Horlicks Cookies
Some of the best memories as a kid was chugging the warm mixture of Horlicks and milk and then scooping up the glob of the leftover from the bottom of the cup with my finger. Horlicks is a sweet, malted barley powder that can be mixed with warm water or milk. I swear by it to anyone who is yet to experience the smell and the taste of this glorious drink. Horlicks offer a super unique malty flavor that will leave your belly feeling warm and cozy. In the name of nostalgia, I try to offer my kids Horlicks with milk, and they have come to appreciate it even more than the American hot chocolate mixes. As a South Asian, I am glad that they choose Horlicks every time; it is clearly better and more tasty beverage.
This winter, I have been dabbling quite a bit in baking cookies and muffins for my sweet-toothed sons, partly because I would rather them eat homemade cookies than the store bought ultra-processed candies that tend to make them crankier, but mostly because it is a way to engage with them in a slightly different context than usual as a father. To put both things together, I thought of making Horlicks cookies and to my pleasure, the cookies turned out really good. Not only were they super easy to make, but baking them was also a trip down the memory lane. I felt engulfed with the nostalgic smell of Horlicks as my sons mixed the dough together and the smell was even more fragrant as the cookies baked in the oven. It took around 25 minutes to get this fusion of experience. Here are the ingredients.
- 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Horlicks
- 1/4 cup Granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
- 1 Egg or mixture of 2 Tbsp Flaxseed with 4 Tbsp water for Vegetarians.
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- Dash of Vanilla Extract
- Dash of milk if necessary
First, mix the dry ingredients of flour, Horlicks, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Then separately, mix the softened butter with the egg or the flaxseed mixture to a respectable combination with the dash of vanilla extract. The butter doesn’t have to be completely mixed in as it will get mixed well enough when we mix the soft and dry ingredients together to create the dough. Before you mix them together, make sure the oven is set at 375 F degrees.
Now, once your wet ingredients start to look like cottage cheese, you are ready to mix it with the dry ingredients to create the dough. You may mix the butter more if you like. With a wooden spoon or a strong metal spoon, mix the dough until you reach a cookie doughy consistency. It is ideal to not have the dough very sticky, as it will spread out too much when you bake it. It is best to have the dough slightly dry and not sticking to the bowl. You can always adjust accordingly with dash of flour or milk depending on which way it’s going. After you have mixed the dough to this level of consistency and getting full on the heavenly smell of Horlicks already, it is time to lay parchment paper on the baking pan and make a tablespoon size ball of the dough and set about 2 to 3 inches apart from each other on the pan so the cookies get the good amount of space to spread out in the oven while it’s cooking.
Now, let it cook for 10 mins in the oven. Around the five-minute mark, you will start to notice the smell of Horlicks taking over your kitchen and the kids yelling for the cookies already. It’s important not to get distracted by any of this, because you do not want to bake for more than 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, it is time to take it out of the oven, and let it sit for a couple of minutes before you transfer them to the wire rack to let the cookies cool off. The cookies may look a little undercooked when you first take them out of the oven, but that’s okay because the entrapped heat within will cook them while sitting outside to the perfect chewy goodness. It’s just thermodynamics.
After letting it cool for about 10 minutes, the cookies are ready to be served to the kids. While they prefer to have cookies independently, I prefer to have these cookies with coffee as it counters the bitterness of the coffee but also accentuates the flavor of Horlicks. Enjoy the trip down the Nostalgia Boulevard with this classic flavor.