Eggless Thandai Cookies make a special treat for Holi. These are easy to make at home with basic pantry ingredients and packed with so much flavor from the spices and nuts!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 30 cookies
  • Category: Cookies
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups all purpose flour (195 grams)
  • 5 tablespoons thandai powder
  • 1 tablespoon crushed dried rose petals
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1-1.5 tablespoons milk
  • pinch saffron
  • 1 stick salted butter (113 grams (1/2 cup), at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup granulated white sugar (100 grams)
  • 1 tablespoon rose water

Method

  1. In a large bowl whisk together flour, thandai powder, crushed dried rose petals and baking powder. Also add 1/4 teaspoon of salt if using unsalted butter in the recipe. Set aside.
  2. Warm 1.5 tablespoons milk in a pan. Once it's little warm, add crushed saffron to it and turn off the heat. Let it sit while you make the cookie dough.
  3. Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or use your mixer), beat together butter and sugar until creamy.
  4. Add in the saffron milk and the rose water. You might need not add the whole saffron milk at this point, add 1 tablespoon and after adding the dry ingredients (see next step below) see if the dough is coming together. If it isn't, then only add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon.
  5. Add the dry ingredients and mix using the paddle attachment, it will all come together as a dough. You can also use your hands to bring the dough together.
  6. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Then roll each part to form a log, 7 inch long. Roll each log into crushed dried rose petals. This is optional. Cover the dough logs with a cling sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
  7. Once chilled, take out the logs and using a knife cut them into cookies, around 1/2 inch thick. Also, pre-heat the oven to 350 F degrees.
  8. Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 F degrees for 20 to 23 minutes or until crispy and lightly browned from the bottom. Since I like really crispy cookies, I baked these for around 23 minutes. If you cut thinner cookies (1/4 inch thick), then bake for 18 minutes.
  9. Let the cookies cool and then store these thandai cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy.

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.