Jeera Biscuits Recipe | Cumin Cookies | Eggless

Jeera Biscuits Recipe | Cumin Cookies | Eggless Indian Biscuits Recipe

Jeera Biscuits, also known as Zeera Biscuits aka Cumin Cookies, are eggless bakery style Indian biscuits, which are very famous as Tea Time Biscuits. This famous recipe is made in a healthier way with the addition of whole wheat flour and jaggery powder. Let’s dive into the childhood favorite sweet and salty Healthy Jeera Biscuits Recipe!

Baking healthy desserts is slowly becoming the heart and soul of this blog. I started this blog with an aim to share my love for recipes, parenting and other lifestyle related stuff. But as you might’ve noticed, this blog has found its niche. I would still call it a food, lifestyle and parenting blog. But, recipes, especially healthy baked desserts, has become the soul of Live Laugh Love.

Coming to this post, today I am sharing the recipe of Jeera Biscuits. Also known as Whole Wheat Biscuits, aka Aata Biscuits, these are fondly referred to as Eggless Indian Bakery Style Biscuits or Indian Cookies. Growing up in India, I have beautiful childhood memories wherein these tea-time biscuits were a part and parcel of our lives.

These eggless biscuits are sweet and salty, well you can even call them not too sweet and not too salty. This particular recipe of mine has been adapted from this recipe by Hebbar’s Kitchen. She has not used any sweetener in her recipe, but as mentioned in her blog, you can add sugar or jaggery if you prefer a little sweeter taste of these.

How are these Indian Cookies healthy?

The healthy touch is given to these biscuits by the use of Whole Wheat Flour and Jaggery Powder. So, that means these biscuits are refined flour free and refined sugar free as well.

I have always preferred baking with whole wheat flour over all purpose flour, which makes the bakes healthier. Also, instead of using the refined sugar, most of the recipes of mine use a healthy sweetener, that too jaggery powder most of the times.

I purchase the Whole Wheat Flour and Jaggery Powder from an Indian Store here in California. Multigrain Aata (or Multigrain Flour) is what I prefer to use, which contains around 90% whole wheat flour, and the rest is a combination of other flours.

Also, I have tried different brands of powdered jaggery, and have found that it is easier to use jaggery powder which is closer in texture to unrefined cane sugar (also known as Shakkar in Punjabi language). Baking with jaggery powder is healthier and also gives the baked good a beautiful darker and more flavorful taste.

How do you make Indian Bakery Biscuits?

Here’s a step by step process to make the healthy, soft and delicious Jeera Cookies. I don’t use any electric mixer/whisk to prepare the cookie dough. Mostly a swirl by hand or a manual hand whisk is enough to make the dough. Also, do not over mix and remember to just bind the dough together lightly.

• Roast cumin seeds in a skillet or pan on low medium flame till fragrant and light brown (Be careful not to burn the cumin seeds), and keep them aside for later use. Mix butter and jaggery powder till everything is blended.
• Mix whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and one tablespoon cumin seeds to the butter-jaggery mixture and swirl everything together to form an even cookie dough. Do not over-mix.
• Slowly add in milk, starting with one tablespoon, and mix everything again till you are able to properly bind the dough together. I was able to bind the dough using 2 1/2 tablespoons of milk. (You can even make the rectangular log out of the dough at this step, as posted in original recipe. I made the log after refrigerating the dough).
• Refrigerate the dough for around 30 minutes.
• Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. If you did not already create the log, do it at this step. On a clean surface, start giving rectangular log shape to the dough till all the sides seem to look even.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (that is, 180 degree Celsius). Carefully cut the log into slices (around 1/4 inch thick). Sprinkle each biscuit with some roasted cumin seeds (from reserved 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds), on top. I was able to make 13 biscuits with the prepared dough.
• Bake the biscuits for around 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool for at least 5-10 minutes. Serve warm with tea/coffee, or store in an air-tight container for around a week or two.

Substitutions & Tips for Jeera Biscuits Recipe aka Cumin Cookies

• Whole Wheat Flour – Feel free to replace whole wheat flour with the same quantity of all-purpose flour. If the cookie dough feels a little loose, add ~ 1/4th cup more of all-purpose flour.
• Jaggery Powder – If Jaggery Powder is not available, you can replace it with equal amount of refined sugar.
• Cumin Seeds – You can skip the step of roasting cumin seeds, and use them directly also in the cookies. Dry roasting enhances the color and gives a wonderful flavor to the cumin seeds, so it is advised here.
• Milk – Do not add the milk in one go. Always add half or one tablespoon at a time, mix everything till you are able to properly bind the dough together. I was able to use 2 1/2 tablespoons of milk to bind the dough. You might need a little less or more depending on the consistency of your mixture.

Also, continuing the tradition, here comes the 51st recipe under My Julie & Julia Project. For those who don’t know, I had started this project last year, under which I had planned to post 100 recipes from my kitchen by the end of the year 2019. But since I got busy with other priorities in life, I have planned to continue the tradition in 2020. So, this is the Recipe #51 for you all.

If you like this recipe, do check out the Eggless & Butter-Free Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe as well. Let’s get going to the Jeera Biscuits Recipe now. Happy baking everyone!!

How to make Indian Eggless Biscuits – Method (Step-by-step with pictures)

• Roast cumin seeds in a skillet or pan on low medium flame till fragrant and light brown (Be careful not to burn the cumin seeds), and keep them aside for later use.

• 

• Mix butter and jaggery powder till everything is blended.

• 

• 

• Mix whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and one tablespoon cumin seeds to the butter-jaggery mixture and swirl everything together to form an even cookie dough. Do not over-mix, just lightly bind together all ingredients by hand.
• Slowly add in milk, starting with one tablespoon, and mix everything again till you are able to properly bind the dough together. I was able to bind the dough using 2 1/2 tablespoons of milk. (You can even make the rectangular log out of the dough at this step, as posted in original recipe. I made the log after refrigerating the dough).
• Refrigerate the dough for around 30 minutes.

• 

• 

• Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator.
• If you did not already create the log, do it at this step. On a clean surface, start giving rectangular log shape to the dough till all the sides seem to look even.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (that is, 180 degree Celsius). Carefully cut the log into slices (around 1/4 inch thick). Sprinkle each biscuit with some roasted cumin seeds (from reserved 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds), on top. I was able to make 13 biscuits with the prepared dough.

• 

• 

• Bake the biscuits for around 15 minutes in the preheated oven.
• Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool for at least 5-10 minutes.

The Jeera Biscuits aka Zeera Biscuits aka Cumin Cookies are now ready to be served warm with tea/coffee, or these can also be stored in an air-tight container for around a week or two.

Healthy Jeera Cookies Recipe