Yes, milk powder belongs in a dessert. We'll show you how

Milk powder, also known as powdered milk or dried milk, is made by evaporating milk. It's a convenient alternative to liquid milk because it's easy to carry around and tends to have a longer shelf life. Milk powder is versatile enough to be used in cooking. It's not just a creamer for hot beverages. It can be used in recipes to give dishes a creamy texture and in baked goods like bread, cakes, and cookies. It’s also often used as a replacement for khoya in Indian sweet recipes. 

If you've ever wondered how milk powder is made, there are a few simple steps that you must know about:

• First fresh milk is brought to a specific fat content by separating cream or adding some milk components back to it
• It's evaporated under low pressure and high temperatures in an evaporator to remove its water content.
• The milk is further processed to remove any remaining moisture, resulting in fine milk particles. 
• The milk powder is then cooled and packaged, ready to be sold in markets. 

Here are some milk powder sweet recipes that you can make at home:

Milk Powder Barfi

Ingredients:

• 312 gm milk powder
• 150 gm sugar
• 240 ml milk
• 50 gm ghee 
• 3 tbsp chopped pistachios

Instructions:

• Mix the milk powder with sugar and milk in a bowl. Make sure you have a smooth batter.
• Transfer this into a heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai.
• Keep the vessel on low flame, and stir, then add in the ghee.
• Continue stirring the mixture until it becomes an almost dry paste and starts leaving the sides of the vessel.
• Spread it evenly into a kadhai or parchment lined baking tray. Then garnish with chopped pistachios.
• Once the barfi sets, cut into pieces and serve.

Milk Powder Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 60 gm milk powder
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 an orange, zested
• Pinch of salt
• 67 gm sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 43 gm chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 176°C and line a cake tin with parchment paper.
• To a bowl, crack the four eggs and beat them well. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• The final ingredient that you need to add to this cake are the chocolate chips.
• Transfer the cake batter into the lined tin and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until the top is golden.
• Let the cake cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and let it cool down further.
• Slice the cake and enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Milk Powder

Ingredients:

• 50 gm milk powder
• 255 gm flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 170 gm unsalted butter, softened
• 50 gm granulated sugar
• 165 gm brown sugar, packed
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 340.5 gm chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Add the milk powder to a dry non-stick pan and toast it until it changes color. Keep moving the milk powder around so it doesn’t burn or stick to the pan.
• Once the milk powder is toasted, let it come down to room temperature.
• Then combine it in a bowl with flour and baking soda.
• Beat the softened, unsalted butter until it’s pale and creamy, then add the sugars to it.
• Add the whole egg and yolk to the creamed butter and sugar as well.
• Fold in the milk powder and flour mixture in batches into this.
• Finally, add the chocolate chips. You can also use chopped chocolate instead.
• Once you get cookie dough, let it chill in the fridge for half an hour.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Using an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, create cookies and drop the raw dough onto the baking sheet.
• Bake in the oven for around 10 to 12 minutes, and let them cool down on a wire rack.