Cumin Shortbreads with Coarse Sea Salt
“Just make sure to have lots of postpartum snacks on hand” is a common piece of advice for parents going into the postpartum. It’s true, because the time to make and eat a meal may suddenly be scarce, and yet the need for sustenance (especially if you are breastfeeding) is ever present. If you are like me, however, the hungrier you are, the less inclined you are to eat something sweet. And non-sweet postpartum snacks can be hard to find, since most people’s go-to snacks are granola bars, muffins, dried fruit etc. So I bring to you my slightly sweet, slightly salty and extremely cumin-y shortbreads!
This recipe is based on the popular Indian tea time snack known as jeera biscuits. My recipe is based on one from Manali’s Kitchen. If you are more of a sweet person (in terms of taste, not personality!) there are also some very filling miracle date balls, another great postpartum snack.
I could have sworn I took a picture last time I made these, but I can not find it for the life of me. Please content yourselves with this cute wall art from a café in Tokyo.
Cumin Shortbreads with Coarse Sea Salt
Ingredients
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, roasted
3-4 teaspoons milk, optional
Instructions
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the flour, coarse salt and cumin seeds.
Mix at low speed until smooth. If the dough is dry or crumbly, add the milk.
Shape the dough into a log and refrigerate for half an hour.
Preheat oven to 350f/180c
Slice the log into cookies around 1/4 inch (1/2cm) thick.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce the temperature to 325f /160c and bake 5-6 minutes more until golden.
Enjoy when you are famished and breastfeeding in the middle of the night!