EGGLESS SUGAR COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING

This Diwali I wanted to make cookies along with my usual batch of traditional sweets (mithai).  In most Hindu households nothing non vegetarian is eaten on the Diwali day, so I decided to make these cookies without any eggs for the guests and the family.  As I wanted to decorate these cookies with the royal icing, I had to stick to no egg royal icing also. 
I must say the end result was very satisfactory as everyone had two or three of these cookies in one go.  I wanted to make these cookies without any white flour so I used multi grain flour instead.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

½  cup sugar, ½  cup butter on a room temperature,  2 tbsp milk,  1 tbsp vanilla extract,  1 cup multi grain flour,  1 ½  tsp baking powder, 1 pinch salt,  3 tbsp flour,  2 tbsp sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).  In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and milk, and mix. 

In a separate bowl, combine the one cup of flour with the salt and baking powder.  Now mix the wet and dry ingredients to make a dough.  This dough will be slightly sticky.  Once mixed, add about 3 tablespoons of flour, until the dough becomes smooth.  Now pour two tablespoons of sugar on a flat tray.  

Form the dough into 12 equal-sized balls, and flatten until approximately 1/2 inch thick. Cut your favorite shapes with a cookie cutter and roll one side into the sugar to coat.  Place these on a baking sheet with sugar coated side up.   Bake for eight to ten minutes, until bottom is golden brown.  Let these cookies cool off for 4 to 5 hours and then you can decorate them with royal icing.

Egg-less Royal Icing 

Royal icing is a baker's staple for decorating cookies and cakes, and most recipes call for egg whites or meringue powder. However, with a little variation I decorated these cookies with an egg-free royal icing.

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups confectioner's sugar, 4 tsp milk, 1 ½ tsp light corn syrup, ½ tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Measure the sugar and pour it into a clean glass bowl.  Add milk, and stir it until the lumps of sugar are all gone.  Stir in corn syrup; if you want a thinner consistency, add another tsp of syrup.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  Now add color as per your choice or the design you want to make. Creativity has no limits.

Once icing on the cookies dries up, you may keep them in an airtight container. Enjoy as a  dessert or with a cup of coffee.

BESAN LADDOO

Besan(chickpea flour) laddoo is a very popular Indian sweet generally made during the festival season. It is very easy and less time consuming unlike other sweets.

I associate this dessert with my mother and grand mother's mouth watering laddoos.  They made it so perfect that I did not even like the store bought laddoos.  My grandmother often made these laddoos with lots of crushed almonds during the winter time. When I asked her why did she make them only during the winter, her reply amazed me.  She said we are more susceptible to cold during the winter months so if you eat just one laddoo a day, cold won't come near you. 

So this Diwali, I made the besan laddoos for the family.  My recipe is quite simple.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups besan( chickpea flour), 3 tbsp sooji (semolina), 5 tbsp of ghee or clarifying butter, little less than 2 cups of powered sugar, 20 - 25 almonds,1/2 tsp cardamom powder.

Method:

Pan roast besan and sooji on a low to medium heat, depending on your stove.. Sooji takes less time to roast and besan takes 8 to 10 minutes on a slow flame.  So it would be better to roast both of them in different pans.

Once roasted, mix both in the same pan. In the meanwhile crush almonds in your grinder or mixer. Add these almonds to the mix.

On a slow flame add ghee to the mix.  Once ghee melts, mix it very well with the flours and almonds. Sprinkle cardamom powder and stir it again.

Turn off the stove and add sugar. Mix it very well. Let it cool off for a couple of minutes and take a small portion at a time and make balls.  Set them in a plate.

When these besan laddoos cool off completely, you can store them in an airtight container. They can be preserved for good month or so.

Enjoy these mouth watering laddoos and have lots of fun on Diwali. I wish you all good health and good fortune.