Ajwain Cookies (Ajwain Biscuits)
Aug 20, 2019, Updated May 07, 2023
Whole Wheat Cookies flavored with ajwain (carom seeds)! These sweet and salty crispy cookies are eggless and go well with chai or coffee!
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Whole Wheat cookies flavored with ajwain (carom seeds).
These sweet and salty crispy cookies pair so well with a cup of chai. These are also eggless!
I find baking cookies very therapeutic. It’s one of those things which calms me down when I am anxious.
Sure, I do love to bake the cakes, tarts, bread etc. too but cookies are much more simpler, don’t require a ton of effort and so they are my go to thing when I want to bake something.
The other day after a long day of recipe testing, shooting, cleaning, I was exhausted.
And then I baked these Ajwain Cookies because clearly only baking can make me feel better after a long day at work.
These are salty cookies with just a touch of sweetness and made with whole wheat flour. I used regular atta (durum wheat flour) which we use in Indian households to make everyday roti for these cookies.
These Ajwain Cookies
✓ are made with whole wheat flour
✓ easy to make, no fancy ingredients or equipment needed
✓ are eggless
✓ crispy and crunchy
✓ pair well with masala chai!
These are probably the easiest cookies to make, you don’t even need a mixer for these.
Only mix the ingredients together and bake.
And the ingredients list is also very basic- whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, butter, baking powder, ajwain and some milk to bring it altogether.
You will have most of these ingredients in your pantry already.
For those who are not familiar with ajwain, it’s called carom seeds in English and has a strong and slightly bitter taste.
I often use it in my parathas (plain paratha with ajwain is my favorite) and also for tempering in my chole and beans because its good for digestion.
Cumin Cookies and Ajwain Cookies (or Ajwain Biscuits as they are popular known) are two popular tea time cookies in India. While you can easily find them from local bakeries in India, it’s not that easy here.
You do get these cookies at Indian store but they don’t taste fresh and so I prefer making them at home.
And they are so easy to make at home. So, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t be baking these in your kitchen right away?
These are crispy cookies, just what I like with my chai. I bake them for a long time, around 18 to 20 minutes at 350 F degrees.
Remember to not roll them very thin else they might burn and also become too crispy. 1/4 inch thickness is good enough.
Can you replace the sugar with jaggery? it should work probably, I make these jaggery whole wheat cookies all the time and I think it should be fine here as well.
PS: the dough isn’t super smooth and may break as you roll it. Try to roll evenly applying equal pressure. Move your roller up and down while rolling. Cut into shapes, gather the remaining dough and then roll again.
Method
Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
1- To a large mixing bowl, add atta, salt, ajwain and baking powder.
2- Then add the powdered sugar.
3- Mix until the sugar is well combined.
4- Add in the butter. I have used room temperature butter here which I cut into small pieces and then added to the bowl.
5- Using your finger (or you can also use a fork) mix the butter with the flour until it’s well combined. You can also use a stand mixer here.
6- Once combined, the mixture will resemble crumbs.
7- Add milk to bring the dough together. Start with 1 tablespoon of milk and add as needed to bring the dough together.
8- Mix to form a dough.
9- Cover with dough with a cling and let it rest for 20 minutes.
10- Remove the cling and place the dough on a surface lightly dusted with wheat flour.
11- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into 1/4 inch thickness. The dough will break as you roll it, so try to roll slowly and apply equal pressure as you roll.
Then cut the rolled dough into round shapes. I used a cookie cutter and cut circles of around 2 inches diameter.
Transfer cut cookies to a baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough and roll again to cut more cookies. You would get around 18 to 20 cookies.
12- Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with little space between each cookie. Sprinkle more ajwain on top (this is optional, skip if you don’t like too much ajwain flavor) and then brush the top with milk (optional). You can also prick the cookies a little with fork so that they don’t puff up in the oven but even if you don’t, they will be okay since they don’t puff up much anyway.
Bake the cookies at 350 F degrees for 18 to 20 minutes until crisp. Cool to room temperature and then store the ajwain cookies in an air tight container.
If you’ve tried this Ajwain Cookies Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Ajwain Cookies
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups atta (whole wheat flour) 195 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons ajwain carom seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup +1 tablespoon powdered sugar 45 grams
- 1/2 cup salted butter 1 stick (113 grams), at room temperature
- 1.5-2 tablespoons milk 22-30 ml, or as needed
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add atta, salt, ajwain and baking powder. Then add the powdered sugar and mix until the sugar is well combined.
- Add in the butter. I have used room temperature butter here which I cut into small pieces and then added to the bowl.
- Using your finger (or you can also use a fork) mix the butter with the flour until it's well combined. You can also use a stand mixer here. Once combined, the mixture will resemble crumbs.
- Add milk to bring the dough together. Start with 1 tablespoon of milk and add as needed to bring the dough together. Mix to form a dough.
- Cover with dough with a cling and let it rest for 20 minutes. After it has rested, remove the cling and place the dough on a surface lightly dusted with wheat flour.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into 1/4 inch thickness. The dough will break as you roll it, so try to roll slowly and apply equal pressure as you roll.
- Then cut the rolled dough into round shapes. I used a cookie cutter and cut circles of around 2 inches diameter. Transfer cut cookies to a baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough and roll again to cut more cookies. You would get around 18 to 20 cookies.
- Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with little space between each cookie. Sprinkle more ajwain on top (this is optional, skip if you don't like too much ajwain flavor). You can also brush the top with milk (optional). You can also prick the cookies a little with fork so that they don't puff up in the oven but even if you don't, they will be okay since they don't puff up much anyway.
- Bake the cookies at 350 F degrees for 18 to 20 minutes until crisp. Cool to room temperature and then store the ajwain cookies in an air tight container.
Notes
- You may reduce the amount of ajwain if you don't want a strong flavor of it in the cookies.
- You may flavor these cookies with vanilla or cardamom.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
