Cookies are not something that general Nepali people usually make at home. They are mostly bought either from a bakery or a grocery. This may be because the baking culture has not been much practised in Nepali households.
However, thanks to an abundance of time available during the lockdown and access to the internet resources such as YouTube videos, many people have been trying their hands at baking cakes and cookies of late. If you have not tried baking yet but are willing to do so, here we bring for you a recipe for simple choco-chip butter cookies so that you can begin your baking journey even without an oven.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour (2 cups)
- Melted butter (1 cup)
- Powdered sugar (½ cup)
- Choco chips (3 tablespoons)
- Baking powder (1 teaspoon)
- Milk (1-2 tablespoons)
- Vanilla essence (optional) (2 teaspoons)
Below are the major steps you should go through.
1. Make the cookie dough
First, you need to make the cookie dough. For that, take a mixing bowl and add melted butter and powdered sugar. If you do not have powdered sugar, you can just grind the regular sugar for 40-50 seconds and you will have your powdered sugar at home. For melted butter, just heat up any pan and add butter, it will just melt.
After adding melted butter and powdered sugar, whisk these ingredients until they mix well. It will take around three to four minutes. Then, sieve the wheat flour and baking powder, and add them to the butter and sugar mixture. Also, add vanilla essence to the mixture. Again, gradually bind them together in the form of dough. You can also add some milk if you have problems binding the dough together.
Whisking the sugar-butter mixture 
The mixture is ready 
Adding sieved wheat flour and baking powder to the mixture 
Adding vanilla essence to the mixture 
Mixing all the added ingredients
When the dough is made, add choco chips and mix them again. Then, rest the dough for at least half an hour in the refrigerator.
Adding milk to the mixture 
And mixing again 
Adding choco chips to the dough 
Mix the dough properly 
And, the dough is ready to rest in a refrigerator for a while
2. Shape the cookies
After half an hour, take out the dough from the refrigerator and knead the dough for one to two minutes in order to soften the cookie mixture a bit. Now, divide the dough into small chunks just as you divide dough for making rotis. Then, make small balls out of them and slightly press those balls by keeping them in between your palms.
Shaping the cookies 
Topping the cookies with choco chips 
Greasing the plate with butter 
All set to bake
Top those flattened cookies with some more choco chips. Now, take a baking tray or any regular flat plate having a rolled edge, brush the tray or plate with some butter or oil. Then, place the shaped cookies maintaining some distance.
3. Bake
Now, take a big cauldron so that the tray or plate can easily fit in it. Heat it up and add either sand or salt. One packet of salt would perfectly add. Heat the salt in medium heat for five minutes by covering it.
Heating the salt in cauldron 
Placing the stand All set to bake 
Placing the plate or baking tray inside the cauldron 
Covering it
After the salt is heated, place a stand on the salt and now place the tray or plate above the stand, turn the heat to low flame. Cover the vessel properly so that heat could not go out. Now, bake the cookies for 35-40 minutes on a low flame.
The cookie will be perfectly risen after baking it for 35-40 minutes. After the cookies are baked perfectly, take them out of the cauldron and let them cool at room temperature for some minutes. After they are cooled, you can enjoy scrumptious choco-chip butter cookies with your family. You can also store the cookies in an air-tight container or bag.
All photos except for the opening one by Shukra Giri
