“Baskoot Al Nashader” are Egyptian festive butter cookies that are baked to celebrate Muslim and Christian feasts in Egypt. Those vanilla-scented cookies are buttery and melt-in-your-mouth cookies that will complement your tea and coffee experience. 

Disclaimer:Chez Nermine blog is an Amazon Associate. We earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Our commission doesn’t affect the price of the product you purchase.

The food traditions of Egyptian religious feasts whether Muslim or Christian are incomplete without Baskoot Nashader which translates to “Ammonia cookies”. Baskoot means cookies and nashader means ammonia.  

These cookies were passed on for generations and I hope by documenting them on my blog, the generation of my kids will keep up their legacy. 

What is Baskoot Nashader 

Baskoot Nashader are buttery cookies that are made of a simple cookie dough that calls for flour, butter, eggs, and finally Ammonia as a leavening agent.

Baskoot means cookies and nashader means ammonia, so together they mean Ammonia Cookies. The reason they are named after ammonia is that they rely on ammonia powder as a leavening agent instead of baking powder or baking soda. 

It is a simple and straightforward dough to pull together, so continue reading to learn all the success secrets of those cookies.

How to make Baskoot Nashader

You will need a stand mixer, or a hand mixer, to make Baskoot Nasahder.  Once you have your ingredients laid out at the right temperature the rest is truly a piece of Cake. 

Step 1: Whip up the butter

Before you start, make sure that the butter is at room temperature to whip up easily.

Run the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at medium speed and beat the butter until its color turns pale yellow and becomes so fluffy. That step might take up to 7 minutes, so be patient and beat the butter until it reaches the color and texture in the photo below. 

Step 2: Cream the fine sugar and butter 

Sift the powdered sugar over the butter. Don’t skimp that step, as unsifted powdered sugar is harder to incorporate into the butter. 

Run the mixer for at least 10 minutes to completely dissolve the powdered sugar into the butter before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. 

That butter-sugar mixture should be of pale yellow color and so fluffy. 

Step 3: Add the eggs 

The eggs should be at room temperate, otherwise they will resist melting into the cough dough.

Beat using the hand-mixer after the addition of each egg. The eggs should disappear totally into the batter so keep whisking until that happens. 

Step 4: Add the aromatics 

Typically, Baskoot Nashader is vanilla-scented. This said, I found that a tablespoon of orange zest takes these Egyptian cookies to the next level and gives it a refreshing twist.

I like to add the orange zest with the butter, so it would release its essential oil and aroma into the basic ingredient. 

This said, I should clarify that the orange zest is totally optional here and is not considered a main ingredient in this recipe. 

Step 5: Add the flour 

Add a pinch of salt to the flour and sift over the batter. Don’t use the mixer at this point, instead manually fold the flour into the batter using a spatula. Keep folding until the flour is totally incorporated. 

Please mote that over kneading the dough at this point destroys the texture of the cookies. Stop kneading once the flour has disappeared into the dough. 

Step 6: Add the Ammonia-milk mixture 

Add 1/2 a teaspoon of Ammonia to 2 tablespoons of warm milk. The Ammonia-milk mixture will eventually get frothy, once that happens add the mixture to the batter and mix with a spatula until it is well incorporated. 

 

Ammonia is not an ingredient that is commonly found in grocery stores, yet you can easily find it online, or you can simply swap in baking powder and baking soda. For 1/2 a teaspoon of Ammonia, use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder. 

Step 7: Shape the cookies 

Typically, Baskoot Nashader is shaped using a metal traditional manual machine. Some plastic replicas  are available nowadays online. 

By all means, the manual machine is not necessary to make Baskoot Nashader. Instead, a sturdy silicone pastry bag fitted with a flat tip (created for this type of cookies) will work perfectly fine. 

I found that silicone pastry bags are the best to handle cookie batter as flimsy nylon bags easily explode and can’t handle thick cookies’ dough. 

Step 8: Bake 

Preheat the oven at 170 C or 350 F and bake the cookies for no longer than 12 minutes. The cookies bottom should be golden brown and the top lightly golden.

Make ahead & storage tips

If your days are short and busy, feel free to make the batter a day ahead and leave it in the fridge until you pipe it the next day.

Before shaping the cookies, get the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before you transfer to the piping bag or the cookie machine. 

Check more Egyptian cookies 

You might also like 

• Kahk bel Agameya

• Gorayeba

• Petit Four 

Subscribe to join my foodie tribe 

Chez Nermine blog  is your source of authentic, wholesome, and no-fail Egyptian recipes. To receive our weekly recipe, Subscribe here to my blog Chez Nermine.

For fun tutorial food videos, follow IG @cheznermine & Facebook page: Chez Nermine Page

Disclaimers 

• All product recommendations are independent and based on testing.
• This blog is an Amazon Associate. Some links contain affiliates. When you buy through one of our links we will receive a small commission, at no cost to you.

---

Disclaimer:Chez Nermine blog is an Amazon Associate. We earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Our commission doesn’t affect the  price of the product you purchase.

Baskoot Nashader (Egyptian Ammonia Cookies)

Recipe credit goes to Chef Vivian Farid @chefvivianfarid.

TOOLS 

• Stand mixer or handmixer 

INGREDIENTS 

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream the butter: in the container of a stand mixer, or a regular container, beat the butter until it becomes fluffy and pale. 
2. Add the sifted powdered sugar to the butter and continue beating until the sugar disappears and it is well incorporated into the butter.  Add the orange zest (if using)  and keep running the mixer again for 30 seconds. 
3. Add the eggs one by one. Beat the mixture after the addition of each egg until it disappears completely in the cookie batter.  
4. Add the sifted flour to the batter, and with a spatula fold it carefully into the batter. Don’t use the mixer at this point. Incorporating the flour manually into the batter yields a better cookie texture. 
5. In a small bowl, mix the warm milk and Ammonia with a spoon, when the mixture becomes frothy, fold it into the batter until it is well incorporated. A soft unstick batter should come together at this point. 
6. Transfer 1 cup of the batter at a time to a pastry bag fitted with a flat cookie tip. Pipe cookies that are 3-4 inches long. 
7. Bake the cookies in a  preheated 170 C or 350 F oven for 12 minutes. 
8. Transfer the cookies to a metal rack and let the cookies cool completely to room temperature. 
9. Store the cookies in airtight containers. 
10. Serve with tea and coffee