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    Home » Cookies » Flavoured Nankhatai Recipe

    Published: Oct 24, 2021 · Modified: Oct 24, 2021 by sushma iyer · This post may contain affiliate links

    Flavoured Nankhatai Recipe

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    pin image of flavoured nankhatai dough

    Nankhatai is a popular Indian Shortbread Cookies and a staple in Indian Bakeries. Find 9+ ways of flavouring the Indian Biscuits using just 1 Nankhatai dough in this Flavoured Nankhatai recipe post.

    9 types of Indian Shortbread Cookies placed in a baking tray lined with parchment paper with more biscuits on the sides

    What is Nankhatai?

    Originated in Surat, India; Nankhatai is a crispy biscuit (or known as a cookie worldwide) that has a tender crumb and shortbread like texture.

    I have already talked about the basic Nankhatai recipe in a much detailed format in a separate post. Consider checking that post to understand:

    1. The basic and classic Indian Bakery Nankhatai Biscuit.
    2. What makes the Nankhatai, "Khasta"
    3. How to achieve the beautiful cracks on top and much more.

    Today let me share with you all how you can take that 1 dough and make 9+ flavours with the same to make a classic Indian Cookie Box with these Flavoured Nankhatai this Diwali.

    Please note the method shared in this post can be applied to any cookie base be it Sugar Cookies, Shortbread Cookies or even Butter biscuits.

    INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

    ingredients needed to make flavoured nankhatai

    Ingredient Notes:.

    1. Please note the above image refers to the ingredients needed to make the basic nankhatai dough. However the recipe card does include the ingredient lists for making flavours of choice.
    2. Ghee: Do not substitute ghee; the fat source with anything else. This is the key ingredient
    3. Sugar: Always powder your sugar and then use in this recipe.

    Step by Step Instructions:

    Step 1: Making the Basic Dough

    collage of steps showing how to make the cookie dough
    • Start by adding all the dry ingredients - Flour, Chickpea Flour, Semolina and Salt to a bowl. Add the ghee and combine it into a soft dough. (image 1-3)
    • At first the dough would be crumbly. Do not be tempted to add any additional liquid here, the warmth of your hands would melt the ghee and everything will come together into a dough.
    • Divide the dough into 9 equal portions. You can either eyeball or divide it into 9 portions weighing 112 gms each. (image 4)

    Step 2 - Flavouring the Dough

    collage of steps showing how to flavour the dough
    1. Rose Nankhatai (image 5): Add the gulkand, rose essence and pink food colour and combine to form a smooth dough.
    2. Paan Nankhatai (image 6): Add paan masala, paan essence and green food colouring. Form an even dough.
    3. Coffee Nankhatai (image 7): Add coffee concoction, cocoa powder and form a dough.
    4. Kesar Nankhatai (image 8): Saffron milk, saffron essence, orange food colour (optional). Form a dough.
    5. Chocolate Nankhatai (image 9): Add nutella, cocoa powder and crushed hazelnuts. Form an even dough.
    6. Butterscotch Nankhatai (image 10): Butterscotch sauce, Butterscotch Essence and form to a dough.

    These 6 types of flavouring were the easiest and do not require any pre-preparations whereas the next 3 types need little bit of preparatory steps. But I promise it is nothing very complicated and in fact some of them you might be doing it regularly at home.

    collage of images showing how to flavour nankhatai with 3 different flavours
    1. Thandai Nankhatai (image 11): Add thandai masala (homemade or store bought), haldi wala doodh (turmeric milk). Form into a dough.
    2. Rasmalai Nankhatai (image 12): Add Rasmalai powder, Rasmalai Milk, Rasmalai Essence and yellow food colour and combine to a dough.
    3. Pista Nankhatai (image 13): Add Pistachio paste, Pistachio Essence and form to a dough.

    How to make Thandai Masala?

    • I have a blog post on Thandai Masala Powder. I just halved it and used it for this recipe.
    • Remember halving it also would give you almost 1/2 go 3/4 cup of the masala powder. You can store the remaining in an air tight container for 2 months.
    • Mix it with warm milk and have it before bed time. A very good source of nutrition for kids.
    • Or you can use it so many desserts like mousse or cheesecakes.

    How to make Rasmalai Powder?

    • I am using the Rasmalai powder that we made in our Rasmalai Cookies recipe.
    • Again just halve the recipe or even quarter the recipe and you can use the rest for some other purpose.

    Pistachio Paste:

    • Soak the pistachios in hot water for 2 hours.
    • Remove the skin off and dry it using a paper towel.
    • Transfer to a mixer or food processor and then blend. Add a tbsp or two tbsp oil and blend till you get a fine paste.
    • This paste is so flavourful you can always re purpose it in so many other recipes like mousse, cheesecakes or ganache too.

    Step 3 - Shaping the Cookies

    collage of steps showing how to shape the cookies
    Please note the image explains how to shape the basic dough. Use the same procedure to shape the flavoured cookie dough as well.
    • Once you have the flavours of choice it is time to shape them.
    • Take a small portion or if you like to be precise 28 gms of dough. Roll it between your palms to form a smooth crack free ball (image 15).
    • Using your fore-finger gently press the top of the ball to form an indentation (image 16) and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (images 18-20).
    • This indentation would make way for those beautiful cracks to start and your cracks won't be all over the place.
    • Chill the cookies for a minimum of 20 mins
    collage of images where the shaped nankhatais are placed on a baking tray

    Step 4 - Baking

    collage of images showing the double pan method of baking cookies
    • While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 190°C
    • Once pre-heated invert an empty baking tray and place it in the middle rack of your oven and then place the baking tray with the shaped cookie dough above it.
    • This method is known as Double Pan Baking.
    • Bake the cookies for 11-14 mins.
    • It took me 13 mins to bake all the cookies except the pista and cofee nankhatais which took 14 mins to bake.
    • Cookies will definitely be soft to touch, so do not be tempted to bake it longer.
    • The butterscotch flavoured cookies spread a bit ( I guess because of the butter from the sauce) however you can fix it by taking a round shape cookie cutter and cutting it evenly.

    Step 5 - Garnishing

    This is an optional step but since we made so many flavours I decided to go for different garnishing on top to elevate the look of these Flavoured Nankhatai cookies.

    You can choose to stick to only plain nuts it would still taste good just remember to garnish the cookies while they are still hot that is straight out of the oven.

    collage of images showing the baked cookies that is garnished with different toppings
    1. Rose Nankhatai: Dried Rose Petals
    2. Paan Nankhatai: Glazed Cherries
    3. Coffee Nankhatai: Roasted Pecans
    4. Kesar Nankhatai: Saffron strands
    5. Chocolate Nankhatai: Crushed Ferrero Rocher
    6. Butterscotch Nankhatai: Almond Praline
    7. Thandai Nankhatai: Crushed Black Pepper
    8. Rasmalai Nankhatai: Golden White chocolate chips
    9. Pista Nankhatai: Slivered Pistachios.

    Allow the cookies to cool on your baking tray itself for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

    Storage Instructions:

    Store it in an air-tight container only when it is completely cooled.

    This would last for 15 to 20 days, even more but honestly this won't last that long as it is that good!!

    More Variations:

    1. Coconut Nankhatai: You can add fresh or desiccated coconut to the dough along with coconut extract to enhace the flavour.
    2. Christmas Nankhatai: Peppermint or Mint flavour would be so good. Add in some finely chopped mint leaves or dried mint leaves to the dough.
    3. Chocolate Nankhatai: Instead of nutella you can also add melted dark or white chocolate to the dough.
    4. Dry Fruits Nankhatai: I have shared the Pista Nankhatai recipe with you all today. In place of pistachios use almonds or cashews or any other nut of choice to make Almond Nankhatai or Kaju Nankhatai respectively.
    5. Kesar Pista Nankhatai: Or you can also try a combination of flavours like the pistachio paste, saffron essence and saffron milk to form kesar pista nankhatais.
    9 types of nankhatai biscuits placed on a round white plate

    Baker's Tips:

    1. Consider checking our basic Nankhatai recipe post for detailed tips and tricks for getting the base recipe right.
    2. Make sure to keep the dough covered at all time as you are working with so many flavours it might take a little time from forming a dough to shaping them, so in between always keep the dough covered with a tea towel so that nothing dries out.
    3. You may find the dough to be a bit sticky while adding certain flavours and if you are finding it too difficult to combine to a dough then simply grease your hands with some ghee and it should make the process easy.
    4. If you wish to seek guidance on Pricing these Flavoured Nankhatai then consider checking my detailed post on Cake Pricing Guide for the same.

    Recipe FAQ's

    My Nankhatai Biscuits did not get the classic cracks?

    Since we are modifying the recipe by adding more moisture in the form of add-ons you may not get those beautiful cracks as we get in the classic version but nevertheless it would taste equally good and will have the same texture.

    Why do Nankhatai crumble after baking?

    Remember nankhatai when straight out of the oven is very soft and crumbly. Do not try to transfer it immediately to a wire rack. Let it sit in the baking tray itself as it is still cooking while cooling. After about 5 to 6 mins transfer it to a wire rack to completely and it should be fine.

    How to make a small batch of Flavoured Nankhatai recipe?

    This recipe makes 45 cookies in total. I made 9 flavours so 5 cookies in each flavour. If you want to say make 20 to 23 cookies then halve the recipe and then divide into the number of flavours you want to try.

    8 types of Nankhatai biscuits placed on a white plate

    Related Recipes:

    1. Basic Nankhatai recipe
    2. Diwali Cookies

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    cropped up close up image of biscuits placed on a white plate for recipe card
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    5 from 2 votes

    Flavoured Nankhatai Recipe

    Nankhatai is a popular Indian Shortbread Cookies and a staple in Indian Bakeries. Find 9+ ways of flavouring the Indian Biscuits using just 1 Nankhatai dough in this Flavoured Nankhatai recipe post.
    Course Snack
    Cuisine Indian
    Prep Time 25 minutes
    Cook Time 13 minutes
    Servings 45 cookies
    Calories 116kcal
    Author Sushma Iyer

    Ingredients

    • 300 gms (2.5 cups) Maida/APF
    • 150 gms (1+1/4 cups) Besan/Chickpea Flour
    • 75 gms Rava/Semolina (fine)
    • 1/2 tsp Salt
    • 200 gms (1 + 1/4 cups) Icing Sugar (or powdered sugar)
    • 287 gms (1 + 1/4 cups) Ghee/Clarified Butter
    • Rose: 2 tbsp Gulkand, 1/4 tsp Rose Essence and few drops of pink food colour
    • Paan: 3 tbsp Paan Masala, 1/4 tsp Paan Essence and few drops of green food colour
    • Coffee: 1.5 tbsp Coffee concoction, 1 tsp cocoa powder
    • Kesar: 2 tsp Saffron Milk, 1/4 tsp Kesar Essence and few drops of orange food colour
    • Chocolate: 2 tbsp Nutella, 2 tbsp Crushed Hazelnuts, 1 tsp Cocoa powder
    • Butterscotch Sauce: 2 tbsp Butterscotch Sauce, 1/4 tsp Butterscotch Essence
    • Thandai: 3 tbsp Thandai Masala Powder, 2 tsp Haldi wala Doodh (Golden Milk)
    • Rasmalai: 3 tbsp Rasmalai Powder, 2 tsp Rasmalai Milk, 1/4 tsp Rasmalai Essence, few drops yellow food colour
    • Pista: Pistachio Paste made from 30 gms Blanched Pistachios, 1/4 tsp Pista Essence

    Instructions

    Step 1 - Making the Basic Dough

    • Start by sifting all the dry ingredients - Flour, Chickpea Flour, Semolina, Salt and Icing Sugar in a bowl.
    • Add the ghee and combine it into a soft dough.At first the dough would be crumbly. Do not be tempted to add any additional liquid here, the warmth of your hands would melt the ghee and everything will come together into a dough.
    • Divide the dough into 9 equal portions. You can either eyeball or divide it into 9 portions weighing 112 gms each.

    Step 2 - Flavouring The Dough

    • Add the respective flavours in each bowl and combine to a dough to get the flavour of choice
    • For example if you wish to make the Rose Nankhatai, then add all the ingredients mentioned to make it in a bowl, combine to form the dough. Apply the same method to any type of flavour you wish to make.

    Step 3 - Shaping the Dough

    • Once you have the flavours of choice it is time to shape them.Take a small portion or if you like to be precise 28 gms of dough. Roll it between your palms to form a smooth crack free ball.
    • Using your fore-finger gently press the top of the ball to form an indentation and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
    • Chill the cookies for a minimum of 20 mins.

    Step 4 - Baking

    • While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 190°C.
    • Once pre-heated invert an empty baking tray and place it in the middle rack of your oven and then place the baking tray with the shaped cookie dough above it. This method is known as Double Pan Baking.
    • Bake the cookies for 11-14 mins.It took me 12 mins to bake all the cookies except the pista and cofee nankhatais which took 13 mins to bake.
    • Cookies will definitely be soft to touch, so do not be tempted to bake it longer.

    Step 5 - Garnishing

    • This is an optional step but since we made so many flavours I decided to go for different garnishing on top to elevate the look of the cookies.
    • Rose Nankhatai: Dried Rose Petals
      Paan Nankhatai: Glazed Cherries
      Coffee Nankhatai: Roasted Pecans
      Kesar Nankhatai: Saffron strands
      Chocolate Nankhatai: Crushed Ferrero Rocher
      Butterscotch Nankhatai: Almond Praline
      Thandai Nankhatai: Crushed Black Pepper
      Rasmalai Nankhatai: Golden White chocolate chips
      Pista Nankhatai: Slivered Pistachios.
    • Just make sure to add the garnishing on top when the cookies are still warm that is straight out of the oven. Once they crisp up the garnishes won't stick to the cookies.
    • Allow the cookies to cool on your baking tray itself for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

    Video

    Notes

    • Consider checking our basic Nankhatai recipe post for detailed tips and tricks for getting the base recipe right.
    • All ingredients need to be at room temperature specially the ghee which you want to be in semi-solid state. If it is liquid then refrigerate it for a while to get the consistency right.
    • Make sure to keep the dough covered at all time as you are working with so many flavours it might take a little time from forming a dough to shaping them, so in between always keep the dough covered with a tea towel so that nothing dries out.
    • You may find the dough to be a bit sticky while adding certain flavours and if you are finding it too difficult to combine to a dough then simply grease your hands with some ghee and it should make the process easy.
    • Once baked do not be in a rush to transfer the cookie on to a wire rack. Let it sit in the pan for 5 to 6 mins and then transfer. The cookies cook while cooling so if transferred earlier it will become crumbly. 
    • The recipe makes 45 cookies; 5 cookies of 1 flavour. You can easily halve or double the recipe depending upon how many flavours you want to try. 
    • Flavoured Nankhatai can be stored in an air tight container for 10 to 15 days.
    • You need not make different type of garnishes if you do not wish to. Just use nuts to garnish on top. 
    • If you are looking details on Nankhatai pricing then check out this post on Cake Pricing Guide for a detailed information.
     
    How to make Thandai Masala:
    Check this recipe post on Homemade Thandai Masala. I halved the recipe and used some of it for this one. The remaining can be stored in an air tight container for 1 to 2 months. You can add it to warm milk and give it as a drink to your kids or make other desserts like mousse, cheesecakes etc. Or you can use store bought masala too.
     
    How to make Rasmalai Powder:
    I have used the powder made from our Rasmalai Cookies. Quarter the recipe and use for this one.
     
    Pistachio Paste Procedure:
    Soak 30 gms Pista in hot water for 2 hours. Drain the water, peel the skin and dry it using paper towel. Pulse it in your food processor or mixer until grainy. Add 1 to 2 tbsp oil (little a time) and blend to a fine paste. Use this pistachio paste to make the recipe.
     
    Homemade Butterscotch Sauce:
    You can obviously choose to buy store bought too. To make it at home follow my 5 mins Butterscotch sauce recipe. I used 1 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp brown sugar and 2 tbsp cream to make it for this recipe. 
     
    Haldi Wala Doodh (Turmeric Milk):
    Heat 2 tbsp milk and add pinch of turmeric, freshly crushed black pepper, pinch of sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves.
     
    Saffron Milk: Soak big pinch of saffron strands in 2 tbsp hot milk. Let it soak for a while. In place of Rasmalai Milk you can also use Saffron Milk.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 39mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg
    Did you make this recipe? Tag me today!Tag me @spicesandflavors to get featured on my FB and Insta pages

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sangeeta says

      December 15, 2021 at 1:28 pm

      5 stars
      Made these yesterday.... turned out yummmm

      Reply
      • sushma iyer says

        December 16, 2021 at 12:32 pm

        Wo hoo.. that is awesome.. sounds great 🙂 thank you for sharing 🙂

        Reply
    2. Kim says

      November 06, 2021 at 9:33 am

      Hi, thank you for inspiring with your creative recipes!
      I have a question regarding the kesar (saffron) variety: the recipe calls for 2 tsp saffron milk for 5 cookies, but in the notes it says to make the saffron milk using 2 tbsp milk.

      Does this mean we will have leftover saffron milk? I am trying to scale up my recipe to a bigger quantity.

      Reply
      • sushma iyer says

        November 07, 2021 at 10:22 pm

        Hi Kim.. yes we leave the rest of the milk out. I simply added the excess to my kids evening drink so nothing goes waste. The point is if you can heat 2 tsp of milk then use the same amount but I find it difficult to heat such small quantity so I used a little more. Hope this helps. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Paulo Antonio says

      October 26, 2021 at 7:52 pm

      5 stars
      Super love everything ❤ receipes, videos nutrition values etc will try out some soon. Thank you SpicesNFlavors team.

      Reply
      • sushma iyer says

        October 26, 2021 at 9:52 pm

        Hi Paulo.. So pleased to see you enjoying all the information. Thank you for sharing 🙂

        Reply

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    sushma iyer spicesnflavors.com author picBaking for Passion and Baker by Profession, Hi, I am Sushma Iyer, a certified Career Baker. This space is designed in a way that anyone can bake from scratch with confidence. Overwhelmed and don't know where to start from let me guide you in this journey of HOME BAKING!!! Read more

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