Chickpea cookies
These cookies are based on chickpea flour which is available in Middle-Eastern or Indian stores or health-food stores generally. They are sourced from a traditional Persian recipe from Najmieh Batmanglij New Food of Life, with the following changes: I toasted the butter to get that nutty flavor and I added an egg to the dough.
The cookies are crunchy with the wonderful aroma of toasted butter and a hint of chickpea flavor.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cup of chickpea flour
- 3/4 powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom
- 1 stick (4 ounces) of unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup of pistachios to garnish (optional)
METHOD:
- Place the butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat for 10 minutes; the butter will release an intoxicating nutty aroma, reminiscent of hazelnuts and the color will turn amber. Set aside.
- In a mixer or food processor, place the flour, sugar and cardamom; pulse a few times to combine and add the melted butter (include all the crisped bits of milk solids at the bottom of the pan) and the egg. Process till the paste is shiny and smooth. Cover and set in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Roll out the dough (you may have to soften it first in the microwave for 30 seconds) between sheets of wax paper. Cut small cookies with the rim of a shot glass or a cookie cutter. Place a shard of pistachio in the middle of each cookie if desired. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes max (check half-way through to prevent an accident). Serve.
Comments
26 Comments • Comments Feed
Tim Vidra says:
Love this and the little pistachios.
E.A.T.
On October 12, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Libyan Food says:
Must add these to our Eid cookies this year. We also make a variation of ghrayba with chickpea flour but they are close to shortbread biscuits so not crunchy
On October 12, 2011 at 2:20 pm
jantonio says:
I knew these cookies but I never did. I love chickpea flour. I’ll try soon.
See you.
On October 12, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Magda says:
I have a rather large bag of chickpea flour and looking for recipes to use it in. Thanks Joumana, this one looks like a keeper!
On October 12, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Claudia says:
These are so sweet – I’ve been searching for chickpea flour – am so silly – should have just brought some home with me.
On October 12, 2011 at 4:11 pm
the indolent cook says:
They look good and sound easy to make! I’m intrigued by how the taste and texture would be like.
On October 12, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Kalyn says:
Love this idea!
On October 12, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Becky at Vintage Mix says:
These sound fantastic! Thanks for the recipe.
On October 12, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Richa@HobbyandMore says:
I’ve never made sweet cookies with chickpea flour.. but i am guessing they taste super esp since we do make chickpea laddoos. love the crinkly cookies! so pretty!
On October 12, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Banana Wonder says:
These look and sound delicious. Love that nutty flavor and the pistachio studs.
On October 12, 2011 at 9:51 pm
foodie @ tastingspot says:
great idea… love it
On October 12, 2011 at 11:55 pm
Meeta says:
I totally love chickpea flour and baking cookies with them adds a fantastic flavor to them looks brilliant!
On October 13, 2011 at 12:40 am
SURESH Hari says:
Cute and addictive cookies,quite new for me.
On October 13, 2011 at 3:16 am
Nuts about food says:
Love the idea of chickpea flour in cookies
On October 13, 2011 at 6:44 am
Devaki says:
What a concept Joumana! The only sweet thing I have ever eaten made with besan is ladoos! These are brilliant and very very adorable 🙂
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
On October 13, 2011 at 6:52 am
Susan says:
The aroma and flavor you describe sound delicious! I will have to look for chickpea flour!
On October 13, 2011 at 10:47 am
Belinda @zomppa says:
I have a whole bag of chickpea flour and now I know what I want to do with it.
On October 13, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Trix says:
This looks like my kind of cookie, as it wouldn’t be overly sweet I think. Elegant and cute at the same time!
On October 13, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Ali says:
this is such an inspiring post. I’ve never tried chickpeas in my cookies before but certainly looking forward to it. Love the photos
On October 14, 2011 at 3:40 am
Murasaki Shikibu says:
Is this chickpea flour the toasted variety or can it be made with regular chickpea flour?
On October 14, 2011 at 6:41 am
Joumana says:
@Murasaki: I bought a package that said “chickpea flour”; the flour was yellow in color with a pronounced taste of chickpea; I would look for these characteristics, as I am not sure whether it was toasted or not/
On October 14, 2011 at 8:31 am
Tall Clover Farm says:
As the unofficial replacement for Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster, I will embrace the recipe with the gusto of an overgrown kid, his cookie and a glass of milk. Is it okay to dunk them? And Joumana, how big is that baking sheet? Wow, lots of cookies!
On October 15, 2011 at 7:03 am
Joumana says:
@Tom: I made small cookies which is traditional and got about 150 of them, which have been steadily disappearing; they are too crunchy to be dunked, but I guess you could throw them in the glass of milk and retrieve them with a spoon, they’d still be hard!
On October 15, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Julie Nathan says:
Hi – I have tried your recipe twice now. First time I followed it exactly and enjoyed the cookies. Especially loved the aroma and flavor of the cardamom and the chickpea flour – which reminded me of Indian sweets, although not as sweet. Second time I wanted a slightly more “western” cookie, so went halves on the flour – 50% chickpea, 50% standard wheat, and also added 1/4 teaspoon salt to the mix because I find salt accentuates the sweetness in desserts. And for me, this second variation is perfect. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.
On October 18, 2011 at 1:32 am
domi says:
Ta cuisine est pleine de trésors de goûts différents et parfois surprenants pour nous…
On October 19, 2011 at 11:24 am
Silvia Odete Morani Massad says:
Very quickly this website will be famous among all blog visitors, due to it’s nice posts
On September 5, 2017 at 4:02 pm