Koloocheh (Persian Purim Cookies)

Submitted by Sephardi Kitchen

"This is a dairy version of the cookies my fiance's grandma would prepare for Purim (a Jewish holiday in the spring). The crisp shortbread dough encases a sweet filling made of walnuts and rose water. Easy to make, and delicious! Note: the original recipe is parve and uses oil in place of butter. I have never made cookies without butter or margarine and was scared to try it without knowing the proper proportions. If you know how to do it, please let me know! :)"

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 15-20 cookies

ingredients

• For the Dough

• 1 cup butter, softened (or 3/4 c butter and 1/4 c canola oil)
• 1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 - 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour (amount will vary)

• For the Filling

• 3⁄4 cup walnuts
• 3 -4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1⁄2 - 2 tablespoons rose water (to taste)

directions

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together (or use a fork) until creamy. Stir in 1 tbs water with the vanilla and salt until well combined.
2. Mix in 1-1 1/2 c flour until combined (the texture should be crumbly). Then knead in the remaining flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes stiffer/no longer crumbly.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. In a blender or food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, rosewater and salt until a slightly chunky paste forms.
5. Pinch off a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten it in your palm. It should be approximately 2.5-3 inches in diameter.
6. Add a small amount of filling (about 1/2 tsp) to the center of the dough. Pinch it shut, then pat to make a round cookie.
7. Place in a greased/floured cookie sheet or pan, repeat until all the dough is used up.
8. Bake 15-25 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown and the tops are lightly browned and no longer soft (and the house will smell delicious!).
9. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
10. Enjoy!

Reviews

[esbarth]

This is a lovely recipe! I just wanted to say, we usually bake with olive oil - you can use 3/4 C olive oil in place of the 1 C butter to make these cookies pareve. There are charts for the substitution available online, but that general proportion works for substituting other measurements as well.