Containing only 3 main ingredients, Persian Walnut cookies are probably the fastest, easiest cookies you’ll ever make. These sweet, aromatic, bite-sized cookies are perfect with a cup of Persian tea. Walnut cookies are often served for guests and during the Persian New Year (the first day of spring).
‘Naan’ in Farsi technically means ‘bread’. For some reason, the word naan is also used for cookies. ‘Gerdoo’ is the word in Farsi for ‘walnut’. Naan Gerdooee is translated as walnut cookies. As with most Iranian recipes, there are dozens of versions and variations in making Persian walnut cookies.
Let it be noted that in the case of these cookies, I don’t skimp on the sugar. Persian walnut cookies are super sweet like taffy. They go down well with a hot cup of cardamom tea or a tall glass of milk.
Iranians take tea time seriously – sweets are always served alongside a hot, steaming cup of tea. Small cookies or sugar cubes are the perfect addition.
Aside from high sugar content, there are some health benefits to enjoying these cookies. We choose to make them tiny and coin-sized. They contain a whole cup of finely ground walnuts – a nutritional powerhouse. containing protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and nutrients. No flour in this recipe means you can serve them confidently to your gluten-sensitive friends and family. Lastly, there is no butter or oil in this cookie recipe
Health Benefits
- tiny size, easier to control portions
- walnuts, filled with protein, fiber, healthy fats and vitamins and minerals
- no flour, hence no gluten, good for gluten-sensitive friends and fam
- lower-fat containing no oil or butter
With a shortlist of ingredients, pulling these cookies together is a snap. The key to making neat, round little cookies is squeezing them from a pastry bag or a Ziplock bag with the corner snipped.
Biggest Tip
- use a pastry bag or a Ziplock bag with the corner snipped to pipe out tiny round cookie shapes
A pastry bag works great. If you don’t have one, simply snip one corner end of a plastic Ziplock bag with sharp scissors and pipe the cookie dough out into small droplets. These cookies are traditionally made very small. If you squeeze them out into the size of a dime they will spread while cooking and turn up being the size of a nickel after baking.
Most Persian cookies are small – Persian Walnut cookies are the smallest of the bunch. Sweets and cookies are served even before meals with tea. Keeping things tiny saves the appetite for the real, nutritious meal.
Once the cookies are squeezed neatly onto a baking sheet, shape the little round dough droplets with your hands into more evenly shaped rounds.
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- sprinkled with hemp seed hearts
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- sprinkled with finely chopped pistachio nuts
These cookies are cute plain but easy to dress up with natural sprinkles.
Sprinkle options:
- finely chopped pistachios
- sesame seeds
- hemp seed hearts
plated Persian Walnut Cookies sprinkled with hemp seed hearts
If you love the taste and experience of Persian cookies, be sure to try another delicious, gluten-free Persian cookie on the site, Naan Berenji Persian Rice Flour Cookies! Both of which pair well with Hot Mulled Apple Cider!
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These look lovely- can I freeze them? Thank you!
Hi Emily, thanks for your question. I haven’t tried freezing these little gems but my guess would be yes. As with any simple baked cookies, my suggestion would be to line an airtight container with parchment paper and lay the cookies in there, separating the rows of cookies laid on top with another sheet of parchment paper. When you are ready to defrost them, keep them in the same container and transfer to the refrigerator first, then to the counter. Keeping them in the container will allow any moisture from to transfer to the container, not the cookie. Hope this helps. Report back how it works and if you love them please give this recipe card a star rating! Many thanks