Eggless Mawa Cake Cookies are flavored with mawa (milk solids), cardamom and saffron! They make the perfect festive treat and will be great as edible gifts too!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 27 cookies
  • Category: Cookies
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour (163 grams)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter (113 grams (1 stick), at room temperature. You can use either unsalted or salted butter. I used unsalted.)
  • 1/3 cup granulated white sugar (67 grams)
  • generous pinch saffron strands
  • 1/2 cup mawa (84 grams, khoya/dried milk solids)
  • chopped almonds, pistachios and dried rose petals (for topping the cookies)

Method

  1. In a bowl sift together flour, cardamom powder, baking powder and salt. Set this aside.
  2. To the steel bowl of your stand mixer (or use your hand mixer), add butter with sugar and generous pinch of saffron strands. Beat using the paddle attachment on medium speed until it's creamy.
  3. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add mawa. Mix until it is combined and then add in the dry ingredients (flour mix).
  4. Mix the dry ingredients until the dough comes together. The dough is quite soft and comes together easily when using a stand mixer. If for some reason yours isn't coming together, you can some milk. Wrap the dough in cling sheet and chill for 30 minutes.
  5. After the dough has been chilled, roll in into 1/4 inch thickness. Cut cookies of any shape you like. I used a square cookie cutter (1.5" square). You will get 25 to 27 cookies (more or less depending on how big or small you make them).
  6. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Top with pistachios, almond and dried rose petals (if desired). Bake at 350 F degrees for 18 to 20 minutes until they are crispy. Remove from oven and transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Store mawa cake cookies in an airtight container. They should be good for a week at room temperature and for more time in the fridge.

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.