These are flavored with almond extract, nuts, and sweetened with jaggery and they taste similar to Nankhatai! These are an ode to the old-fashioned Indian bakery cookies. They don’t need many ingredients and are quite fuss-free to make. The dough comes together in just 5 minutes. These cookies do not require any special equipment and hence this recipe is a perfect beginner. If you have never baked in your life you will be able to easily make these Oats Atta biscuits. We have tried this eggless cookie at my friend Roopa’s house last week. I and my husband immediately fall in love with its taste and texture. It reminded us of Nankhatai. And we both are a big fan of Nankhatais. I took the recipe from her and thought of sharing it with you all. As usual, before sharing recipes here on the bog, I tried this recipe multiple times. So far I tried these cookies 4 times with different flavoring variations in just 3 days… Lol. I rarely get excited about healthy baking. But these are so good and turned out to be very impressive. I tweaked this recipe a bit and the result is here… Perfect healthy homemade cookies! The changes that I made to the recipe –
swapped the sugar for jaggery,whipped the jaggery and ghee until it is light and creamy to create air pockets,added almond extract instead of vanilla andbaked these cookies on @350 degree F. instead of @370 degree F.
The outcome was a crisp exterior and soft interior with a nice, earthy sweetness from jaggery and nutty taste.
These Oats Atta Cookies are
crispy from the outside and soft inside.buttery, prominently crispy and so so good.Tastes exactly like a nankhataieggless and easy to makerefined sugar-freeno-baking soda and no baking powdermade with whole grains like whole wheat and rolled oatspacked with fiberstay well in an airtight container for weeksperfect for kids-lunch box, evening snacks, breakfast, and on-the-go.I would say, these are almost guilt-free!
I have also made these cookies with sugar. We loved both versions. And I am sharing both ways, with sugar and with jaggery. The below picture is a cookie made with sugar.
Ingredients required to make this recipe, some possible substitutions, and variations –
This is an overview of the ingredients in the recipe (very handy to use as a visual grocery list at the store). Quantities are mentioned in the recipe card. Oats Here, I have added rolled oats. You may use quick oats or store-bought oats flour too. You can use Ragi flour or Nachni flour instead of Oats flour. Whole wheat flour (atta) Instead of all-purpose flour which is, commonly used to make bakery-style cookies, I have used whole wheat flour (atta). Ghee I think the ghee does the magic here. It gives so nice aroma and taste. If you are someone who loves Indian sweets made with Ghee then trust me, you will love it. You can use butter if you don’t have ghee on hand. Use room temperature soft butter. Sweetener For sweetener, I have used Jaggery. But you can use white sugar or brown sugar too. I haven’t tried with agave or honey. So I have no idea about those 2 sweeteners. In the future, if I try, I will update the post with the results. Flavoring For flavoring, I have used almond extract. But you can use any extract of your choices like vanilla, orange, or rose water. You can also use nutmeg powder, cardamom powder, saffron, cinnamon powder, dry ginger powder, or fennel seeds powder. I think Chai masala would taste good too. Nuts For nuts, I have used pecans and almonds. I crushed into a coarse powder. You can use any nuts like cashew, pistachios, walnuts, etc. Or the combination of everything. Instead of nuts, you can also use chocolate chips. Chocolate makes everything taste good. You may use chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips, to make these biscuits. Or use dried fruits like cranberries, dried apricots, or chopped figs or you can add seeds like sunflower seeds, melon seeds, chia seeds, or flax seeds. This recipe is so forgiving that you can try it with endless variations.
How to make Oats Atta Cookies (Biscuits)? Step by step process –
Step 1 Prep work Preheat the oven @350 degree F (175 degrees C.). Line the baking tray with parchment paper. Keep it aside. Coarsely crush the nuts. Keep it aside Make your oat flour by crushing rolled oats in the blender. Keep it aside. Powder the jaggery in a mixture grinder. You can also grate the jaggery. Step – 2 Whipping the jaggery with ghee. Take the powdered jaggery and ghee in a big mixing bowl. Whip it using a whisk until everything is well combined. I have used the hand blender to mix them as there were some chunks of jaggery. Now add almond extract and mix well. Step – 3 Mix dry ingredients Take whole wheat flour (atta), oats flour, and crushed nuts. Mix them very well. Keep it aside. Step – 4 Mix wet and dry ingredients In jaggery-ghee mixture, add mixed dry ingredients. Using your hand, mix everything, and form a dough. DONT over-knead the dough. Just mix. Step – 5 Shaping and baking Divide the dough into 12 equal parts Take one part of the dough and gently roll into a ball using your hands. Flatten it a little bit in between your palms. Place it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make all the remaining cookies the same way. Place the cookie sheet in the MIDDLE RACK of the oven and bake them for 17 minutes @350 degree F. (175 degrees C.). Check the cookies after 15 minutes once. Every oven temperature differs. Take out the cookie sheet from the oven, let the cookies cool down for about 15 minutes on the pan itself. Don’t touch it as it will be very soft and it will break easily. Let them rest untouched for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, transfer them on the cooling rack. Once it’s cool down, store it in an air-tight container. You can eat these cookies when they are warm too. Cookies with sugar Follow step 1 and step 2 For step 3 Whip sugar and ghee with a whisk until light and well-combined. Now follow step 4 and 5 Step 6 (baking step) Bake these cookies on a baking tray for 18 to 20 minutes. Mine was done in 20 minutes. Check them after 17 minutes first. Cookies made with sugar takes 2 to 3 minutes extra for baking as compared to made with jaggery. Take out the cookie sheet from the oven, let the cookies cool down for about 15 minutes on the pan itself. Don’t touch it as it will be very soft and it will break easily. Let them rest untouched for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, transfer them on the cooling rack. Once it’s cool down, store it in an air-tight container.
Whipping up the jaggery/sugar with ghee is important. It creates air pockets. Don’t skip this step.I have used ghee here but you can use butter also. Just substitute an equal amount of butter in the recipe and follow the same steps.To make this cookies vegan, use vegan butter.If you don’t have jaggery, you may use brown sugar or white sugar in place. Use powdered sugar and not granulated sugar.As mentioned above, If you are using sugar to make these cookies, the cooking time will increase by 2 to 3 minutes.Use crushed jaggery. The jaggery should be well crushed. It made a big difference to the final texture of the cookies.The dough for these cookies is quite soft and sticky. So, yeah don’t panic it’s supposed to be that way.If you are not able to make a dough, add couple of tablespoon milk.Never Over-work with the dough. Just mix the dough and make cookies.Don’t press the cookies a lot. Just flatten it a little bit (Refer to the video).Make sure to preheat your oven before baking.Don’t forget to line your cookie sheet with Parchment paper. It makes a huge difference and makes cleaning easy.Always bake this cookie on the middle rack.After baking, let the cookies cool for 15 minutes on the baking tray itself before attempting to take it out.Wait until the cookies cool completely before eating or storing it into the container.
How to Store These Cookies?
Let the cookies cool down on a wire rack once they are baked. Then place in an airtight container and store at room temperature. They stay good for 2 weeks at least.
Can I use different shaped cookie cutters?
Ammm….. I don’t think so. Because the cookie dough is sticky. I don’t you will be able to use a cookie-cutter. But still, you can try once.
CAN I HALVE OR DOUBLE THE RECIPE?
Yes, you can. The recipe can be easily adjusted by either doubling the ingredients or halving it according to your requirement. Just note you need to adjust the cooking time a bit.
Some more cookie recipes
Almond joy cookies Coconut cookies 3 ingredient chocolate cookies Melting moment cookies Checkerboard cookies Have you tried this recipe? Please feed us with your feedback, ★ star ratings, and comment below. You can also FOLLOW me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST for more fabulous recipes and updates. Warm regards, Dhwani.
