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About the recipe
These eggless butter cookies or dry fruit cookies are one of the best Indian desserts that you can prepare during festivals like Christmas, Diwali, or Raksha Bandhan to give as a gift box or to serve with hot chocolate or a cup of coffee or tea. You will need flour, butter, and sugar with dried fruits and nuts of your choice to make these cookies. These cookies are crispy with a unique flavor. These can also be used as a snack for your kid’s lunchbox. Check out the popular Indian bakery sweet called Nankhati, tea biscuits, or osmania biscuits.
Ingredients
Butter: This makes your cookies rich, adds necessary moisture, and enhances the flavor. For the vegan version, use vegetable shortening; for an authentic Indian taste, use homemade desi ghee. All-purpose flour: Plain flour or maida works best for this recipe. Baking soda: This will make the cookie rise and turn light and fluffy. Sugar: Fine granulated sugar is what I have used in this recipe. If using coarse ones, powder them before you add them to the cookie dough. Cardamom powder: Adds delicious flavor to your butter cookies. Dried fruits and nuts: Finely chopped nuts help in even distribution throughout the cookies. Add almonds, pistachios, and raisins. You can even use cashews or cranberries to make these cookies. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step instructions
Eggless butter cookie dough
Add flour, baking soda, sugar, cardamom powder, salt, and mix in a bowl. Next, add the butter and mix until everything is well combined, and dough is formed. Now add the almonds, pistachios, and raisins and fold them into the dough until incorporated. Note that I have not added any water to the dough. Butter binds everything together. If the dough is on the drier side, you may add tablespoon of milk. Cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Bake the butter cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your baking tray or line your baking tray with parchment paper. Form lemon size balls and flatten them slightly. Keep these cookies inches apart as they may spread during the baking process. Bake it for about 15 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Baking time may vary depending on the size of the cookie balls and the oven you use. So keep checking at the 12-minute mark. Allow it to cool down for 10 minutes on the sheet, and let them cool later in the wire rack completely. Serve these dry fruit cookies with a cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy.
Tips
If desired, you can add cashew nuts, cranberries, or any dried fruits and nuts combination. Feel free to add cinnamon, nutmeg, or saffron (kesar) for extra flavor. In India, you will have to powder the sugar if you are using coarse granulated sugar. Love Indian-style bakery ghee biscuits? You can use homemade desi ghee (clarified butter) instead of butter to make this ghee cookie. You can store these dry fruit butter cookies in an airtight conatiner at room temperature for one week.
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Recipe card
This post for Dry Fruit Cookies was first published in Sep 2016. Updated with recipe maker, calorie information and detailed steps.
