Makes approx 24 cookies

Who doesn’t love a little crunch with their ice cream? This recipe is based on an Indian shortbread called nankhatai, and uses ghee instead of butter. If you don’t have any ghee on hand, feel free to replace it with softened butter! Decadent with bursts of bitter chocolate and cardamom spice, it’s the perfect topping to any scoop. We love to pair it with our Orange Fennel ice cream.

A little backstory behind this treat: My family in India lives in Ahmedabad, but we have extended family in Surat. Every few trips, we make the 4 hour drive from Ahmedabad to Surat to see them, and we always get requests from our Ahmedabad family: make sure you bring some nankhatai back for us! The first time I went, my mission was to look for and find out what this nankhatai was about. When I finally tried one, I understood why everyone was so into it – it’s a shortbread like cookie that is slightly sweet, rich, and perfect for dunking into a hot cup of chai. When I was developing a menu for Malai, I knew that nankhatai would have to be involved. To layer in more flavor, I added some salt, a bit more sugar, cardamom and cocoa nibs for an extra crunch. But we kept it true to the original recipes by using ghee and semolina.

Ingredients:

200 grams all purpose flour
75 grams powdered sugar
35 grams semolina
2.5 grams salt
5 grams ground cardamom
160 grams ghee
30 grams cocoa nibs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, semolina, salt, and cardamom. Add ghee and mix by hand, or with a mixer, until all dry ingredients are incorporated and a cohesive dough has formed. Mix in cocoa nibs until well distributed.

Scoop out tablespoon-sized portions, roll into balls and flatten slightly by pressing with your hands. Place cookies on prepared pans, leaving an inch between each cookie. Bake for 13-15 minutes until set, and just barely turning brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Cocoa Nib and Cardamom Shortbread