Today we are making zeera biscuits or Cumin Cookies. I know, there have been gaps in posting but you can’t blame me that much. There isn’t a single day I don’t plan something for my baby blog but sadly it is the most neglected child of mine, the other two being more demanding. My 5 years old daughter and 2 months old son keep me on my toes all the time. I do manage to utilize time in between and bake so expect some super quick and easy recipes coming in near future. Besides home and kids frenzy, I take orders for cake decoration so that makes life a bit more busy. So lets talk and straight to a very nice recipe, I had planned to share for a long time.
What is a Salty Cumin Cookies?
In Pakistan, fresh cookies from bakeries are very popular and usually every house has a jar full of them to go with evening tea. These are one such cookies called ‘Zeera Biscuits’ normally, here zeera is Urdu word for cumin and what a classic spice it is. Popular in both savory and sweet dishes, this cookie sometimes also called saltish zeera cookies but hey, don’t be deceived by the name as it contains considerable amount of sugar and that too icing sugar. Rest of the ingredients are simple.
How to make Zeera Biscuits at home?
Some thoughts about making cookies:
1. You should never knead the dough, the idea is to just combine the ingredients to form a ball. You can keep it in fridge, well-wrapped for better handling but no kneading.
2. If at times your dough doesn’t form, you can add flour or cold water to bind it but again no kneading.
3. While baking, use parchment/baking paper to achieve golden brown color.
4. Cookies are usually done in 10-15 mins. Not more than that.
So here goes the recipe:
- Ingredients
- 2 cups or 250 grams Flour
- 1/2 cup or 125 grams Butter
- 1 cup or 125 grams Icing Sugar
- Egg yolk or half egg beaten
- Salt 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds 1 tbsp
- Cold water (as required)
- Beat butter and sugar until creamy.
- Add egg.
- Add sifted flour, cumin and salt and mix with hands till just combined.
- Wrap in plastic and stick in fridge for about 20 mins.
- Roll out the dough on a well floured surface about 1/8" thick.
- Prick with fork. Cut out with round cookie cutter and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake in pre-heated oven at gas mark 4 for about 10-15 mins until golden brown.
Based on 1 Review(s)
HI Nadia…
Its so long that I am not here… how are you, your today's post tempt me to be with you here … They are the best in any type of biscuits…
Hope you like to pay a visit to my new spring arrangement saved in a cloche
http://craftaworld.blogspot.com/
Love
Farah
nice your site thanks for sharing love you all team good work keep it up
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Wow! that looks fantastic… very nice color!
Your cumin biscuits look really good. I love your biscuits. Do you use butter or ghee?
Butter, for ghee, if u want to use ghee, u can melt it,cool it and then freeze it, this can be used as butter than, never used like this for this recipe though,
thanks ambreen and shewisks
Hi Nadia,
I loved your recipe and tried it right away. However, my cookies turned out to be little hard unlike the store made ones. What might have gone wrong?
After I put the dough in fridge, it came out hard so I had to add some coldnwater to make it soft.
How long does it take for the dough to raise? Should I use baking powder so it will raise sooner.
Please let me know.
hi silpa,
here are my thoughts on what could have gone wrong:
1. Use of water again, if it went hard in fridge just bring it to room temperature, until its workable,
2.it doesnt need to be raised as such, to put in fridge is just allow the dough to rest so the final result is good
3. No baking powder required
Regards
looks yummy got to try them out inshallah..My next recipe soon http://www.nazkitchenfun.blogspot.com
great, will check you blog soon 🙂
Hi Nadia,
The cumin biscuits look good, will give them a try.
Can you assist on one question. I have had difficulty finding baking parchment paper and a pizza peel here in Riyadh. Any suggestions for a retail or restaurant supply shop??
Robert
hello,
Baking parchment paper can be found in most grocery stores namely jazeera,danube and tamimi,
pizza peel not really sure, but tavola in hayat mall can jave it.
hi can i do this without the sugar?? my mother is diabetic so it has to be sugarfree
Farzana,i am not sure if it would work or no but may be u can try n lessen the amount of sugar
Hello my name Darma Aloena..I m Indonesian but I love Pakistan. I Will try to making this biscuit. Zeera biscuit ❤️❤️. Thanks for sharing this recipes
hey,
so nice to hear from you 🙂 please do try