Persian Walnut Cookies (Naan-e Gerdooi), Gluten Free

These Persian Walnut Cookies (naan-e gerdooi), are gluten free, and made with ground walnuts and icing sugar (powdered sugar). Deliciously dry on the outside and just bordering on the chewy inside.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Naan-e Gerdooi
Persian Walnut Cookies

Persian Cuisine is one of the oldest and greatest cuisines in the world, complete with a rich history and culture. When one thinks of Persian food though, it’s usually the Morasa Polow or Chelow that come to mind, but, in honour of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, I am going to share with you the first of two Persian cookies today.

Let’s learn how to make Naan-e Gerdooi or Persian Walnut Cookies, super easy and gluten free!

A big part of the Nowruz celebrations is the setting of the Haft-Seen table, a table bedecked with symbolic items representing spring, new beginnings, hope and a lot more. You can read more about the Haft-Seen Table as well as Nowruz celebrations on the Nowruz Page.

Persian Walnut Cookies
Persian Walnut Cookies

We’ve been celebrating Nowruz with our Persian friends here in the UK for a number of years now, which is a blessing as my side of the family tree lives nowhere near me!

Most of the traditional cookies I bake, I learnt as a child, in my granny’s kitchen, so an added advantage to celebrating with my Middle Eastern friends over the years has been the expansion of my Middle Eastern culinary knowledge bank and repertoire!

Persian Walnut Cookies
pre-bake

So, today’s recipe. Persian sweet biscuit/cookie type treats can be loosely classified into dry cookies (shirini khoshk) and moist cookies (shirini tar). Today’s cookies, naan-e gerdooi, belong firmly in the first camp, they’re made with ground walnuts and when baked, are dry on the outside and just bordering on the chewy inside.

This very quick and easy recipe was given to me by a friend of mine called Farah. In proportions used, I’ve followed her recipe to the letter; my contribution to it is the alternate flavourings used, which I’m happy to say is a hit at every Persian gathering we take them to.

Persian Walnut Cookies Gluten-Free
Pin it!

Instead of the traditional vanilla, I sometimes also use a combination of crushed rose petals and cardamom seeds. The first time you make this, go with the vanila or divide the mix into two and flavour separately; I wouldn’t recommend going with all three flavourings, as that’s a bit of an overkill.

It’s a very wet dough and you can either form the shapes with two tablespoons or place the whole lot into piping bags and pipe them out like macarons.

Shall we get our aprons on?

Images by LinsFoodies

@abroadmodern

If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!

And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood

Lin xx

Persian Walnut Cookies Gluten-Free

Persian Walnut Cookies (Naan-e Gerdooi)

Persian Walnut Cookies (naan-e gerdooi), are gluten free, and made with ground walnuts and icing sugar (powdered sugar). Deliciously dry on the outside and just bordering on the chewy inside.
4.96 from 69 votes
Print Pin Add to Collection
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Persian
Keyword: cookies, gluten free, nowruz, persian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 81kcal
Author: Azlin Bloor

Ingredients

  • 200 g (7 oz) walnuts
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) icing sugar powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste/extract OR 1 tsp dried edible roses
  • seeds of 3 cardamoms pounded/ground

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 150˚C/300˚F.
  • Place the walnuts in a chopper and pulse to a coarse grind, like that of coarse semolina or polenta. Stop before the “sticky” oily stage. Set aside.
  • Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until well mixed and pale and creamy.
  • Add the vanilla and mix in. If using the rose petals and cardamom, add with walnuts.
  • Add the walnuts, followed by rose petals and cardamom if using, and mix it all in with a wooden spoon.
  • Either drop spoonfuls of the cookie mix onto a baking sheet or transfer the whole lot into a piping bag and pipe out little rounds.
  • Place a small piece of walnut on each cookie and bake for 20 minutes until just lightly browned. Make sure you leave at least an inch between each cookie as they will spread.

Notes

Even a non stick baking sheet can do with being lined, as then you just need to peel the paper off the cookie, an easier job than trying to remove stubborn cookies.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 81kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!
Made it? Upload your photosMention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!

Share this with someone who'll love it!

27 thoughts on “Persian Walnut Cookies (Naan-e Gerdooi), Gluten Free”

  1. 5 stars
    Made this walnut cookies a few times already and everyone loved it. Very easy and delicious.
    Thank you for the recipe ☺️

    1. Hi Noor, it’s about 1/8 of a teaspoon, give or take, depending on the size of the cardamoms. So use that amount. If you don’t have a tsp that small, just do an estimate, slightly more is not a problem, especially if you like cardamom.

    1. Hi Nancy, sorry to hear that you’re not getting the recipe to work. I assume that you are using this one?
      Are your ground almonds dry? In many countries (like France & Italy), shop bought ground nuts tend to be damp, and so the recipe ends up having too much moisture. You might need to grind your own if that’s the case.
      I’m not sure why yours smell of egg yolks, it’s not a problem I’ve had.
      Try using 2 small eggs, instead of 4 egg yolks. That should take care of the smell.

  2. I’ve never had Persian cuisine before, but these look great. I’m not much of a cook but I may have to give these a try.

  3. I love walnuts, whether they are wrapped in chocolate or in a cookie. This recipe is for keeps. I’m making a batch and hope it would turn out to be as nice as yours. 🙂

  4. These look really good. I have never heard of them before but would love to make some for my family and try them!

  5. Elizabeth O.

    That sounds so good! I love walnuts and it would be nice to have it in a cookie. I’ve never tried these before.

  6. I know walnut have a nutritional profile that is good for the heart and brain. It also has cancer-fighting properties that reduce the risk of this killer disease. A simple cookie snack with huge benefits.

  7. I am aware of Nowruz but wasn’t aware of the cookies. These look delish. My son loves cookies, he might like the flavors there.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating