These yummy cookies are loved by everybody. Easy to make and great on taste. They are traditionally made in Italy where they are called Amarretti cookies. Make your own almond cookies and wow your friends and family.

Almond Cookies

Serving Size – Serves Four
Estimated Preparation Time – 10 Minutes
Estimated Cooking Time – 20 Minutes

Almond Cookies - Amarretti

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking  powder - 1/2 Tsp
Toasted ground almonds - 1 cup
Softened butter-1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
Egg white - 1
Almond extract or amaretto (almond liqueur)- 1 Tbsp

In a bowl take powdered sugar and butter. Whisk the sugar and butter thoroughly till both the ingredients are well combined.

Add the Egg white to the mixture. Mix well

Now add the almond extract or amaretto and the ground almonds to the cookie mix.

Lastly add the all purpose flour and baking powder. Combine all the ingredients to form a dough.

Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Shape the refrigerated dough into balls and place on a baking tray. Make sure there is an inch or two of gap between each cookie as they will expand on baking.

Bake at 180C or 356F for 15 minutes or till they turn light brown.

Let the cookies cool down completely before you eat.

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Enjoy with a cup of coffee or cold milk.

Nutritional Value

Calories- 591 Fat 21.2 g, Carbohydrates- 18 g, Protein- 19 g

Tip: Replace Amaretto with Kahlua(coffee liqueur) for a slightly different taste. The alcohol will cook as you bake the cookies so they are perfect for kids too.

(Source: wp.me)

Ever since I have started blogging about recipes, my mobile camera (mobile phone’s camera ;) ) has been quite busy. I have been clicking pictures wherever I go. Not just that, but pictures that lay hidden in the darkest recesses of my computer, laptop and hard disk are suddenly springing back into life and manifesting themselves in front of me in all their glory and galore :D.

Here are a few pictures from one such Indian Lunch.

Typically, the regular Indian meal from Northern India consists of a Dal, Indian Bread (Chapati), some vegetarian recipe and rice (Steamed or cooked with cumin seeds). Cut fruits or vegetables can be served as salad and plain yogurt or a yogurt salad (raita) can be served along with the other recipes.

A friend had invited a few of us over for lunch and her mom quickly turned to the table the moment we set foot in her house. Yes we were famished and scared of our manager (had to rush back to office in time, lest we wanted to listen to some picky remarks). Mrs. Bhutani served us with a smile, coaxing us to eat more as soon as we finished each serving (a typically habit of every Indian parent I assume). She stopped only after assuring that we were about to burst from all that food :P. Luckily, none of us did actually burst ;)

The table was all set when we reached my friends place. We looked at the items with greedy eyes. The spread was decent if not lavish.

On the table we saw

1. Salad (Sliced Cucumber, Onion, Tomato served with diced capsicum, onion and tomato)

2. Rajma ki Dal (Red Kidney Beans) (Besides rice and Raita)  - One favorite North Indian recipe that is just as nutritious and healthy as it could be. These kidney beans are a good source of proteins for the vegans.

3. Paneer Makkhani (Cottage Cheese recipe) (To the left of Rice)

4. Aloo-Corn-Capsicum (Bang in the center) - There is no name to this recipe. Just that it is made from Potato, sweet corn and capsicum. (I should post its recipe someday…)

5. Jeera Rice (Steamed rice that has been tossed with cumin seeds and a little ghee)

6. Indian Bread (phulka) - Not in the picture

7. Boondi Raita (My favorite :) )

That was a sumptuous lunch :). The recipes will take time but I thought of sharing a simple recipe for Boondi Raita.

Preparation time - 5-7 minutes

Serving Size: Serves four

Ingredients:

Khara Boondi (Salted boondi) - 100 grams
Yogurt - 1 cup or 150-200 ml
Salt - to taste
Chaat Masala(Optional) - Two pinches
Roasted Cumin Seeds Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh Coriander Leaves (Optional) - 1/2 tablespoon chopped

Preparation Method:

Beat the yogurt till smooth. Add the boondi, salt, chaat masala, cumin seed powder, red chilly powder and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves (if available else garnish with a pinch of red chilli powder and/or cumin seed powder). Keep to rest for 7-10 minutes. You can also serve it chilled. (Coriander is not used in the dish pictured above)

Tip: Since the Boondi is already salted, be a little cautious while adding salt. If unsure, you can add the salt after you mix the yogurt with Boondi.

This yogurt recipe is prepared in just a few minutes and is actually a favorite amongst many Indians. Give it a try and you might just end up eating it almost everyday :)