“Naan Berenji” or Persian Rice Cookies are delicate, melt in your mouth and very irresistible cookies. Made with rice flour and topped with poppyseeds, these are one of the many traditional Iranian cookies, especially popular around Persian New Year.
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Persian Rice Cookies or Naan Berenji
Ingredients
- 200 grams rice flour
- 50 grams cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 125 grams clarified butter - *recipe in notes
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted - 60 grams
- 1 egg yolk - at room temperature
- ¼ cup rosewater - at room temperature
- 1-2 tablespoons poppyseeds - for decoration
- 2 tablespoons brewed saffron - optional
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- Sift rice flour, salt, cornstarch and ground cardamom in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add in clarified butter* and powdered sugar. Beat on medium until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the egg yolk and mix 1 more minute to combine. Then with the mixer running, add in rose water and mix for a few seconds to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated. The dough will be soft.
- Make the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 8 hours.
Roll and Bake:
- Take the dough out of the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it's not rock hard.
- Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Lightly flour your work surface with rice flour, place the dough on top and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it's about ⅓ inch thick.
- Using a 1¼-1½ inch round cookie cutter (or the large side of a piping tip), cut out as many cookies as you can. Re-roll the dough scrapes and repeat (refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes if it's too warm and hard to work with).
- Transfer them to a lined baking sheet. Stamp the cookies using a mold, if desired. Dip a pastry brush in brewed saffron if using and decorate the top. Sprinkle with poppyseeds.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Let them cool down on the baking sheet completely before serving.
Notes
*How to make clarified butter:
Yields: about 12 tablespoons (170 grams)
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (226 grams)
- Place the butters in a small pot over low heat. Don't stir. Let it sit for about 10-15 minutes until the butter is melted. You'll see foams forming on the top and white milk solids at the bottom. Use a slotted spoon to skim them. Take off the heat and let it cool slightly (do not stir).
- Line a sieve with a paper towel or cheesecloth. Place the sieve over a bowl. Gently, pour the gold part (that's what we want) of the butter on the top, through the sieve. Do this very slowly so you don't mix the white parts into the clarified butter. Leave the white solids at the bottom. Let it cool down completely. Use as directed.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
