Cardamom Flavoured Almond Cookies

It's been a long gap since I blogged and to get started again I had to push myself hard. Oh I love blogging but there is just so much stuff that needs attention, that blogging is the last thing on my mind. All I needed to do was take the camera down to the kitchen, fill up the sink with dirty dishes and I am back on the blog....  :)

I baked these cookies, the first time when I had my best friends visiting me. I wasn't well at that time, luck was on their side coz I didn't experiment much on them... I baked these cookies within half an hour, just before leaving from home to pick them up. They totally loved it but somehow my husband had no interest in in even tasting them. My guess, is that he overheard me explaining how healthy these cookies are to my friends. Bottom line since he didn't approve the cookies, it didn't show up on the blog.

I baked them again for my parents when they were visiting us and they too loved them... and that is when unknowingly my husband had them and since then he has been hooked... By now, I have stopped counting how many times I have baked these delicious cookies.

Original recipe Source : Manjulas Kitchen
Recipe Adapted from : Edible Garden

Preparation time: 6 minutes
Baking time: 18 minutes
Makes: 20 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1½cups Whole Wheat flour
• ½cup Almonds
• ¾cup Sugar
• ¾tsp Cardamom powder
• ¾cup Vegetable oil
• ¼tsp Salt

Procedure:

1. Preheat the Oven to 180 degree Celsius and grease a baking tray.
2. In a bowl take whole wheat flour. Coarsely grind the sugar and add to the wheat flour along with powdered cardamom and salt.

3. Pulverize the almonds and add it to the wheat flour and sugar. Mix well.

4. Make a well in the center of the almond and flour mixture, then pour in the vegetable oil.

5. Mix it well to get a crumbly dough.

6. Divide them into equal parts and shape them into rounds. If you want to make them look pretty decorate them with almond halves.

7. Pop them in the Oven bake for 18minutes or until you see the sides browning. Remove from the oven and do not touch until it cools or a bit.

Notes:

1. If using cardamom pods, you will need approximately seeds from 16 pods. Add them to the grinder jar before adding sugar and then blitz 3-4 times, it will be ground enough.
2. The original recipe calls for almond silvers which I didn't find anywhere here and trust me it takes a long time to slice up half cup of almonds. I tried and gave up after a few almonds.:) If you have almond silvers go ahead use them no need to grind and all.
3. I once shaped the dough into a log and covered it with cling wrap and stored in the refrigerator. I was able to cut them into small rounds.The dough stays good for 3days in the refrigerator. I haven't kept it longer than that but I think it will survive for at least 5 days.
4. The cookies stay good upto a 3weeks in an airtight container. I sometimes triple the recipe and bake a lot of them at once coz it's in high demand. :)

Health and Nutrition:

• These nuts are rich source of energy and nutrients. They are especially, rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids that help to lower LDL or "bad cholesterol" and increase HDL or "good cholesterol." Diet, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favoring healthy blood lipid profile. They are an excellent source of vitamin E about 170% of RDA. Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen free radicals. Almonds are packed with many important B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. These vitamins functions as co-factors for enzymes during cellular substrate metabolism. They are also rich source of minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.
• Cardamom is a good source of minerals like potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Potassium in an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. It is also an excellent source of manganese and iron. Manganese is a co-factor for the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is a very powerful free radical scavenger. Iron is required for red blood cell formation. This exotic spice contains many plant derived chemical compounds that are known to have anti-oxidant, disease preventing and health promoting properties.
• Whole-wheat flour is robust, full-flavored flour containing vitamins, minerals and protein. Whole-wheat flour is more nutritious than refined white flour, although white flour may, in a process called food fortification, have some micro nutrients lost in processing added back to the white flour (required by law in some jurisdictions). Fortified white wheat flour does not, however, contain the macro nutrients of the wheat's bran and germ (especially fiber and protein) like whole-wheat flour does. Whole wheat is a good source of calcium, iron, fiber, and other minerals like selenium.