Eggless Healthy Millet Cookies - By Chef Vikas Sharma

I've been making these Millet cookies for about a year now, always on the lookout for healthier options to improve our daily nutrition. Did you know Millet flour is excellent for making cookies? It gives them a crisp and crumbly texture. They're also gluten-free, so adding some whole wheat flour helps hold them together. These Millet Cookies are refined sugar-free and refined flour-free, though you can use refined flour and white sugar if needed. I usually use whole wheat flour and jaggery, especially when catering for Our Honorable Prime Minister.

Why Eat Millets?

Ragi, an Indian Superfood, is a Millet packed with nutrients, boasting over 80 times more calcium than wheat and rice!

Ingredients for Millet Cookies:

- Millet Flour – ½ cup

- Whole Wheat Flour - ½ cup

- Baking Powder - 1 tsp

- Chilled & Cubed Butter - ½ cup

- Jaggery Powder/Brown Sugar or Breakfast Sugar - ½ cup

- Vanilla essence - ½ tsp

- Chilled Milk, as required (about 6 tbsp; Add in 1 tablespoon)

Millet Flour:

You can use any kind of millet flour, such as Ragi or Finger Millet, Jowar, Bajra, Foxtail, or Little Millet. Just make sure it's freshly bought, as millet can spoil quickly. Using rancid flour will make your cookies taste bitter.

Butter:

Both salted and unsalted butter work well, but make sure it's chilled and solid.

Sugar:

You can use any sugar you prefer, such as powdered jaggery, palm sugar, brown sugar, or breakfast sugar. If using raw sugar like jaggery, ensure it's from a trusted source and powdered.

How to Make Cookies with Millet:

1.      Precise measurement is crucial for baking. Cut the butter into small cubes while keeping it cold and firm.

2.      Combine Millet Flour, Wheat Flour, Baking Powder, and Sugar in a bowl. Rub the cubed butter into the flour until clumpy.

3.      Add milk and vanilla essence, bringing the flour into a soft dough ball without kneading excessively.

4.      Chill the dough to solidify the butter again, which helps make the cookies crisp.

5.      Preheat the oven to 180°C or 365°F before baking the cookies for even cooking.

6.      Cool the cookies on a wire rack to allow them to harden, with cracks forming in the middle as they cool.

Enjoy your delicious and healthy Eggless Millet Cookies!