happened. This is now fixed.
Sorry!!