Eggless Coconut Cookies | Thengai Biscuits

Coconut Cookies/ Thengai Biscuits, delicious, crispy and melt in your mouth cookies. These cookies are mildly sweetened and full of flavor. Tastes great as a snack or as a tea biscuits. 

Right now, it's one of my kid's favorite cookies , so i bake them often at home. I simply love when the kid enjoys the baking goods that i make ! While i was growing up, baking was not a part of our cooking at home, so it always gives immense pleasure to enjoy the homemade baking goods. 

Whenever i bake cookies for my kid, i try to minimize or completely avoid the leavening agents, so often i stick with shortbread types of cookies. 

Initially when i try these cookies, i didn't add any leavening agents and the cookies turned out really good. But today, in this recipe, i have added a little amount of baking powder and the cookies are super lighter than before other than that everything else are the same

So it's really up to you to add baking powder in this recipe.  If you're worried that the cookies would be dense, then add the baking powder for safety :-)

Coconut

Make sure to use a fine variety of desiccated unsweetened coconut because it easily blends with the flour. Don't use shredded types of coconut in the recipe. I got my dried coconut from the Bulk Barn store here in Canada. 

Rolling the cookie dough in the coconut is optional. So you can skip this step and bake the cookies and still it tastes awesome. 

Sugar 

For all my cookies with a few exceptions, i like to use the store bought powdered sugar because it gives such a smooth melt in your mouth cookies. 

Vanilla Essence

Coconut and vanilla flavor goes together really well. But you can skip the vanilla essence and make it with coconut flavor alone or you can use a bit of cardamom flavor/ powder too.

Now let's check out on how to make this delicious Coconut Cookies / Thengai Biscuits 

Coconut Cookies | Thengai Biscuits

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 12 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Cookies, Thengai Biscuits, Coconut Cookies/ Thengai Biscuits, a delicious and crispy melt in your mouth cookies. These cookies are mildly sweetened and full of flavor.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Butter - 1/4 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/4 cup

Desiccated Un-sweetened coconut - 1/2 cup 

All purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)

Procedure

Preheat the oven @ 350 F 

In a bowl, add the butter and whisk it smooth, then add the sugar and salt.

Mix it all together well with a whisk. Next add the vanilla essence.

Mix it well and then add the coconut, flour and baking powder. Now use your hand and mix it all together until it forms a smooth dough.

Then pinch a small amount of cookie dough and roll it into a smooth ball. 

Take 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut in a bowl and roll the cookie dough on it until the cookie coats with coconut on all sides. This step is totally optional so you can skip it too. Then flatten the cookie a little bit and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake it in the pre-heated oven for 15-18 mins until the top turns slightly golden brown in color.

Cool it completely and store it in airtight container. Delicious Coconut Cookies/Thengai Biscuits are ready to munch.

Related : How to make Shortbread Cookies / Butter Cookies

Notes: 

• These cookies stay well for up to 15 days at room temperature.
• These cookies are mildly sweetened sweetened. 

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Tutti Frutti Bun | Bakery Style Sweet Bun

Tutti Frutti Bun, a mildly sweetened bun that tastes great with a cup of tea/coffee. It's more or less similar to the sweet buns that are available in South Tamilnadu tea/bakery shops. When i made tutti frutti from watermelon rind,  had few recipes in mind to try it out and this sweet bun is one among them.

 Watermelon tutti frutti tastes so similar to the traditional ones made with raw papaya and couldn't find any difference in taste and texture in baked goods. As for the buns,I have used the Tangzhong method and it never fails to impress me. As expected,the bun turned out soft and fluffy.To know more about Tangzhong method, check out my pav bread where i had explained a little more. 

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During this quarantine time, i have been baking a lot and trying out all the baked goods that i had wanted to try and also from the bookmarks that are left untouched over years. It's been a while since i had bought a loaf of bread from store. Baking all the time seems overwhelmed at times, but most of the time it's so relaxing. More than cakes and muffins, i love to bake bread, buns and savory bakes, typically anything with yeasted dough !!

Ok, coming back to today's recipe, you can bake this bun without tutti frutti also, but keep in mind that the bun is very mildly sweetened so adding tutti frutti helps to enhance the sweet flavor a bit more, so i would highly recommend to add them. Now let's check out how to make this super fluffy sweet bun !!

Sweet Bun | Tutti Frutti Bun

Preparation Time : 1.5 hr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 8 
Recipe Category: Sweet Bun | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Sweet Bun, Tamilnadu Sweet Bun, Bakery Sweet Bun, Tutti Frutti Bun,Bakery snack Tutti Frutti Bun, a delicious and mildly sweetened bun that tastes great with a cup of tea/coffee. It's more or less similar to the sweet bun that are available in South Tamilnadu tea/bakery shop.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
All purpose flour - 1 cup 
Sugar - 2 & 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Instant yeast - 3/4 tsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Warm Milk - 2 to 3 tbsp
Cardamon powder -1/4 tsp
Tutti Frutti - 1/4 cup
For the flour roux
All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/3 cup
* See Notes section at the end if you're new in baking

Procedure

Measure and take one cup of flour, take one tbsp of flour from that and put it in a sauce pan for making roux.

Add 1/3 cup of milk into the sauce pan and place it on heat, stir it continuously until it's thick. Remove from the flame and let it cool a bit.

In the remaining flour, add the yeast, sugar, cardamon powder & salt  and mix it well. Then add the butter and the prepared flour roux, mix it well with hands. Next add milk little by little and make a soft dough.

Knead the dough for 10 mins or until it's smooth and place it on the bowl and cover it with cling wrap and set aside for 1 to 1.5 hrs or until it's doubled.

After 1.5 hrs, punch out the gas from the dough and then add the tutti frutti & mix it well with the dough.

Divide the dough into eight equal parts and take each pieces of dough in between your palm and roll it smooth. 

Place it on the baking tray.Do the same for the all the dough and cover it with cling wrap and set it aside for 30 mins.

Preheat the oven @ 400 F. After 30 mins, brush the top of bun with milk sugar mixture(add 1 tsp of sugar in 2 tbsp of milk and use it for brushing).

Place it in the preheated oven and bake it for 20-22 mins. 

Tasty and fluffy Sweet Bun is ready !!!

Related: How to make Thengai Bun / Coconut Bun / Dilpasand 

For more baking recipe, check out here

Notes:

• While preparing the roux, make sure to stir it continuously, it tends to clump together at the bottom quickly.
• Cool the roux completely before use it in the dough.
• Kneed the dough well  to get that soft , smooth & non-sticky dough. 
• Add more or less of tutti frutti as per your liking.
• For more sweetness, you can add extra 1 tbsp of sugar.
• Adding little sugar in the milk for brushing the top of the bun helps to get that dark color on the top.
• While brushing the top of the bun with milk, don't over do it, otherwise, the milk drips and make the bun sticks to the pan and it's hard to remove from the pan once baked
  

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Thengai Bun, a soft bun with delicious sweet coconut & tutti frutti stuffing inside.It's one of the famous buns that you can find in almost all bakeries in Tamilnadu,India. 

In bakeries across Tamilnadu, there are two types of coconut buns are famous, one is a bun with butter & coconut flakes on the top and the other type is this coconut stuffed buns. Out of those varieties, the coconut stuffed buns are my favorite. Usually it's in high demand at bakeries and available in only limited time. 

During my last visit to India, in tiruppur(my in laws place), i had tasted the best coconut bun from some famous bakery(forgot the name). Entire kongu region itself has lot of bakeries in every corner of the street.  

Related : How to make Pull Apart Garlic Bread

Even two days back on facebook, someone mentioned, there is no use of closure of colleges and schools in the Kongu region unless the bakeries are closed to avoid the outbreak of coronavirus. Honestly, it's 100% percent true. 

If you're from that region, you might know this already. Ok, coming back to the recipe, first, ever since I had started baking the pav bread using Tangzhong method, I'm quite confident in making soft and fluffy buns at home without eggs. So here in the recipe, i have used the same technique for making the bun and it turned out so soft and fluffy

Related : How to make Turkish Baklava

Second, for the filling, here in the recipe I have used coconut flakes instead of fresh coconut. I have made these with both fresh coconut and coconut flakes, both are equally good. Using fresh coconut makes the inside juicy. 

On the other hand, using coconut flakes increases the shelf life of the bun. As I had coconut flakes sitting idle in my pantry for a while, I just used to make it.  So whatever you have, you can use them to make this delicious thengai bun. 

Lastly, I have made them as small buns, it needs little patience to make them as individual small buns. Instead you can divide the dough into two, flatten the dough, spread the filling on one and cover it with another & seal the edges. Once baked, slice & serve. That's the quick way of making this bun.  Ok, now let's check out on how to make this delicious thengai bun.

Related : How to make Tutti Frutti from Watermelon rind

Thengai Bun | Coconut Bun | Dilpasand

Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 8 
Recipe Category: Bun | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Thengai Bun, Coconut Bun, Bakery Thengai Bun,Dilpasand,coconut,baking,eggless thengai bun Thengai Bun, a soft bun filled with delicious sweet coconut & tutti frutti stuffing inside.It's one of the famous bun that you can find in almost all bakeries in Tamilnadu,India.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
All purpose flour - 1 cup minus 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Instant yeast - 3/4 tsp
Butter - 2 tsp
Water - as needed for dough
For the flour roux
All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
Water/Milk - 1/4 cup
For the stuffing
Unsweetened coconut flakes - 3/4 cup
Tutti frutti - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Cashews - 2 tsp
Raisins - 2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Water - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

Measure and take one cup of flour, take one tbsp of flour from that and put it in a sauce pan.

Add 1/4 cup of water into the sauce pan and place it on heat, stir it continuously until it's thick mass. Remove from the flame and let it cool a bit.

In the remaining flour, add the yeast, salt & sugar, mix it well. Then add the melted butter and the prepared flour roux,mix it well with hands. 

Add more water in to the flour and make a slightly sticky dough. Transfer the dough into the greased working surface.

Knead the dough for 3-5 mins or until the surface is smooth.Place it on the bowl and apply some oil on top and let it sit aside for 2 hrs or until it's doubled in size.

In the mean time, let's prepare the stuffing. Heat the pan with ghee, add the cashew and raisins, roast till the raisins are puffed up, then add the sugar, coconut, tutti frutti,cardamom powder and water. Mix it all together.

Let it in the flame for 2- 3 mins or until the sugar melts and it become a thick & sticky mixture. Let it cool completely. Take the dough and punch out the gas, divide the dough into 8 equal parts.

Take a dough ball, stretch it a little with rolling pin or hands, place the stuffing in the center and close the edges.

Pinch together the edges well. Keep the sealed edges downside and roll the dough between your palms until it smooth on the surfaces. Place it on the parchment lined baking tray.

Preheat the oven at 350 F.Cover the tray with kitchen cloth and let it proof for another 20 mins.  Brush the top with some milk.
Place it on the oven and bake it for 20-22 mins. Brush the top of the bun with butter when it's hot.

Tasty and Soft Thengai Buns are ready. 

Related : How to make Tutti Frutti Bun

Related : How to make Baked Samosa

Notes:

• While preparing the roux, make sure to stir it continuously, it tends to clump together at the bottom quickly.
• Cool the roux completely before use it in the dough.
• Kneed the dough well  to get that soft , smooth & non-sticky dough. 
• Instead of coconut flakes, fresh coconut can also be used.
• Add more or less of tutti frutti as  per your like.
• To make flour roux, milk can also be used.
• Stays good for upto 5 days in refrigerator.
• Keep the leftover at refrigerator and warm it up in the microwave for 15 sec before serving.
  

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Thengai/Coconut Bun

Ingredients

For bun
All purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
Yeast - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Water

For filling

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Cashews & raisins - 1/8 cup

Crushed cardamom - 3

Ghee -2 tbsp

Procedure 

Mix the yeast,salt & sugar in lukewarm water and leave it aside for 5 minutes or until it become frothy

Now make the dough by mixing the flour with yeast mixture and keep it aside for 2 hours.

After 2 hours,dough double in its size.Punch the dough to escape the air.

In the mean time roast the cashews & raisins in the ghee and add it into the coconut along with crushed cardamom.

Now divide the dough into two equal parts and roll each parts into desired shape by using rolling pin.

Keep the first layer in the baking tray , spread the filling on it ,then keep the next layer on top of the filling .Seal the edges tightly.

Brush the top with butter.Preheat the oven to 375 F and bake for 25-30 mins or until the top turns golden brown.

Yummy Thengai Bun is ready.  Thengai bun is hard when u take out from the oven,allow it to cool completely,so that you will get soft thengai bun

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Baklava Rolls

Baklava is a sweet pastry with chopped nuts inside.To know more about baklava go here

Ingredients

Phyllo sheets - 6(In US, you can get this in frozen section of any grocery store)

For Filling

Almond - 1/2 cup(crushed)

Cashews - 10 nos (crushed)

Sugar - 5 tbspn(adjust to your taste)

Powdered cloves & cinnamon - 1/2 tsp(substitute with cardamom powder also)

Melted unsalted butter - 4 tbsp

For Syrup

Sugar -1/4 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Procedure

Mix all the ingredients under filling and keep aside.

Take 2 phyllo sheet at a time and place it on working surface and cover the remaining sheets with wet cloth.Handle the sheets very carefully, it will tear easily.

Brush the sheet with butter and place the filling at one end and roll the sheet. Then again place the filling and roll it.Repeat it until the end of the sheet.

Similarly do it for all sheets and place it in baking tray and apply butter on top.

Then cut the rolls into pieces.

Cover the baking tray with foil paper(it prevents the top layer turning color very easily).Preheat the oven at 325F,place the tray in oven and bake  it for 20 mins.After that remove the foil paper and bake it for another 10 mins.

In the mean time make the sugar syrup.In a sauce pan add the sugar and water and boil it for around 15 mins in medium flame or until it become thick consistency(dont make one sting consistency).

Now remove the baklava from oven and pour this syrup and allow it to soak for atlest 2 hrs before serving.

Now the tastiest baklava rolls are ready.This rolls are very addictive. you cannot stop by one.

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