Millet cookies are a delicious and wholesome treat offering a (slightly) healthier alternative to traditional cookies. The millet (bajra flour) gives the cookies a nutty flavour, which is complimented by the cardamom.
These cookies are naturally eggless and have a moreish melt-in-the-mouth texture, which is just perfect alongside a cup of chai. And best of all, they’re made with just 6 ingredients!
What is millet (bajra)?
Millet is a versatile, gluten-free grain that’s gaining popularity for its numerous health benefits. It’s rich in essential nutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, and fiber, making it a nutritious addition to your diet.
Millet’s subtle nutty flavor adds depth to baked goods, making it an ideal choice for cookies. By using millet flour in your cookie recipe, you’re not only adding nutritional value but also enhancing the taste and texture of your treats.
There are many varieties of millet including foxtail millet, finger millet, japanese millet, and pearl millet (bajra), which is what we are using today. You can find millet flour in most South Asian grocery stores or health stores – whichever variety you are able to find will work well in this recipe!
What ingredients will I need?
To make these simple cookies, you’ll need just 6 ingredients:
- Bajra (millet) flour: This nutty and nutritious flour gives our cookies a great flavour
- Plain all purpose flour: We also add plain flour to give the cookies some structure. You are welcome to substitute this with a gluten-free flour blend.
- Baking Soda: This helps our cookies to spread out
- Salted butter: For richness – you can use a dairy-free butter alternative if you prefer.
- Ground Cardamom: For delicious flavour! I recommend freshly grinding your cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar for best results. If you love cardamom, you’ll love my rose cardamom chia pudding recipe!
- White sugar: To give the cookies sweetness.
How to make millet cookies step by step:
As always, you can find the full recipe and instructions at the bottom of this blog post.
First add all of the dry ingredients (millet flour, plain flour, baking soda and ground cardamom) into a large mixing bowl (photo 1). Mix together until combined.
Next, add the cold cubed butter into the flour (photo 2) and rub the butter in using your hands or a pastry cutter until the texture resembles breadcrumbs (photo 3).
Add the sugar to the mixture, and a splash of milk to bring the dough together into a ball (photo 4).
Portion out the dough into flattened balls on a lined baking tray (photo 5) and bake until the cookies are slightly golden at the edges (photo 6). Then enjoy the cookies warm with a cup of masala chai!
Tips for making this recipe perfectly:
- Make sure your butter is cold and straight from the fridge before using. It’s important that you rub the butter into the flour when it is cold as this creates a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth texture to the cookies.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough – when it is incorporated into a ball, you don’t need to mix or squish the dough further as it will make the cookies tough.
- Ensure you leave enough space between the cookies on the tray. This recipe makes 15 cookies and they are best divided between 2 trays to ensure there is enough space to allow the cookies to spread.
FAQ
Yes, this recipe is easily made vegan by swapping the butter for a dairy-free alternative, and using a splash of dairy-free milk to bring the dough together.
You can swap the all–purpose flour for a gluten-free flour blend to make this recipe gluten-free. Please note that different gluten-free flours behave in different ways and you may achieve alternative results if you try this.
To keep your millet cookies fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They should last for several days, although they’re likely to be devoured long before then!
Yes, you can substitute millet flour for some or all of the all-purpose flour in many cookie recipes.
However, bear in mind that millet flour has a slightly different texture and flavour, so you may need to adjust the proportions or experiment with different recipes to achieve the desired results.
Variations on this recipe:
These cookies are delicious alone, but here are a few tasty variations you may like to try:
- Experiment with using different varieties of millet flour, or even a combination of a few types.
- Top the cookies with whole nuts such as cashews, almonds or pistachios before baking. And if you like pistachios – I just know you’ll love my white chocolate pistachio cookies.
- Add some chocolate chips into the cookie dough before portioning out into balls – I think milk chocolate would work best in this recipe.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, please leave a rating + review below and share your photos on Instagram tagging #shivanilovesfood!
Millet Cookies – Bajra Flour Cookies
Leave a Review Print RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 cup/ 75 grams Millet Flour (bajra flour)
- 1/2 cup/ 75 grams Plain All Purpose Flour can substitute a gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cardamom
- 100 grams/ 3.5 oz Cold Salted Butter cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup/ 75 grams White Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Add the millet flour, plain flour, baking soda and cardamom to a large mixing bowl. Mix together with a spoon until combined.
- Add the cold cubed butter into the bowl. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, rub the butter into the flour until the texture resembles breadcrumbs (see the blog post above for images).
- Add the sugar to the bowl and mix in with your hands. Add a small amount of milk, around 1tsp, to bring the dough together into a ball.
- Take small portions of the dough and roll them into balls and flatten slightly. Place the portioned dough onto your lined baking tray. You can either use 2 trays or bake the cookies in 2 batches.
- Bake the cookies for around 18 minutes until they are slightly golden at the edges. Leave to cool or enjoy warm with some masala chai.
Notes
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- You can add chocolate chips or nuts to the cookies if you wish.
