Cookie Swap

So, I agreed to be part of the cookie swap with my book club group. I have been to the book club meeting only once, but have managed to read a few of the books, albeit late. Anyway, I had my sights set on Manisha's nan-khatai(indianfoodrocks.blogspot.com) from the moment I saw it. The cookie swap was a good excuse to try it out. Nevertheless, I had a packet of chocolate-cookie mix to bail me out in case things didn't work out as planned. But work out they did, and better than I had expected. Amma and Shalini were there to help me out baking 4 dozen cookies required for the cookie swap.
In all, we baked three batches, and had about 60-70 cookies. Of course, each batch had slight variations in the ingredient and looks deparments. The first batch followed the recipe word-by-word, but that turned out to be too much ghee, and the dough was kinda runny. This batch didn't develop the cracks on the top, though they tasted excellent. I had the cookies shaped larger too. On the second batch, I reduced the ghee and added sliced almonds on top. I was thrilled to see this batch developing cracks on the surface, just like the pics on IFR. In the third batch, I decided to add some sliced almonds to the batter as well. Shalini was the official mixer, and amma was the official shaper. It was Shalini's suggestion to take the pictures as well.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience baking together. The cookie swap was fun as well, and Adarsh was excited about it, though he was interested only in the chocolate snowflake cookie, and the sugar cookies. Amma loved the baklava. I enjoyed all of these and the Russian tea cookies, and the gingerbread cookies, and the oatmeal-craisin-butterscotch-chip cookies as well(in short, I enjoyed all the cookies; in fact, all of us did).
Without further ado, here is the improvised recipe that worked best for me:

Ingredients:
Ghee: 1 cup
Baking powder: 1/4 tsp
Sugar: 1 cup
All Purpose Flour: 2-1/2 cups
Besan(chickpea flour): 1/8 cup
Cardamom(powdered): 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg(finely grated): 1/4 tsp
Ground Ginger: 1 tsp
Sliced Almonds:1/4 cup + some for garnish

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt the ghee, and mix the baking powder well with the ghee. Add the sugar, and mix until well combined. Mix the flours and the spices(and almonds, if using), and add to the ghee and sugar mixture. It should form a loose dough, slightly crumbly. Shape into balls, flatten the tops, garnish with almonds, place on cookie sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cookies turn slightly blonde. Cool for 5 minutes for the crust to develop, and then remove and enjoy.

Variations: You can play with the spices - add saffron/vanilla/almond extract etc
Add powdered nuts - almonds, cashews etc.