Eggless Whole Wheat Coconut and Dry Fruit Cookies

Back home, cookies are called biscuits. At my place, these crunchy delights always used to be store bought. These days, we love the home baked goodies more than the store bought ones. You get to choose healthier ingredients, use your favorite flavors and more importantly, the satisfaction of baking for your loved ones. Call them cookies or biscuits, if your family loves it, its well worth the effort.

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Light Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Unsalted Butter - 1/2 cup (1/4 pound)
Desiccated (Dry) Coconut - 1/2 cup
Dry Cranberries - 1/4 cup
Whole Milk - 1/4 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1 1/2 tsp
Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

How to bake Whole Wheat Coconut and Dry Fruit Cookies:

• Finely chop cranberries. Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Instead of cranberries, you can use any other dry fruits of your choice - cherries, raisins, apricots, figs.
• In a small bowl, add the dry ingredients - whole wheat flour, desiccated coconut, chopped cranberries, cardamom powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well with a spoon or a fork and set it aside.
• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Line an ungreased baking tray with parchment paper.
• In a big mixing bowl, add (room temperature) softened butter, light brown sugar, whole milk and vanilla extract. Using a hand blender, beat all the ingredients well until it turns light and creamy.
• Now add the dry ingredients, little at a time, to the big bowl. Mix it until all the ingredients are mixed well. You'll get a sticky cookie dough.
• Using an ice cream scoop, drop (about 20) balls of the cookie dough on the baking tray, each one few inches apart. After baking, each dough ball will almost double in size.
• Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 12 - 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the cookies after 10 minutes. Baking time may vary depending on the oven. Based on how chewy or crunchy you want the cookies to be, reduce or increase the baking time. Also, keep in mind that cookies harden after cooling.

Enjoy!