Nankaties – White Shortbread Cookies
You can’t miss Nankaties on the Christmas platter. Beautiful white little domes topped with an almond, cherry or silver ball. These are also called white Christmas shortbread cookies because they stay white even after they are baked and crumble just like a shortbread cookie.
These are one of the first Christmas sweets mom would make when we were kids. Beautiful white cookies topped with an almond (sometimes cherry) for color. The beauty of these cookies is that they are white just like snow so never over-bake these.
The trick is to remove them out at the time specified in the recipe. They may not look done on the top but if you pick one you will have a slight brown on the bottom. Remove it out from the oven and let it cool in the hot oven. They will continue to cook with the residue heat while still keeping the white Christmas cookie effect.
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Equipment /Tools
- Mixing bowl
- Baking tray
- Oven
Ingredients
- 500 grams All-purpose flour maida
- 500 grams Sugar fine castor sugar
- 250 grams Ghee
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence clear not dark
- 2 tbsp Cornflour
Instructions
- Melt the ghee over medium heat, and let solidify again overnight
- Next day, cream ghee and sugar until all the sugar has dissolved (which is why you need fine white sugar)
- Add the cornflour and vanilla – combine well.
- Lastly, add the flour and bring it all together. Do not over mix at this stage
- The dough is quite crumbly but resists the temptation to add more ghee of water. It's the crumbly texture of these cookies that give them the shortbread texture.
- Preheat the oven at 170 C/ 340 F
- Form into small balls, press with the palm of your hands slightly. Place on the baking tray and top with a slice of almond or cherry
- Alternatively, you can roll small portions on a lightly floured surface and cut into shapes using a cookie cutter. Top with a nut, cherry or dragee (silver ball)
- Bake in a preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes – or until the bottom of the cookie has a slight brown. If the tops start to brown these are overdone.
- Cool on the baking try for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before you store in an air tight container.
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Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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