Recipe- Perfect For Tea Time Are Jeera Cookies

Cumin cookies or jeera/zeera (hindi name for cumin) biscuits as we call them in India are ideal for tea time. Little sweet and little salty, I love to dip them in my chai, so yum! I have tried making these cookies before but somehow they never tasted the way I wanted them to and so I tried and tried again and finally I found a recipe which was just perfect. This will be my “to go” recipe for cumin cookies from now on.

These cookies are great with tea and so I made them crispy and baked them for a longer time. I baked till the edges were nice golden brown in color. If you are not a fan of crispy cookies and want them to be on the softer side, bake them for a less amount of time.

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1-2 tablespoons milk optional, only if required

Method

* Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

* In a baking tray, take 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds and roast them for 3-4 minutes at 350 F degrees or till you get a nice fragrance from them. Set aside.

* In the steel bowl of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

* Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

* Add the flour, salt and 3/4 tbsp of cumin seeds to the butter and sugar and mix.

* Reserve the remaining cumin seeds to sprinkle on top of the cookies.

* Mix at low speed till the mixture looks smooth and comes together in form of a dough.

* You may add 1-2 tablespoons of milk here if the dough doesn't come together.

* Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface or wooden floor and shape the dough like a flat disc.

* Using a roller, roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.

* Cut into different shapes using cookie cutter and sprinkle them with the remaining roasted cumin seeds.

* Place the cookies in a baking tray and bake at 350 F degrees for 10 minutes.

* After 10 minutes, take them out and reduce the temperature to 325 F and bake the cookies again for 5-6 minutes or till light they are golden brown from sides and also from the bottom.

* Place on wire rack to cool completely.

* Store the cookies in an airtight container.