Eggless Fruit Cookies, also known as Karachi Biscuits are popular tea time cookies and filled with tutti frutti (candied dried papaya).

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 40 cookies
  • Category: Cookies
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour (195 grams)
  • 1/4 cup custard powder (32 grams, vanilla custard powder)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup/1 stick butter (113 grams, at room temperature)
  • 3/4 cup granulated white sugar (150 grams, powdered)
  • 3/4-1 teaspoon pineapple essence (or use rose essence)
  • 3/4 cup tutti frutti
  • 3 tablespoons milk (or as needed, I used whole milk)

Method

  1. Take a large bowl and to that add 1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour (195 grams), 1/4 cup vanilla custard powder (32 grams), 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder and 3/4 teaspoon baking powder. Also add 1/4 teaspoon salt as well if using unsalted butter. Use a wire whisk and mix until everything is well combined combined.
  2. Add 1 stick butter (113 grams) to the steel bowl of your stand mixer. Make sure it is at room temperature, along with 3/4 cup sugar (150 grams). This is granulated white sugar which was powdered using a blender. Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or use your hand mixer), beat butter and powdered sugar until creamy and smooth. Add 3/4 to 1 teaspoon pineapple essence and mix until combined.
  3. Add in the flour mix along with 3/4 cup tutti frutti and mix until combined.
  4. Add 3 tablespoons of milk and mix until it comes together as a dough. You may need less or more milk so start with 2 tablespoons and add more as needed. Once the dough comes together, divide the dough into 2 equal parts.
  5. Roll each part into a log, around 8 inches in length. Wrap the logs with a cling sheet and freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. You can even refrigerate overnight.
  6. Once chilled, take out the dough logs and slice into cookies, around 1/4 inch thick. You would get 40 to 50 cookies depending on how thick or thin you slice them. Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the sliced cookies on it. You would need to bake these in 2 batches.
  7. Bake at 350 F degrees for 15 to 17 minutes on until light golden brown from the bottom. Don't overbake else they will turn super crispy. 15 to 16 minutes is the sweet spot for me but every oven is different so bake accordingly. Let them cool completely on a wire rack and then store in an airtight container.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.