A while back, my mother was into using jaggery. She wanted to learn how to make some sweetmeat, but the filling required you to use jaggery instead of normal brown sugar.

So I went out and bought, jaggery powder and the solid block of jaggery and then my mother just didn’t want to try the sweetmeat out anymore and then I landed up with all this jaggery. I haven’t really come across a recipe that asks for jaggery and before when I used to see it on the list of ingredients; I would just substitute it with brown sugar.

The jaggery has been standing in the cupboard, looking ever so sad, everything time I open the cupboard and screaming at me to use it and what do I do? I just pretend I do not see it and close the cupboard and carry on with my day.

Then yesterday, I had no option but to look. The ants had waged war and were trying to  get into the container that housed the jaggey. I was having none of this, I hate ants and as soon as they get into one thing, they will sniff out all my other sugary ingredients and I will be done for it and when my mother sees what is going on, she will want to spring clean and her spring cleaning involves getting rid of all my stuff. Always my stuff, I always suffer the most during spring cleaning time.

Anyway, I was randomly scrolling on Instagram, when I came across a recipe for jaggery biscuits by Shivesh Bhatia and at first I went right past it, thinking nothing of it and completely forgetting that I had 2 tubs of jaggery that needed to be used ASAP.

This recipe was just up my street as well as I had secretly and accidently bought a 5kg bag of atta flour. I thought I was buying a 2kg and when the courier dropped it off, it was this massive 5kg bag and my mother threatened to cut my spending allowance if she saw me wasting this flour, so I used about a cup and had to stash it right at the back of the pantry where I knew she wouldn’t see it. At least this recipe allowed me to make a dent in my hidden atta flour stash… shh don’t tell my mother where I hid it. I will not be able to live without my online shopping apps.

The verdict, my father ate these cookies, grumbling that he had no idea what he was eating, all he knew was these biscuits made him feel old, he envisioned old Indian Uncles drinking tea and eating these cookies. My mother on the other had kept telling me it was just too sweet, with the chocolate covered ends to the jaggery and then the extra castor sugar. I liked it, but the atta flour gave this biscuit a healthy feel to it and you know me and healthy do not belong in the same sentence.

Both parents are in agreement that they are still young at heart and they would not be seen dead in public with these treats. So I should not attempt to make it again this year, maybe in another 10 or 20 years when they have no teeth and need help with digestion.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ x cup atta flour or whole wheat flour.
• ½ x tsp baking powder.
• ¼ x cup desiccated coconut.
• 1/3 x cup coconut oil.
• ¼ x cup jaggery powder.
• 2 x tbsp. castor sugar.
• 1 x tsp vanilla essence.
• 6 x tbsp. milk.

Method:

• In a bowl, combine the castor sugar, jaggery powder and coconut oil.
• Add in the vanilla essence and milk and mix till everything is well combined.
• Add in the remaining ingredients and mix till a soft dough is formed.
• Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in cling wrap and pop into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough out and using a circle cookie cutter, cut our rounds.
• Place on a greased cookie tray and pop into a preheated oven.
• Bake at 180 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie tray, before placing on a cooling rack and allowing to cool completely.
• Once cooled, dip in chocolate and place on the cooling rack until the chocolate has set.

Ingredients for the chocolate glaze:

• ½ x cup dark chocolate.
• ½ x tbsp. coconut oil.

Method:

• Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.
• Mix in the coconut oil.
• Remove from the stove and dip your biscuits in.