Make these easy and delicious one-bowl biscuits that are fantastic with some chai! These are called Karachi Biscuits, named after the famous bakery in Hyderabad. But, in essence, it is a simple one-bowl recipe with a buttery flavour studded with dried fruits and nuts.
Like a lot of kids that grew up in South India in the ’90s, my memories of baked foods are from the nearby Iyengar Bakery. As a kid ( and even as an adult), my most favourite Iyengar bakery item is ‘plain cake’. Essentially, a pound cake. It is the finest piece of joy for me – so buttery, with a mild vanilla flavour and even now, I’d down a couple of slices. To me, these cookies are from a neighbourhood Iyengar bakery!
I know a lot of people who do not like tutti frutti and I get it. I mean, these days when we have access to fancy fruit minces and boozy fruits – dyed sugary cubes of papaya do not make much sense. But, food like this does not have to make sense. It is for pure nostalgia. So, if you do not like it – then maybe this cookie is not for you.
Arun and I act like children (of the ’90s) and one of our first ‘dates’ was an at-home vanilla ice cream with tutti frutti for dessert.
I made a few batches of these Karachi biscuits during the Christmas break to give to friends around and with every time I made, I tweaked the recipe and little bit. So, this version here is the VERY BEST! For this recipe, I referred to a few sites and videos including Vah Chef, Cumin Curry, and Tarla Dalal.
Karachi Biscuits
Ingredients
The ingredients in this recipe are listed in the order you will be using them in making the cookies. Please read the recipe and notes before starting to bake!
- ½ cup butter (read note 1) 100 grams
- ½ cup sugar (read note 2) 100 grams
- 1 cup plain flour 120 grams
- 4 tbsp custard powder (read note 3) 50 grams
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ to ½ cup tutti frooti
- 2 tbsp chopped mixed nuts cashews, pistas, almonds
- ½ tsp pineapple essence, or vanila essence
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- In a bowl, add butter and sugar. Cream it well using a whisk until it is pale in colour.
- Add the flour, custard powder, baking powder and mix well.
- Mix well and then add the tutti frooti and nuts.
- If necessary, add a little milk to bind it together. I use my hand to bring the dough together.
- Now make it into a log and transfer the dough on a cling film. Wrap its sides and refregirate the dough for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 190C.
- Cut into one inch slices and arrange on a baking sheet. Ensure there is enough space in between the cookies when baking.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes and check. The cookies are done when it is mildly yellow on the top and the bottoms have become light brown.
Notes
- Ensure the butter is in room temperature and completely soft when making these cookies.
- I use regular white sugar in this recipe. If using raw sugar or large granules, blend to a fine sugar and use.
- The custard powder adds a subtle fragrance and colour to the cookies. If you do not have custard powder – substitute with equal parts of corn flour and add vanilla essence.
- I made three batches and liked the ones with pineapple essence for its fragrance. If you do not have it, vanilla works just fine.
- It is absolutely important to chill the dough before baking. Else, the cookies spread too much and do not have a good shape.
Want more amazing cookie recipes?
Please leave a comment below if you made this recipe, have any questions or thoughts! Your comment will help me learn more about your preferences and will help other readers.
Love this post? Here are some links if you would like to share it with your friends:
3 Comments
Justswad
August 20, 2022 at 12:07 amThis is perfect and delicious.
Marc
October 30, 2023 at 10:17 amMade these tonight and they tasted amazing. Used pecans nuts and added a few chocolate chips to the mix. So so tasty thanks for the recipe.
Varsha
April 24, 2024 at 9:36 amThis is a fantastic recipe I tried soon as Archana posted on her IG page!
For our family, I might try a slightly less sweet version – but otherwise this was an amazing hit among friends, especially the pineapple essence (thaaru maaru)