Soft, chewy mango-forward cookies infused with the gentle essence of ginger that perfectly complements the luscious mango flavor.
About the Recipe
I’m always looking for a cookie or a cake recipe that embodies Indian flavors. I simply love the fusion of Indian flavors with baked goods. This recipe is so good that even my parents who don’t particularly enjoy cookies called to ask how I made it.
I did a lot of research before coming up with this recipe and what I found is most mango cookie recipes out there use fresh mango. This doesn’t make sense to me because that adds too much moisture to the cookie that does not create the texture that I want in my cookie.
The recipe here makes these mango cookies that are chewy and moist cookie, filled with delightful bits of mango with a nice backbone of spice. For that spicy backbone that gives it an Indian character, I use ginger and nutmeg. I also use a little vanilla which balances out the flavors of the tart mangoes perfectly.
It took a few batches to get the cook time and spice balance right. I didn’t want the spice to overpower the cookie, it should support the mango and prevent a doughy taste. I wanted to maintain the mango forward flavor.
Ingredients
Mango – dried and freeze-dried
Flour – ap
Sugar – white sugar, brown sugar, and maple syrup
Baking Soda
Yogurt or Mango Pulp
Butter
Ginger
Nutmeg
Vanilla
Turmeric (for color) – without this it won’t have the mango color
Equipment
Mixer
Microplane
Cookie scooper
Making these Dairy Free
You will notice this recipe is egg-free, and it can also be made dairy-free with a simple substitution. One of my earlier versions of this recipe used mango pulp in pace of yogurt. It actually worked out quite well, even intensifying the mango flavor.
In the end, I settled on using yogurt simply because yogurt is more readily available. Either yogurt or mango pulp will help get that rich, chewy texture. Mango pulp can be made by blending actual ripe mango, which is seasonal, or you can use canned mango pulp from an Indian grocery store.
The other substitution required to make it dairy-free is by using a vegan butter, such as earth balance, in place of the regular butter.
Serving Mango Cookies
These are cookies, so they are often eaten on their own. They are great with a nice cup of chai, or a dirty chai latte. If serving guests, you might offer a range of sweets alongside these, such as these curry leaf cookies, ginger chai spiced cookies or gulab jamun cake.
Cooking Tips
- Make sure to mix the diced, dry mangoes with the flour to ensure even distribution. If they are mixed with wet ingredients, they will fall to the bottom and not be evenly distributed.
- Creaming the butter and sugar: Creaming the butter and sugar helps to aerate the batter. It is an important step to properly cream the butter and sugar to get the right crumb and chewy texture.
Variations
- Increase the amount of ground ginger (double it) for a more spice-forward flavor. Add a tsp of cinnamon.
- Substitute the maple syrup for honey
Mango Cookies (Eggless)
Equipment
- Mixer
- Microplane
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 150 g Dried mango finely chopped
- Freeze-dried mango optional
- 2 ¼ cups All purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup yogurt of choice or mango pulp
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ tsp turmeric optional for color
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- Pinch saffron optional
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 Tbsp sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Start to bloom the saffron by placing in a small bowl or plate in contact with an ice cube. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Cream the butter and white sugar together beating until fluffy and pale In a large bowl or stand mixer.
- One by one, add the brown sugar, maple syrup, yogurt, saffron, turmeric, and vanilla, mixing as you go to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom. Whisk to combine. Then, add the chopped mangoes to the dry ingredients. Combine evenly, ensure the mangoes are fully mixed and coated.
- Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir. Then mix in the remaining half.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes overnight. The dough can also be frozen to bake later.
- While the dough is resting, in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle, pulverize the freeze-dried mango and combine it with 3 tablespoons of sugar. If you do this too far ahead of time, the powder will start to clump.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment. Scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough, form into a ball, and roll in the mango sugar to coat. Place the balls evenly on the cooking sheet, leaving about 2” in between to allow for expansion. Press lightly on the balls with the bottom of a glass or other flat object.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on preference, 10 minutes for chewier cookies, and 14 for more toasty, crisper (but still soft) cookies.
- Remove from oven. Let rest on hot pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.