Hadji Bada (Iraqi Almond Cookies)

These flourless almond cookies are “sort of like French macarons,” explains cookbook creator Jake Cohen, however “without the meringue, and much easier to throw together any time you want.” He discovered the recipe from his great-aunt-in-law, Doris, who handed him a replica at his household’s first blended Passover seder and notes that “it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

The chewy, crispy-shelled, melt-in-your-mouth cookies have a pronounced almond taste with out necessitating the usage of sometimes-cloying almond extract. They require subsequent to no prep time, and for the reason that recipe is made with out butter or all-purpose flour, it’s naturally dairy- and gluten-free.

You should definitely purchase finely floor almond flour, not coarser almond meal. The opposite “secret ingredient” right here is rose water, which supplies these cookies a fragile floral undertone that units off the nuttiness of the almonds. These are the very best cookies to make in a sparse kitchen, since they don’t require particular tools. The moist and dry components come along with a mixing bowl and whisk, and their hanging look is all executed by hand—no cookie scoops or stand mixers allowed. To do it, you’ll moist your fingers in a bowl of water, frivolously scented with just a few drops extra rose water. Having damp fingers will allow you to deal with the sticky cookie dough and form it into spheres with out making a multitude.

Bake them till the perimeters are barely golden brown, and allow them to cool on the baking sheet as a substitute of transferring them to a wire rack. Retailer leftovers at room temperature in an hermetic container.

For almond cookies with a extra Italian-American vibe, strive these ones made with cocoa and low. They’re completed with powdered sugar and are good for a Christmas cookie tin.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Jew-ish’ by Jake Cohen. Purchase the complete guide on Amazon.