Everyday Essential:Almond Tea Cookies

Since the time I went to the UK for my post grad, I have been hooked to tea biscuits (continental way) alias cookies (American way). I am not a very breakfast person because most of the mornings are spent in cooking,making a P.O.A and hair straightening. Its crazy! But I like it that way and I do things only when I like to do them. I do it for myself. Well, that's me. So coming back to crazy mornings; there are only 2 things that can boost my energy levels in the morning with the time I have in hand. One is my husband's smiling face and the other are my 2 tea cookies with coffee. Thanks to me, even my husband is hooked to them now :). Yes, they are the one of the everyday essentials of the Kashyap family.

When ever I would read a cookie recipe, I always became more and more apprehensive of making cookies as they take seem to take so much time and energy. This is the first time I have made them and they are so easy to make. They are so much healthier than the ones I used to get from the stores and of course,without compromising on the taste.
Thanks to Ambika for the basic biscuit recipe. One of the most hassle free recipes to make cookies/biscuits. Although, I did change the recipe a little to make it healthier and lighter, the end result is still awesome. The cookies just melt in your mouth, thanks to Ambika for that!

Ingredients:-

1 stick of butter or 1/2 cup of canola oil (I used oil as it is healthier)
1 1/4 cups of whole-wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour (she has used APF)
1-large egg yolk
1/2 cup of granulated sugar (I decreased little bit of the sugar level)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
10-crushed almonds (I crushed them real small, so you cannot see them)

Method:-

Melt the butter or use it soft.
Whisk the oil/butter, sugar, vanilla essence and egg yolk until it gets smooth and fluffy.
Add the flour and mix it well.
Add the crushed almonds and mix well.
knead with your hands.
The batter now will become a brittle dough (its not going to be elastic like roti dough).
Take a tble spn of the dough to make a round ball and press it to flatten or use a cookie cutter of your size.
Preheat the oven at 325 F.
Bake for half hour. She says it took her half hour, but mine took 45 minutes. Keep checking every 5 minutes after 20 minutes of baking as the baking also depends on the size of each cookie. Be careful not to burn them. Check how brown the bottom of the cookie is.

And tada!....they are ready and look awesome. Relish them :) I am sending this recipe to Sireesha's CFK-Wheat event, Cooking for kids event is authored by Sharmi of Neivedyam.