Jeera Biscuits – crunchy, slightly sweet and salt biscuits flavoured with cumin that make a perfect snack for kids and a teatime munchies for adults. This eggless bakery biscuits recipe is one of the easy tea time snacks to bake with kids.
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These typical Indian bakery style salt biscuits are often termed biscuits and cookies interchangeably. However, in India, these are popularly known as jeera biscuits.
I've used lightly roasted and crushed cumin to add a nice toasted aroma and infuse mild earthy flavour. The crunchy texture, lovely flavour and appetising aroma of cumin make even the pickiest kids binge without any fuss. Serve these irresistible savoury atta biscuits to your guests and see how it disappears within minutes!
Looking for more recipes to bake with kids? Then you have to try coconut biscuits, oatmeal pumpkin cookies and walnut brownies.
Jeera Biscuits Recipe Variations
Whole spice: A teaspoon of carom seeds (ajwain) adds a lovely flavour and taste to these savoury biscuits.
Flour: I've used whole wheat flour to make these jeera cookies healthy but feel free to substitute it with plain flour (all-purpose flour).
Sugar: You could use powdered sugar instead of regular ones.
Vegan: substitute milk with coconut milk and butter with vegan butter/ coconut oil. However, you may have to use a little more or less milk to make dough depending on the type of butter or oil you use.
How to store cumin cookies
Store these atta biscuits in an airtight glass jar for up to two weeks.
Allow cumin cookies to cool down completely before you transfer them to a jar to prevent condensation which makes biscuits soggy.
Place a piece of fresh white bread in a biscuit container to keep them fresh. Bread absorbs moisture and helps to keep biscuits crunchy.
Ingredients
Flour: Whole wheat flour has been used here to make it healthy.
Cumin: Roasted and crushed cumin seeds is used in this recipe. Lightly crushed cumin imparts a mild earthy flavour and a lovely aroma. Ensure cumin is gently roasted at low heat and is not burnt.
Butter: I've used unsalted butter, feel free to use vegan or salted butter. Be aware that you may have to reduce or completely skip the salt if you use salted butter.
Salt, Sugar & Baking Powder: Salt to taste and sugar to give a touch of sweetness to the biscuits. Baking powder, a leavening agent helps the dough to rise when baked.
Milk: Regular full-fat dairy milk has been used to make dough. Add just as much as required to make a dough.
How to make jeera biscuits?
1 & 2. In a deep bowl, sift flour, baking powder. Add salt, roasted cumin seeds and mix well.
3. In a second bowl, cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer until soft and fluffy.
4. Add little milk and work through using your hands until the mixture comes together to form the dough.
5. Cover the bowl with cling film and keep it in the fridge for 15 - 20 minutes.
6. After 20 minutes take the dough out of the fridge and transfer it to a flour dusted silicone mat.
Now preheat oven to 170 C.
7. Place dough on a silicone mat or clean surface, cover with parchment/greaseproof paper and roll it. Cut into round or any desired shapes using a cookie cutter. Collect the leftover dough and roll it out and cut them into desired shapes.
8. Transfer the cookies onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake them for 15 minutes until the cumin cookies turn a pale golden colour.
Take the baking tray out of the oven and place it on a wire rack.
Let jeera biscuits cool completely on a wire rack and then serve these bakery biscuits with milk for kids and with chai for adults.
Tips and tricks
Butter: It is essential to use butter that is softened to room temperature. With softened butter, the fat can be easily creamed together with sugar and also helps jeera cookies to cook evenly.
Salt: You may have to reduce salt or leave it out if you are using salted butter.
Rest: Resting the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes is an important step and absolutely necessary to solidify the fat content to prevent biscuits from spreading while baking. Resting also helps the flour to fully absorb moisture resulting in better texture and a consistent bake.
Knead: Ensure not to knead the dough as it results in dense and hard cookies. Just the ingredients must come together to form a dough.
Liquid: Depending on the quality of flour you may need a little more or less milk. Do not add all of it at once, start with 1-2 tablespoons and then add more until the mixture comes together to form a thick dough.
Notes
Quantity: The number of cumin biscuits you yield depends on the size and thickness.
Measurement: Cup measurements are approximate, I would suggest weighing the ingredients and following metric measurements for accuracy.
Soft biscuits: Do not worry if jeera cookies are soft when taken out of the oven, they will turn crunchy after they cool down completely.
More recipe ideas to cook with kids
Bread Pizza: Quick kid-friendly snack that is sure to entice even the pickiest eaters.
Pasta with Carrot Sauce: Mildly sweet and flavourful dish with hidden vegetables that makes a great meal for kids.
Strawberry Yogurt Bark: Fun and interesting snack for kids to make with only 6 ingredients. It is an ideal treat to enjoy as an after-school snack or as a dessert after meals on hot summer days.
Chickpea Veggie Patties: Vegan, nut-free and protein-rich round patties made with colourful vegetables, chickpeas, a blend of spices and fresh herbs.
Sweet Potato Patties: mildly spiced and slightly sweet patties with crispy outer and soft melt-in-mouth texture inside is an oh-so-delicious and kid-friendly healthy dish made with mashed sweet potato, peanuts and a few spices.
Open Faced Sandwich: Fun dish to make with kids and even more fun to eat!!
📖 Recipe Card
Jeera Biscuits (Cumin Cookies)
Equipment
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Parchment paper
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 200 gms (or) 1.5 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 Teaspoon Roasted Cumin crushed
- Salt as required
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 100 gms (or) ½ cup Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
Instructions
- Line the baking tray with parchment or grease proof paper.
- In a deep bowl, sift flour, baking powder. Add salt, cumin and mix well.200 gms (or) 1.5 cups Whole Wheat Flour, Salt, ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder, 2 Teaspoon Roasted Cumin
- In a second bowl, cream butter and sugar with hand mixer or whisk until soft and fluffy. Scrap the sides of the bowl.100 gms (or) ½ cup Butter, 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- Add the flour mixture and continue to whisk until it resembles light crumble texture.
- Add little milk and work through using hands until the mixture comes together to form the dough.2 Tablespoons Milk
- Cover the bowl with cling film and keep it in fridge for 15-20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes take the dough out of fridge and transfer it to a flour dusted silicone mat.
- Now preheat oven to 170 C.
- Cover the dough with parchment/grease proof paper and roll out the dough.
- Cut into round or any desired shape. Collect the left over dough and roll out and cut them into desired shapes.
- Transfer the cookies on to the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in preheated oven.
- Bake them for 15 minutes or until the cumin cookies turn to pale golden colour.
Notes
Tips and tricks
Butter: It is essential to use butter that is softened to room temperature. With softened butter, the fat can be easily creamed together with sugar and also helps jeera cookies to cook evenly. Salt: You may have to reduce salt or leave it out if you are using salted butter. Rest: Resting the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes is an important step and absolutely necessary to solidify the fat content to prevent biscuits from spreading while baking. Resting also helps the flour to fully absorb moisture resulting in better texture and a consistent bake. Knead: Ensure not to knead the dough as it results in dense and hard cookies. Just the ingredients must come together to form a dough. Liquid: Depending on the quality of flour you may need a little more or less milk. Do not add all of it at once, start with 1-2 tablespoons and then add more until the mixture comes together to form a thick dough. ** Nutritional information provided here is estimated and for guidance only. Please refer my Recipe Disclaimer for more details.Nutrition
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