Nakk rice flour cookies
You've heard of nakk or déguo in Mandinka.
It's a mixture of rice soaked in water for hours, then dried and ground in a mortar with sugar, gloria or water. The mixture is then shaped into medium-sized balls and distributed as alms on Fridays after prayer in Senegal. (There's also a millet version, which I'll get to soon).
I love nakk, I enjoy it every time my mom makes it. Then we'd call the neighborhood kids "kaye lene djeul sarakh" "come and take alms".
We'd line up to get our nakk ball and then do douas. La Belle époque!
Whenever I miss my family, I make myself a nice nakk, either raw or steamed, which I enjoy with my children and husband.
I decided to revisit this recipe in a cookie version with coconut.
I made this recipe with my son, a fun moment of exchange.
Ingredients
- 200g rice flour, preferably organic
- 120g soft butter, preferably President brand (for extra flavour)
- 60g brown sugar
- 30g shredded coconut
- 1 egg
- A pinch of nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon liquid vanilla
- 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C, fan oven.
- In a mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, soft butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth. Add the egg and mix again.
- Add the rice flour, grated coconut and yeast, and mix well with a spatula until the dough is smooth.
- Scoop out balls of cookie dough with an ice-cream scoop. Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Repeat until the dough is used up.
- Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes.
- When the cookies are golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.