Nan-e Nokhodchi (Persian Chickpea-Flour Cookies)

After looking at several recipes for these cookies, I decided to try this one that I found on Epicurious. It says the recipe is based on a recipe found on another website, which is no longer online. Too bad, because it would be nice to to give the author proper credit.

These are a bit difficult to make because the dough is very dry and fragile. I first tried a different recipe, but it was fatally flawed in that it was far far too dry to work with, and no matter what I added to change the dryness, it just wasn’t going to turn out. That recipe, like many for these cookies, used oil instead of butter.

This, recipe, however, turned out perfectly. I changed the process a bit to make them easier to cut, and I’m glad I did, because they were super-easy to cut and transfer to the baking sheet.

These Persian cookies have a subtle, pleasant taste without being overly sweet. The cardamom really adds a nice flavor, too. I added a teaspoon of rose water to mine, which I recommend because it adds a bit of complexity.

What you’ll need:

• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 egg yolk (optional)
• 1t rose water (optional)
• 1T ground cardamom
• 2.5 cups chickpea flour

What to do:

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and cardamom until creamy. Add the rose water, if using. Beat in the egg yolk now if you’re using one. I did, and it make the cookies very firm, but not necessarily tough.

Next, mix in the flour and knead until smooth. 

Here’s what the recipe said next:

Traditionally the dough is rolled out and cut with a cookie cutter, or made by hand into little balls. As the dough is quite difficult to handle, I prefer the following alternative: Pack the dough firmly into a greased rectangular container so that it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut across both ways to make 1/2 cubes. Chill the dough for about 1/2 hour, then carefully remove the cubes. 

That really didn’t seem like it was going to work very well. Besides, irregular-shaped cookies aren’t appealing. With the batch I made, the dough was just pliable enough to rollout between two pieces of parchment paper, so, while at room temperature, I rolled the dough to about a half an inch thick. I went with that thickness because I knew I’d make them small in diameter. After I rolled them out, I put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to really firm up that butter. 30 minutes would probably work just as well.

After the dough cools, remove the cookies from the refrigerator and cut them with a sharp cookie cutter and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They can be placed about an inch apart because they don’t spread while cooking.

Bake for about 25 minutes—mine seemed to take longer—at 300 degrees. They’re done when they just start to turn golden. Don’t let them darken. Allow them to cool and get firm on the cookie sheet before removing.