These crumbly rice flour cookies are made using a sugar syrup infused with rose water, a classic ingredient in Middle Eastern sweets. The recipe is adapted from Najmieh Batmanglij’s Food Of Life (Mage Publishers, 2011).
Iranian Rice Cookies (Nan–e Berenji)
These simple cookies are made using a sugar syrup infused with rose water, a classic ingredient in Middle Eastern sweets.
Yield: makes About 90 Cookies
For the Syrup
- 3⁄4 cup sugar
- 1⁄4 tsp. rosewater
For the Cookies
- 3⁄4 tsp. sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1⁄3 cup clarified butter or ghee
- 2 1⁄2 tbsp. canola oil
- 1⁄2 tsp. cardamom powder
- 1⁄4 cup syrup
- 1 tbsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
- Make the syrup: Combine sugar and ¼ cup water in a 1-qt. saucepan over high; stir until sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add rosewater. Cool until ready to use.
- Make the cookies: Heat oven to 350°. Combine sugar and yolk in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamy; set aside. In another bowl, combine rice flour, clarified butter, oil, and cardamom; add yolk mixture and mix until evenly combined. Add syrup and mix until combined. Set aside to cool. Roll dough into ⅛ oz. balls, about ¾” thick, and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Gently flatten each ball; using the grooved sides of a meat mallet (alternatively, use a fork), press grooves into cookies to create a pattern. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake, rotating halfway through, until cooked, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheets as cookies are quite delicate while hot.
