Easy Wholesome Firecracker Cookies

This Diwali, give your dessert table a fun, wholesome twist with these Wholewheat Firecracker Cookies! Crispy, spiced, and dipped in dark chocolate, these eggless cookies are made with wholewheat flour, jaggery, cinnamon, and black pepper – a combination that’s equal parts festive and flavorful. The warm spices and chocolate-cashew dip make them a perfect edible gift or snack for your Diwali celebrations.

Let’s look at the main Ingredients

Butter – Adds richness and that classic cookie texture. Butter helps create crisp edges and a melt-in-mouth feel while balancing the jaggery’s earthy sweetness.

Powdered Jaggery – A natural sweetener packed with minerals like iron and magnesium. It replaces refined sugar, lending a warm caramel-like flavor that pairs beautifully with spices.

Milk – Helps bind the ingredients and adds a touch of moisture for smooth dough formation.

Cinnamon Powder – Known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, cinnamon gives these cookies a festive warmth and aroma.

Crushed Black Pepper – The “firecracker” element! It adds a surprising, subtle heat that enhances the sweetness and gives a unique Diwali twist.

Salt – Balances the sweetness and enhances the cookie’s overall flavor.

Wholewheat Flour – A fiber-rich alternative to refined flour, it adds nuttiness and helps make the cookies more wholesome without compromising on texture.

Dark Chocolate – Loaded with antioxidants, dark chocolate gives a luxurious finish and balances the spiced notes beautifully.

Cocoa Butter or Coconut Oil – Used to thin the melted chocolate for a smooth dipping consistency.

Crushed Cashews – Add crunch, flavour, and a festive nutty touch to the chocolate coating.

If you are looking for more festive recipes, you may like these!

Link to my Diwali special recipe playlist is here too.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Eggless, made with wholesome ingredients like wholewheat flour and jaggery
• Lightly spiced with cinnamon and pepper for a unique festive flavor
• Crisp on the outside, melt-in-mouth inside
• Perfect for Diwali gifting or festive snacking
• Beautifully balanced with a dark chocolate-cashew dip
• Simple recipe, minimal ingredients, and bakes in just 15 minutes!

These Wholewheat Firecracker Cookies are everything you want in a festive bake — easy, elegant, and full of flavor. They bring together the warmth of Indian spices with the indulgence of chocolate, creating the perfect Diwali treat for your family and friends. Bake a batch, wrap them up beautifully, and watch them disappear in no time!

Eggless Wholewheat & Jaggery Firecracker Cookies

Prep Time: 20 mins Cooking Time: 15 mins 15 mins

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

1/2 cup (100g) -  Unsalted Butter

1/2 cup (80g) - Powdered Jaggery

1.5 cup (200g) - Wholewheat Flour

2 tbsp (30ml) - Milk

1/8 tsp - Fine White Salt or 1/4 tsp - Pink Salt

1 tsp - Powdered Cinnamon

1/4 tsp - Black Pepper or Chilli Flakes

50g - Melted Dark Chocolate

2 tbsp (15g) - Chopped Toasted Nuts

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together softened room temperature butter and powdered jaggery until creamy and smooth.

2. Add milk and whisk until evenly combined.

3. Stir in cinnamon, crushed black pepper or chilli flakes, and salt.

4. Add wholewheat flour and mix gently to form a soft, even dough. Do not knead this or over mix the dough. Combine lightly with a spatula or hand just until all the flour is mixed in.

5. Wrap the dough in cling film or plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll the chilled dough between two parchment papers, to around 6-7mm in thickness.

7. Trim the edges and cut the sheet into a uniform rectangle. Mark 1 cm strips along the length, both at the top and the bottom and cut out thin strips.

8. Place them on a parchment-lined baking tray. Straighten them with your hands or with a bench scraper like shown in the video.

9. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Let them cool completely.

10. Melt dark chocolate with cocoa butter or coconut oil, add crushed toasted cashews, and mix well.

11. Dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate mixture or spoon the chocolate mixture on one side of the cookie, and place on parchment to set.

12. Once the chocolate is firm to touch, store them in an airtight container for upto 3 weeks.

Notes

1. Depending on your flour, you may need slightly less milk. Add 1 or 1.5 tbsp milk at first with the butter and jaggery mixture and add more milk at the end, after adding the wholewheat flour, only if needed (if the dough is too crumbly). The purpose of adding milk with the butter jaggery mixture is to dissolve the jaggery better, as jaggery powders are not as fine as powdered sugar.
2. You can also make these cookies with powdered khand/raw sugar or caster sugar or light brown sugar.
3. If you want to make it for kids, skip the crushed peppers and chilli flakes. You can also skip the crushed nuts in melted chocolate.
4. You can stack the trimmed edges and wrap it in the plastic wrap, chill again and re roll.

Did You Make This Recipe?

Have you made this recipe? Tag me on Instagram at @VanillaTrails and use the hashtag #MadeWithVanillaTrails.