Kaju badam biscuits

                            Summer vacation is about to begin and with it starts my collection of Kids Vacation special recipes. As kids love to munch on snacks like biscuits my 1st post in this special series is a yummy and healthy treat of Kaju Badam biscuits.
                            
                           Kaju badam biscuits or cashew almond biscuits are simple cardamom flavored crisp and delicious biscuits with goodness of cashews and almonds in every bite.

                                                                        

                         

                           Cashews and almonds are nuts which are immensely beneficial while cashews are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, almonds have flavonoids that protect the heart. While cashews are rich in selenium, copper and zinc almonds are a power house of vitamin E and its not a new thing to know that almonds help in brain development and these both together provide protein, calcium and magnesium all necessary for growing children to build healthy bones.

                           As for biscuits you may also like to try Jeera biscuits, Almond cookies and Tutti frutti biscuits from My Mom's Kitchen. Now, to today's recipe :-

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour - 1 cup
2. Butter - 1/2 cup
3. Powdered sugar - 3/4th cup
4. Cashews - 10 to 15 nos
5. Almonds - 10 to 12 nos
6. Almond powder - 1/2 cup
7. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Baking powder - 3/4th tsp

Method:

• Beat together butter and powdered sugar till creamy. 
• In a mixing bowl take all purpose flour / maida along with baking powder and cardamom powder. Mix well.
• Add almond powder (grind a few almonds to a coarse paste in the grinder) and mix well to combine.
• Add chopped cashew nuts (soak them for a while to ease off your chopping).
• Add the dry ingredients mix to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix well. Now slowly get the batter together to form a soft chapathi like dough. If your dough feels dry only then add a tablespoon of milk or more as required as for me my dough came about in a jiffy and I did not add any milk.
• Pinch out lemon sized balls from the dough and flatten it between your palms to give it a shape of the biscuit or you might use a cookie cutter to shape the biscuits in your preferred design. Just roll out the dough using a rolling pin to a half inch thickness and cut using the cookie cutter.
• Arrange the biscuits on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Add almonds for garnishing. You can place a full almond in the center or divide it into two and then use.

                                       

 

• Bake the biscuits in a pre-heated oven at 170 C for 12 minutes till they get a nice golden brown shade. (keep an eye on your oven while baking as each oven has its own settings and you may have to adjust the temperature and baking time as per your oven requirements).
• Remove from the oven and leave on the wire rack to cool down. The biscuits will turn crispier as they cool down. Serve it just as they are or with a glass of milk to dunk in.

                     You may like to try more snacks recipes like Chudwa a simple jar snack that I bet you yourself loved as a kid, or a south Indian famous snack Masala vada, or an Arabian famous snack Falafel, or the north Indian delicacy Matar kachori, or a unique stuff like Vegetable oats kofta from My Mom's Kitchen.

Do share your views with me in the comments section below.

Happy Cooking!!!