“Nokhodchi” is a traditional Persian cookie baked mostly around the new year (which is the 1st day of spring)
They’re made with fine chickpea flour and have a hint of cardamom & pistachio.
I love baking them because they remind me of home and bring back so many childhood memories.
This post has been updated on March 16 2021
Ingredients:
Yields: about 34 cookies
- 1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 5 tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup fine chickpea flour, sifted 100 grams (you can find it at Persian, Arabic or Middle eastern stores. I always buy this brand.)
- Ground pistachio for decoration
Instructions:
- Beat powdered sugar, cardamom and butter for 3 minutes.
- Add chickpea flour and beat 1 more minute.
- Then add the oil and mix again.
- Knead the dough 5-10 minutes, if you feel it’s too dry add oil, 1 teaspoon at a time. If you press the pieces of the dough together they should stick together.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit for 2 hours at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 300 F.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough to ½” thick. Cut out as many cookies as you can
- Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, decorate with pistachio and bake for about 15-20 minutes but keep an eye on them after 10 mins (always bake 1 cookie first to see how long exactly it will take to bake. Because each oven is different and these cookies don’t really change in size or color, so it’s hard to tell when they’re baked.)
- Let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 mins because they’re fragile when hot.
- Decorate with more ground pistachio and rose petals if you like!
