Nankhatai Ice Cream Sandwiches

Nankhatai is such a popular Indian biscuit, and this recipe modernizes the cookies in ice cream sandwiches! A unique dessert for Diwali! Breakfast or dessert, you decide if you want them with Chai or ice cream!

It’s Diwali! This is the second series on my blog for Diwali recipes! Last year I did a one of each course: breakfast, lunch, snack, main, and dessert. This year I am switching it up a bit! Diwali is the festival of lights, and everyone has their own traditions. But, almost everyone does something related to food. Most people will make (or buy from the Indian Store) different sweets and snacks to share with family and friends! So this year, I created a few Indian sweet and savory recipes that I am sharing with you guys. First, I’m starting off with a classic Indian sweet, Nankhatai, which is an Indian shortbread biscuit.

To put it simply, Nankhatai is made of butter (or ghee), sugar, flour, and cardamom. However, like most cookies, everyone has their own recipe of making Nankhatai. Some use a mixture of white flour and semolina flour, others add in some almond flour. I tested this recipe out a few times with whole wheat flour and almond flour, and this ratio worked best for me.

Be sure to thoroughly beat the butter and sugar together until it has doubled in volume. This is the foundation of the dough. Then, slowly fold in the cardamom, almond flour, whole wheat flour, and baking soda until the dough forms. Roll the dough into a half inch sheet and use a circle cookies cutter to shape the Nankhatai. Since the main ingredient is almond flour, these biscuits are prone to breaking, so be careful when transferring them into the baking tray. These delicate almond Nankhatai remind me of French macarons.

Ice Cream Sandwiches:

To make the ice cream sandwiches, first pick out a flavor or two. I chose mango and vanilla (local homemade ice cream from Millie’s), both paired with the almond flour and pistachios very well. Leave the ice cream out for about 10-15 minutes to soften, but not too long, so that it is not melting during assembly. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of ice cream onto one Nankathai, and place another one on top to make the sandwich. Roll the sides though crushed pistachios for a pop of color! Stick the sandwiches back in the freezer for at least an hour to let the ice cream harden again.

Print Pin

Nankathai

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4 dozen Nankhatai

Equipment

• hand mixer

Ingredients

• 8 oz butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 cups almond flour
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pistachios for garnishing

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 F and line baking tray with parchment paper.
• Place butter and sugar into a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer for 7-10 minutes until butter sugar mixture has doubled in size.
• Mix in cardamom powder. Fold in almond flour, wheat flour, and baking soda until dough is formed.
• Roll dough out to a half inch sheet and cut perfect circles with a cookie cutter.
• Arrange the Nankhatai on tray and bake in oven for 18-20 minutes. The biscuits should be slightly golden when done.
• Enjoy!

Happy Diwali! Check out last year’s Diwali Recipes: Masala Chai Muffins, Samosa Puffs, Aloo Chaat, Palak Paneer, and Gajar Halva 🙂