Barfi Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crisp and chewy Barfi Chocolate Chip Cookies filled with chunks of cardamom and saffron barfi along with heaps of milk and dark chocolate.

Barfi Chocolate Chip Cookies

When the world of Indian sweets collides with a classic chocolate chip cookie, you get these. These Barfi Chocolate Chip Cookies start with a base of a classic cookie. With the perfect balance of crisp on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside.

Not to mention, they’re absolutely loaded with chunks of cardamom and saffron barfi, as well as a generous heap of milk and dark chocolate. They also come in 3 different flavours, original, pistachio and almond, and coconut. And it’s honestly difficult to pick a favourite.

As these are a Diwali themed recipe, I’ve also opted to develop these cookies to be EGG FREE which makes them suitable for all.

What is barfi?

Barfi is one of the classic Indian desserts, as well as being one of my personal favourites. It’s also enjoyed across many other regions in South Asia as well as throughout the Indian disapora.

It’s a milk based fudge-like dessert that’s usually made from milk powder or occasionally condensed milk. Barfi is incredibly versatile, and this has led to a huge number of variations and flavours to be created. From nuts like coconut or pistachio, to chocolate, to fruits, salted caramel, cookies and cream, and so many more.

The closest textural and flavour comparison I can think of would be fudge. Like fudge, barfi also has a pronounced dairy flavour (from milk powder). Although, barfi does tend to have a slightly more crumbly texture in comparison to the smoothness of fudge.

There are chunks of barfi running through these chocolate chip cookies!

This recipe starts off by making a basic plain milk barfi infused with cardamom and saffron. Once that’s set and firmed up, we’re cutting it into chunks and folding it into our chocolate chip cookie butter! Wild, I know.

The barfi bakes into the cookie, developing this smooth, creamy, and almost gooey texture. It’s an incredibly enjoyable experience to get a bite of barfi inside the chocolate chip cookie, especially when the cookies are still warm.

The flavour and richness of the barfi adds an extra fudginess to the cookies. And the combination of the pronounced dairy notes, the cardamom, and the saffron along with the chocolate is heavenly. This been one of the most unique cookies I’ve ever made, and I’m so excited for you guys to try them too!

Why these chocolate chip cookies are extra special

Firstly, they have chunks of barfi running through them! That’s pretty special – although I am biased here. We’re also coating some of the cookies in pistachios and toasted almonds, and some in coconut for those classic flavours!

The base of the cookie dough starts with brown butter, and this provides complexity to the flavour. It adds notes of caramel, dairy, and nuttiness. There’s also two types of sugar, white sugar and dark brown sugar. These provide a perfect balance of crispness and chewiness (due to the molasses within the dark brown sugar).

The cookies also use a mixture of milk and dark chocolate which provide a more balanced flavour due to the bitterness of dark chocolate. There’s also milk powder running through the cookie dough which not only provides flavour, but also a more caramelised exterior due to the Maillard reaction from the milk solids.

And finally, these cookies are chilled before being baked, and this is crucial for flavour development.

These Barfi Chocolate Chip Cookies need to be chilled before baking

1. Chilling the fat controls spreading – without chilling the cookie dough, they would end up spreading far too much. This can result in a thin, crispy, and greasy cookie
2. Chilling intensifies and develops more flavour – the moisture in the cookie dough starts to dry out, which concentrates the flavours. The flour also hydrates and starts to break down into sugars, which creates a more complex and sweeter flavour. This also allows for more browning to occur
3. Chilling creates a chewier cookie – this is down to a combination of the cookie dough drying out, the flour hydrating, and the fats melting more slowly when baked. You end up with a slightly thicker, richer, and chewier cookie with a far more nuanced flavour

If you love recipes like this, try my

• Pistachio Barfi
• Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pistachio Kulfi Cookies

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Full fat/full cream milk powder – I like to use the Natco brand of milk powder here, I find it’ tends to work the best’s slightly superior to other brands. However any brand of milk powder will work providing it’s full fat/full cream
• Ground cardamom – this is ground green cardamom
• Dark brown sugar – this is the soft dark brown sugar that’s sticky and filled with molasses. This is not golden sugar/demerara/turbinado. This is the key for a chewy cookie
• Caster sugar – white caster sugar has a finer ground which is ideal for cookies as they dissolve more readily within the short bake time
• Baking powder AND baking soda – both leavening agents are used in this recipe as both serve different purposes
• Cornflour – this is cornflour for UK readers and corn starch for US readers
• Chocolate – a mixture of milk chocolate and dark chocolate is ideal for balance here. Dark chocolate can overpower the barfi, hence these cookies are more milk chocolate forward with just a small hit of dark chocolate for balance and richness

The KEY tips for making these Barfi Cookies

1. Freeze the barfi – this makes the barfi far easier to mix in without breaking apart
2. Chill the chocolate – good quality chocolate melts more readily, so I prefer to chill my chopped chocolate to ensure it doesn’t melt into the cookie dough as this will impact the spread and flavour
3. Chill the cookie dough – 4 hours is minimum for a good balance of flavour and texture, and this continues to improve up to 48 hours of chilling. This makes these perfect for prepping in advance
4. Use a larger cookie cutter to shape these after baking – as soon as the cookies come out the oven, use a larger cookie cutter or bowl to swirl the cookies around while still soft to shape into a perfect circle
5. The cookies should be soft after baking – they will firm up and crisp up as they cool. If your cookies are firm when they come out of the oven, they’re overbaked

How to make these Barfi Chocolate Chip Cookies

First, make the barfi

1+2) Start by placing the butter, milk, sugar, cardamom, and salt in a pan. Place over a low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved

3+4) Next, add in the milk powder and saffron. Start mixing everything together continuously over a low heat

5+6) Keep going until the barfi mixture starts to dry out and feel cohesive. It should come away from the pan cleanly

7) Transfer the barfi mixture onto a sheet of baking paper. Place another sheet on top and roll until 1cm thick

8) I like to fold the sides over before rolling again in order to create a square shape for even cubes of barfi

9+10) Once rolled out, allow to cool completely before cutting into even cubes. I cut it into 10×10 strips, which made 100 pieces of barfi! Place onto a lined baking tray and freeze for at least 25 minutes

Next, make the cookie dough

1+2) Start by making brown butter, melt the butter in the saucepan till bubbling and foamy

3) Keep stirring to prevent the milk solids from sticking to the base of the pan. Once browned and with a strong nutty aroma, transfer to a bowl over a set of scales. Make sure to weigh the amount of brown butter

4) Water evaporates when making brown butter, so we’ll replace this with milk. I.e. 150g of starting butter weight will make ~125g brown butter, to which we’ll add 25g milk to bring it back up to 150g

5+6) Add the sugars and vanilla, and stir well with a spoon or spatula until smooth and emulsified. Don’t use a whisk here, we’re not trying to incorporate air

7+8) Add milk and milk powder and mix well once again. Transfer this to the fridge for 10 minutes

9+10) Then fold in all of the dry ingredients until incorporated

11+12) Add the frozen barfi and the chilled chocolate, and fold in till evenly distributed. I’ve used 48% milk chocolate here along with a small amount of 70% dark chocolate. I wouldn’t go any higher than 48% for the majority of chocolate, as dark can overpower the barfi

13) Use a 2″/5cm ice cream scoop to scoop even portions of cookie dough onto a lined tray/baking sheet. Use a spatula to ensure the cookie dough is firmly pressed in for consistency. This will allow for even baking

14) Place the cookie dough balls into the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours

And finally, baking the cookies

1+2) Once chilled, toss the cookie dough into chopped pistachios and toasted almonds, or into desiccated coconut. I then recommend placing them back into the fridge for 5 minutes before baking

3) Or keep them plain!

4) Space the cookie dough out on to a lined baking sheet

5+6) Bake until just caramelised around the edges. They will still be soft to touch. If needed, use a larger cookie cutter or bowl to rotate the soft cookies while still hot to shape into neat circles

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the brand of milk powder make a difference?

With Indian sweets like barfi, the brand of the milk powder makes quite a big difference. I’ve used Natco Pure Milk Powder here which does provide superior results compared to other brands I’ve tried in the past.

I’ve also tested this recipe with NIDO full cream milk powder, which does work, but not as well as Natco. For Nido, you’ll require 185g milk powder rather than 160g, and it takes a lot more time to thicken up in the pan when making the barfi.

The general bake of the cookies was also superior and more even with Natco compared to Nido, despite having similar fat contents.

Can these cookies be prepped in advance?

The cookie dough balls can be prepped and kept chilled in the fridge for up to 5 days. They actually taste better after they’ve aged for at least 48 hours.

How long will these cookies last once baked? What’s the best way to store them?

Once baked, they will last for 3 days in an air tight container at room temperature, or up to 7 days refrigerated. They do start to lose some crispness after 24 hours, but will continue to have a lovely chewy interior.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy baking!