Zeera Biscuit
A popular tea time snack from my childhood. A very mildly sweet butter cookie with added flavour of roasted zeera (cumin). Something about this combo just works with that cup of chai.
Servings: 25 small cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp whole cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup cake and pastry flour, see notes to make your own from all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- whipping cream or milk or water, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment or a silicone baking sheet.
- Roast the cumin seeds in a dry pan on medium heat until fragrant. About 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add flour, salt and cumin seeds. Mix to combine.
- Add the liquid (whipping cream, milk or water) one tablespoon at a time and continue to whisk to combine. Stop adding liquid when the mixture starts to come together in one smooth ball. It should not be too sticky or crumbly. About 2-4 tbsp of liquid should do it but it really just depends on the day and how humid or dry your kitchen is.
- On a clean counter, sprinkle some flour and roll out the dough. If the dough is feeling too sticky use a bit more flour. If it is too crumbly or cracking, add a splash of water and give it a mix to help it smooth out. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick (5-6mm).
- Use a small round cookie cutter or rim of a small round glass to cut out cookies. Place them on the baking sheet making sure they are not touching. Repeat the roll out and cut out till you have used up all the dough.
- Bake for 10 minutes. The edges will just start to turn golden but the tops should stay white. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet before serving.
Notes
To make your own cake & pastry flour - take 1 cup all purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoons. Replace with 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Mix well to combine. That's it! :)
You can use all purpose flour here too, but I find the cake and pastry flour helps make for a much softer cookie in the end.
Once baked, these cookies can keep at room temperature for up to a week. But they really don't last that long around here!