This recipe for Chocolate Cashew Cookies made with ghee is a rare gem from India’s bakery tradition, made with barley and rice flours, cocoa, cardamom & ghee.
½cuporganic castor sugar, or regular sugar blended finely (see method)
½cup+ 1 tablespoon ghee
½cupraw cashews
3tablespoonshoney
1cupbarley flour
½cuprice flour
¼cup+ 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspooncardamom powder
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients
Prepare your sugar: It is important to use the right sugar for this recipe. In India, a very fine sugar is widely available. What they use is similar to what we would call castor sugar, baker’s sugar, or superfine. Castor sugar is used for almost everything in the UK, but unfortunately, it is not readily available in the U.S., and what is available is expensive, especially if you want organic sugar. To work around this problem, process raw sugar in a food processor or blender until fine, somewhere in between regular sugar and powdered sugar.
Prepare the cashews: Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a tiny skillet on low heat and add your cashews, a pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon of fine sugar, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder. Combine well, and heat until cashews just start turning brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Chop the cashews, reserving 2 tablespoons for the cookie topping. The rest will go into the chocolate cashew cookies.
Prepare the wet ingredients: In a tiny saucepan, gently heat the half cup of ghee to melt, but do not boil it. Add honey and stir well to mix.
Make the cookies
In a mixing bowl, add sugar, barley flour, rice flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and cardamom powder, and mix well.
Add in the prepared sweetened ghee, and use a wooden spoon or your fingers to mix until it forms into a thick dough. Mix in chopped cashews, reserving 2 tablespoons for the topping.
Shape the dough into a thick rectangle, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the dough is more firm when you roll it out. (You can also refrigerate it overnight, but it will take time to warm the next day before you can roll it. I did this, and ended up warming my dough in the preheating oven for a couple minutes to soften it.)
When you are ready to make the cookies, sprinkle a work surface with a bit of rice flour. Place the dough in the middle of the surface. Push the dough down with your fingers and palms, and then use a rolling pin to lightly roll the dough. Use your fingers to push in the edges until you have a rectangle sized 7x9 inches, and about a third of an inch thick. Press in the reserved cashew topping with your hands.
Use a cookie cutter or knife to create 12 equally-sized 2-inch square cookies. (Use the leftover rectangle edges to create “sample” cookies for the cook.)
Place on a non-stick or oiled cookie sheet, or on a parchment paper-lined sheet. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a convection setting on your oven, use it, and reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes. You will know the cookies are done when the cashews on top have started to turn light golden brown.
To serve
Serve Chocolate Cashew Cookies with sweetened masala chai, or regular black tea.
Notes
MAKE THIS GLUTEN-FREE!
1. Substitute barley flour for any of the following:
1 to 1 Baking Flour by Bob’s Red Mill - Buy on Amazon
Gluten-Free Measure For Measure Flour by King Arthur Flour - Buy on Amazon