Servings : Makes 20 biscuits
If you've ever been to Mombasa (Kenya) or have had relatives/friends live there or travel there, then it would be pretty much impossible not to know the famous HB Biscuits of Mombasa. HB stands for Husseini Bakery. The HB biscuits are known for being some of the most amazing cookies ever!! They are a buttery, crumbly type of nan khatais, each one measuring about 3.5" in diameter. Needless to say, they are huge! And AMAZING! They normally have the HB imprint on them.
So, here is my take on them, only instead of being HB cookies, mine are FB cookies…Fauzia's Bakery! 😉
These gorgeous cookies turned out pretty close to the real deal! They looked exactly the same in every way except for the FB instead of HB.
Ingredients
- 250gm unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup castor/grinded sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 4 tbsp. custard powder (plain/vanilla flavor)
- few drops of yellow food colouring
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp. fine sooji/semolina
- 1 tsp. vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
First, mix the flour, custard powder, semolina, salt and baking powder together in a bowl and set it aside.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar, add the drops of color. Beat in the egg and vanilla until fluffy.
Now gradually add in the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. Do not over-mix as that will ruin the crumbly consistency. Only mix enough for everything to get well-combined.
If you feel that the dough needs a bit more flour, add a tbsp. at a time. Do not over-knead the mixture. Keep in mind that the dough will be chilled before shaping and baking, so it will stiffen up some more later, so don't add more flour than you absolutely need to.
Transfer the dough into a piece of cling film and wrap it up tight. Refrigerate for about an hour.
Place some greaseproof paper on your baking sheets. Divide the dough into about 20-21 equal balls. Shape them into big circles of about 3" each, using the palms of your hand, like how we make burger patties. Place them on the tray and flatten/level them slightly and gently. Remember to leave enough room around them as they will expand slightly during baking. You can make imprints on them at this point, I used the blunt end of a skewer to press on the cookies the letters FB. 🙂
Once all are shaped, place the trays again into the refrigerator for another half an hour to chill.
In the meantime, pre-heat the oven at 160 C. These cookies are normally large, so we need a lower temperature in order to get them to crisp up properly without getting brown.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes. When they are half-way done, turn the trays around so that the cookies get evenly baked, and if at any time you feel they are starting to take too much color, lower the heat some more.
Once they are ready, remove them onto a wire-rack to cool completely. When they come out of the oven they will be slightly soft, but don't worry as they will crisp up as they cool.
After they've cooled COMPLETELY and if you feel they are still not quite crisp enough, just pop them back into the oven on low temperature of about 120-140 C and bake them for another 10 minutes until you are satisfied with the results.
Store them in an airtight container.
Enjoy! 🙂
Hi.Hope you are fine. Just a clarification . When you say “1 cup” – how many grams is it??
Thanks ..and thanks again for such a wonderful website. God Bless.
Hi and thank you! For measurement conversions, please refer to this note: My Measurements
salam fauzia!i tried ur fb bisciut/cookies recipe and it turned out to be great!jazakillah khair.
Yuuuuummmmmy yummmmmyyyyy I just tried them 10/10 ….I forgot to add Bp but yet turned out amazing thnx dear keep it up.
Can I use margarine for ur cookie recipes instead of butter?
Yes but it won’t give exactly the same taste and results, butter is better.
Thank you Fauzia I alwalys like the HB cookies and I really want to try baking them but where do I get sooji/semolina and what is it
It is a type of course crushed wheat, you will find it at the supermarkets or in asian shops.
Assalamualaikum …Hws u? Well I tryd these nankhatai’s….bt thy dnt turn out as expected….I dnt knw where I went wrong…first mistake was,my dough was too light,so could nt mould them in shape…so I added extra flour.thn after baking,sides were crispy n d middle ws soft….wat would b d reason??? Plz help.thnx
W/Salaam, did you measure out the ingredients accurately? Did you preheat the oven? How does your oven work? Gas or electric and does it heat equally all around or just from the bottom or top?
Well,I did preheat d oven.my oven is small electric oven.heat is from top n bottom
Ok, try and make sure the biscuits are evenly flattened so they get done at the same rate.
Ok….wl try agen n gv u results
Hi fauzia!!!
I m trying these fb biscuits… N I feel the dough is very dry!
The dough isn’t binding up smoothly:( cud u plz advice
What shud I do! Shud I add lil egg or water?
Pls adv ASAP
Thanx
Hi, add some milk and mix.
Thnx !!! I wud try them again IA…these were Gud in taste though very hard:(
Thank you. Could it be that you over-baked them? Try again and bake them only for the recommended time given.
mashaallah i tried for the first time,but they just turned to be superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!am grazy for your lovely recipes.May Allah reward you more elm
Aa fauzia.. wea i stay cnt find semonila or sooji… is it a must ingredient?
W/Salaam, it adds a good texture. You can leave it out if you don’t have it.
This is a great website, May Allah bless you for the good work you are doing in keeping us happy, by teaching us the woderful recipes and making our family happy everytime there is a surprise dish from Fauzias Kitchen Fun !
Salam
Wanted to ask abt all purpose flour can we use plain flour to which we can add baking powder
Thanks Plz do reply as make dor Eid
Thanks
Asiya
W/Salaam, All purpose flour is the same as plain flour.
Assalamwalaikum. Eid Mubarak to u! Want to make these fb biscuits, I feel its very big prosiger to make. Is it must to refrgt?
W/Salaam, for best results you will need to follow the recipe exactly.
Hi fauzia I would like some help from you.if you have the recipe of roundd toast which are sold in husseini bakery mombasa.they are yellow inside very tasty and has fennel seeds inside.if you have the recipe can you post the recipe on your website. Thank you
Hi, at the moment I don’t have that recipe but will try my best to post it soon inshaAllah.
i tried thw fb recipe. it turned out well alhamdulillah. jazakallah
A.a do we bake dem straight from da fridge or we have 2 let dem b at room temp 1st?txx fo da gr8 work dia
W/Salaam, straight from the fridge.
Hi Fauzia,
what is sooji?
Hi Fauzia,
what is sooji?
Hi, it is known as semolina
Hi, it is known as semolina in english.
Hi dear…hope u r duin great
Hi dear…hope u r duin great with perfect health…
Wanted to ask you,
That after beating butter n all this stuff…when it’s time
To add at last flour,we beat little by hand mixture
Or hv to fold with wood spoon ..or etc..
Hi, you can use a hand mixer
Hi, you can use a hand mixer but do not overmix as that will result in a hard cake. Or just mix with a wooden spoon to avoid overmixing.