Bean Biscuits

Recipe No: 95

Let me take you for a small tour along my childhood. Being 10 and 9 years younger to my brothers, my father used to send me with them to the nearby bakery to get some snacks on one single condition. I should hold on to the hands of either one of them the whole time. So clinging onto the hands of one of my brother I used to make bakery visits often. Most of the times I will be welcomed by the sight of a big glass jar filled with scrumptious Bean Biscuits. Just like an instinct I will ask my brothers pointing to the glass jar “Can you buy that…..please…?” even though I know that the answer will be a big ‘NO’, mostly because my father would have instructed my brothers to buy something else…. So I will stand there staring at that big jar full of these small, lighter than air biscuits, committing crime in my mind by imagining me putting my hands into the jar and scooping up fistfuls of those biscuits and eating it voraciously…. But when I grew big, I used to buy these whenever I get a chance. I even packed a few packets of these sweet treats on my way back to US from my last Kerala trip.

Suddenly, last week when I was talking to my brother over phone I remembered these moments and decided to give this all time favorite a try. The taste of these resembles very much like a basic sponge cake. So I decided to make such a kind of batter and the difficulty was to adjust the temperature. After making two batches I got the temperature correct and I should say these came out well. I think the name is from the shape of these Biscuits, but if you look closely they come in all shapes, mostly round. So here it is the good old Bean Biscuits…

Ingredients

• Egg………………………................2 (At room temperature)
• Sugar……………………................2/3 Cup
• All purpose Flour/Maida....….6 Tablespoons
• Baking Powder……………......…1/8 Teaspoon
• Vanilla Essence…………….....….1 Teaspoon

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 250˚F/120˚C.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and apply a small coating of Oil or Butter. Use cooking spray if you have.

3. Sift together Flour and Baking Powder and keep aside till ready to be used.
4. Beat Egg, Sugar and Vanilla Essence really good till it is pale in color and doubles in volume. This process is easy if you have a stand or hand mixer.
5. Add the Flour mixture and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Don’t use a mixer for this step.
6. Transfer this mixture into a sauce bottle.
7. Drip the batter onto the baking sheet to make small drops leaving space in between the drops.
8. Once the sheet is full put this in the middle rack of the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or till it starts to brown lightly around the edges.
9. Keep it in  an airtight container when cooled.

Notes:

• After the cooking time the Biscuits will be slightly soft to touch but will harden up within minutes.
• If you don't have a sauce bottle, use a Zip Lock bag instead. Fill up the bag and make a small hole in one corner so that the batter will drip when you apply a small pressure.
• The texture of these cookies should be very light and crispy.

Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and
serve it to your family with love…