What is Thandai?
Thandai is a spice blend that is made with nuts like almonds, pistachios, cashews and whole spices like poppy seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron, cloves, whole black pepper along with rose petals. All of this is ground to form a spice mixture that is so flavorful that it literally perfumes the baked good it is in.
Popularity of my Thandai shortbread cookies
I have been using Thandai powder in my recipes since 2016, when I initially started posting to Instagram. Thandai shortbread cookies were the first cookies that I posted, and they became an instant sensation. It was published in the Bake From Scratch magazine, the recipe is also in my cookbook – Mumbai Modern.
The recipe has been published on the Bon Appetit website as well, and I am super proud of this recipe. It has been made by tons of people over the years and I love that about this recipe. It has been evergreen over the past 9 years!
Holi celebration and the use of spiked Thandai!
Holi is the Festival of colors celebrated all over India, the harbinger of Spring and celebrated regardless of caste, color, race or religion. I used to love playing Holi with my friends as a kid, but as I have grown older, throwing colors at each other does not entice me anymore.
Spiked Thandai or Bhaang (as it is called in Hindi) is popular during Holi. Thandai is a cold drink made with the spice powder and commonly served during the festival.
Thandai powder Ingredients
Inspiration for the Thandai Cookies with Rose-Pistachio Buttercream
The Thandai Shortbread Cookies that I made years ago, became the inspiration for these Thandai Cookies with Rose-Pistachio Buttercream. The cookie recipe is different and a bit softer in chew than the original recipe. That is because I add cornstarch, giving it that melt in your mouth feel with the cookie.
The cookies are eggless which is great in this economy when egg prices are crazy high. I am paying 10$ for a dozen and it is hard to come by cheaper prices, because of the existent bird flu resulting in the death of loads of chickens.
Ingredients for the Thandai Cookies with Rose-Pistachio Buttercream
Ingredients for the Thandai Cookies with Rose-Pistachio Buttercream are:
- All purpose flour : Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour is the one that I use
- Cornstarch : makes the cookies softer and melt-in-your-mouth texture
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract : Vanilla extract that I swear by
The cookies are fairly simple to make. The dough is made in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. The dough is set in the fridge for a bit before rolling out the dough, and using a fluted cutter or a round cutter to cut them out into rounds. The round cutter set that I have is linked here.
Ingredients for the Rose-Pistachio Buttercream
The ingredients for the Rose-Pistachio Buttercream are:
- Unsalted butter
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Granulated sugar
- Whole milk
- Pistachio cream
- Rose extract
- Americolor food gels for pink and green
How to make the pretty dual-toned buttercream
Plain vanilla buttercream is made first. It is then divided into two parts, adding pistachio cream to one part and rose extract to the other. You can or may not add color. I prefer the color especially because it looks so pretty.
The rose and the pistachio buttercreams are placed on a plastic wrap side by side and placed in the fridge to set a bit. Then they are gently slid into the piping bag fixed with the 1M tip, using a rubber spatula. Using a bench scraper, scrap the buttercream all the way to ensure that there are no air pockets in the bag.
Now when you pipe the buttercream, after securing the top, you will see that it will be a dual colored piping cream. It looks pretty and tastes amazing between the two Thandai cookies.
How to decorate the cookie?
You can add edible gold glitter on top of each cookie to make it look festive and pretty.
What round cutter set do you use for the cookies?
The round cutter set that I have is linked here.
How long can the cookies last?
Cookies can be placed in an airtight container, in a cool place, for up to a week.
What pistachio cream do you use?
Do your research but the pistachio cream that I have used in the past is here.
What rose extract do you use?
The rose extract that I use is linked here.
Which tip do you use for getting the pretty rose piping?
I use the 1M tip that is linked here.
Other fun Thandai inspiration or otherwise for Holi are here:
- Holi Thandai Macarons
- Holi Thandai Spring Cake with Rose Swiss Meringue
- Masala Doodh Marbled Cookies
If you do make these pretty cookies, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave me a comment on this blog post.
XO
Amisha
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Thandai Cookies with Rose-Pistachio Buttercream
Ingredients:
Thandai Masala:
Makes about 1 ½ cups
- ⅓ cup (45 gms) almonds
- ¼ cup (36 gms) pistachios
- ¼ cup (36 gms) cashews
- ¼ cup (36 gms) poppy seeds
- ¼ cup (3 gms) dried rose petals or 20 dried rose buds(remove the stem)
- 20 black peppercorns
- 20 cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick (5 gms), crushed
- 8 cloves
- 2 tablespoons (14 gms) fennel seeds
- 2 star anise (3 gms)
- 1 teaspoon (2 gms) ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp saffron
Thandai Cookies:
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (280 grams) all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons Thandai Masala
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 2 sticks/1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Decoration:
- White sanding sugar or Wilton edible gold shimmer dust
Rose-Pistachio Buttercream:
- 1 stick/ ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons whole milk
- 1 tablespoon pistachio cream
- Drop of Americolor Avocado food gel
- ¼ teaspoon rose extract
- Drop of Americolor Pink food gel
- 2 inch round cutter
- ¾ inch round cutter
- 12 inch pastry bag
- 1M piping tip
Get Recipe Ingredients
Method:
Thandai Masala:
- Add all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine. In ~ 3 batches, in a spice grinder, grind the mixture to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container, in a cool place, upto 6 to 8 months.
Thandai Cookies:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, Thandai masala, cornstarch and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating just until combined. Turn out dough onto a plastic wrap. Shape into a 1 inch flat disc. Refrigerate for an hour or until slightly hardened.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to 1⁄8 inch thick. Place the other half of the dough, wrapped in the plastic wrap, in the fridge, until ready to use. Using a 2-inch (5 cm) round cutter, cut dough, and place on the prepared pans. Place the pans in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Combine the remaining pieces of dough, make a ball and place in the plastic wrap, shape into a disc and place it in the fridge to firm up again.
- Bake on lower and middle racks of the oven until lightly golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- With the other half of the dough, using a 2-inch (5 cm) round cutter, cut dough, and place on the two prepared pans. Using a ¾ inch round cutter, cut a hole in the cookies. If using white sanding sugar, sprinkle on all the cookies. Press very gently to adhere.
- Place the pans in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Combine the remaining pieces of dough, make a ball and place in the plastic wrap, shape into a disc and place it in the fridge to firm up again.
- Bake on lower and middle racks of the oven until lightly golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- Repeat the process to make more of the base cookie and the top cookie, making sure to freeze the pan with the cookies for 10 minutes before baking, to ensure minimal change in shape.
- If using the edible gold shimmer dust, sprinkle on each top cookie, as soon as it is out of the oven.
Rose-Pistachio Buttercream:
- In a medium to large mixing bowl, add the butter, salt and vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula, mix vigorously for a minute, until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the confectioner’s sugar and milk, and mix again until completely combined.
- Divide the buttercream equally into two bowls.
- Add pistachio cream and a drop of the green food color to enhance the pale green buttercream into one bowl. Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined. Make sure that the buttercream is not too soft. If soft, add ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar at a time, until it is slightly firm yet pliable.
- Add rose water and a drop of the pink food color to the buttercream in a second bowl. Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined. Make sure that the buttercream is not too soft. If soft, add ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar at a time, until it is slightly firm yet pliable.
- Place the buttercreams side by side on a plastic wrap, about 8 inches lengthwise. Place it in the fridge for it to set slightly, about 15 minutes.
- Using a spatula, slide/place the buttercream into a 12 inch pastry bag fitted with a 1M piping tip. The buttercreams will be parallel to the bag. If this is confusing, alternate dollops of the buttercream into the pastry bag. We are trying to achieve a swirl of the rose-pistachio buttercream, sandwiched between the two cookies.
Assembly:
- Invert the whole cookie. Pipe the buttercream onto the cookie, leaving a ¼ inch border, allowing for the buttercream to spread, once the cookie is covered with the top cookie.
- Place the top cookie onto the buttercream and gently press, to flatten the cookie.
- Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Note: Cookies can be placed in an airtight container, in a cool place, for up to a week.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
How to decorate the cookie?
- You can add edible gold glitter on top of each cookie to make it look festive and pretty.
What round cutter set do you use for the cookies?
How long can the cookies last?
- Cookies can be placed in an airtight container, in a cool place, for up to a week.
What pistachio cream do you use?
- Do your research but the pistachio cream that I have used in the past is here.
What rose extract do you use?
- The rose extract that I use is linked here.
Which tip do you use for getting the pretty rose piping?
- I use the 1M tip that is linked here
