NanKhatai Biscuit (cookies) are a type of Indian cookie that is traditionally made using all purpose flour, baking soda, butter and white sugar. These cookies are crisp on the outside and crumbly or soft on the inside. They are a little bit like Mexican wedding cookies except they don’t have any powdered sugar topping.
This recipe is for making an AIP version of NanKhatai. This recipe is one of the recipes from my cookbook, AIP Indian Fusion. NanKhatai Cookies or biscuits were my favorite biscuit growing up so I wanted to create this recipe for my cookbook. This was one of the hardest recipes to create and I must have tried (and discarded!) at least 5 different recipes before tasting success! I was so overjoyed I could include this recipe in my cookbook! This holiday season I wanted to share this recipe with all of you! Have you grabbed a copy of my cookbook yet? It has 114 AIP recipes that are inspired by Indian cuisine! You can order the print copy (in India and US) from amazon.For the ebook, you can buy from here. (The ebook is on 50% discount this whole month of December. use PROMO Code ‘HOLIDAY2022’)
What are the ingredients for AIP NanKhatai Cookies?
- Grain Free Flours: Arrowroot Flour, Cassava Flour and Tapioca Flour. The mix of these three flours is what makes these cookies so amazing!
- Palm Shortening: I recommend using palm shortening in this recipe to achieve the buttery flavor. However you could use coconut oil as well.
- Maple syrup: Maple syrup is the sweetener used in this recipe. I have not tried this recipe with any other sweetener.
- Baking soda: This recipe uses a tiny bit of baking soda (not baking powder) to achieve a soft texture.
- Sea Salt: A tiny pinch of sea salt balances the sweet flavor.
Here’s a step by step video tutorial on ‘ How to make gluten free / grain free Nankhatai cookies’ :
- ¼ cup arrowroot flour
- 2 tbsp cassava flour
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- About 4 tbsp melted palm shortening
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- On a different parchment sheet or on a plate, add all the dry ingredients (flours, sea salt and baking soda). Using a spoon, mix well.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour blend. Then add the melted palm shortening, maple syrup and vanilla. using a fork, mix everything together until you get a wet dough (you may need to add a bit more palm shortening).
- Divide the wet dough into 6 equal sized balls.
- Pat each ball between your palms to flatten into a circle (about 1.5 inch dia). Smooth the edges with your fingers. Place the cookie on the parchment lined baking tray. Repeat until you make all the cookies and place the tray in the oven.
- Bake at 350 F for about 14- 15 minutes until the bottoms turn slightly golden.
- Let cool for 10 minutes at least before handling the cookies.
- Store in an air-tight container.
