Persian Chickpea Cookies

This was our 2023 holiday cookie assortment which included Scottish Digestives, Italian Almond Cookies, Hamantashen, Swiss Brunsli, Almond Triangles, and Sacre Torte Cookies. 

But do you see the tiny heart-shaped cookies? Well, would you like the recipe for a simple, not-too-sweet, melt in your mouth, gluten-free cookie? Made with chickpea flour, they can be fancied up with bits of pistachio, or left plain. They are tiny, soft, and crumbly and I'll bet that you can't eat just one. Cardamom and rose water are a classic Middle-Eastern flavor profile, but if you don't care for rose water you can replace it with another extract.

Persian Chickpea Cookies
Adapted from Roxana Begum
Makes about 3 dozen very small cookies

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 Tbsp rose water 

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chickpea flour, finely ground

1 Tblsp pistachios, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.

Combine butter, oil, sugar, cardamom, rose water and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well with a spoon and press out any lumps. Add the chickpea flour and mix until well combined and the mixture holds together when pressed. If necessary you can add a bit more oil, or a sprinkle of water to help it stick. It will be crumbly.

Transfer half the mixture onto a cutting board and flatten to 3/4" thick with your hands. Scatter the pistachios over the top and press them in slightly. Using a small cookie cutter shape, cut out as many cookies as possible, transferring each one to the baking sheet with a little space between each. (These cookies will not rise or spread appreciably.)

Reform the mixture with your hands, and cut more cookies. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until delicately cracked on the surface. Allow the cookies to cool. Save any extras in an airtight container or freeze.