Karachi Biscuits

This Indian version of shortbread cookies, Karachi biscuits, loaded with tutti-frutti and broken cashew pieces is easy to bake, made with simple ingredients, and hits big on taste. Do give it a try!

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time35

Cooling Time15

Total Time2 20

Method: Cooking

Course: Food

Servings: 60 Cookies

Ingredients

PART 1:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup custard powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

PART 2:

1 cup butter softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
½ teaspoon rose essence see My Notes
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup tutti-frutti candied peel
½ cup cashew chopped
⅓ cup milk as needed

Instructions

In a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients listed under Part 1 and set aside.
In another large bowl beat together the butter, sugar, rose essence, and almond extract.
To the creamed mixture add the tutti-frutti and cashew and mix well.
Stir in the flour mix and make a soft dough so that everything comes together.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and form a cylindrical roll and wrap each log tightly with cling wrap. Then, flatten the sides to form a cuboid-shaped log so that when you slice the cookies you will get square/rectangle-shaped cookies instead of circle cookies.
Refrigerate the dough for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes.
Remove the cling wrap and slice the log into ½ inch thickness.
Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
Cool the cookies on a wire rack before storing them in an air-tight container.

Notes

The candied peel/tutti frutti which is available in the North American grocery stores is much bigger than the one which we get in Indian stores. For these Karachi biscuits, the Indian tutti frutti is preferable. If you are not able to find that, maybe you can coarsely chop the ones you can find in the baking aisle in the Western stores.
I didn't have rose essence so I used rose water which we usually have at home. So the cookies didn't have the profound rose flavor that I'm used to in the store-bought Karachi cookies. Maybe adding rose essence instead of rose water or more rose water would have helped with that.
The baking time and texture of the cookies also depend upon how thick you slice the cookies.

Taste & Texture

These Karachi cookies tasted very similar to the store-bought cookies that we usually buy in the Indian grocery stores here. It had a crisp, shortbread-like texture which all of us in our home are very fond of.

Nutrition