I will keep this post short and sweet because I have been really sick for the past couple of days. Having a flu and a sick kid and another with final exams is no fun but having these wonderful spicy cookies around for a quick snack when you don’t have the energy to make anything sure helps.

The name actually has a story. Mum made these cookies years ago for guests they were entertaining. At the time there was a persian exhibition in town. One of the guests took one bite of the cookies and said: “don’t you just love the desserts they sell in persian exhibitions, they are so spicy and chewy.” Mum and dad shared a look and started laughing and explained to the lady that these were home-made. The lady demanded the recipe as proof, knowing how mum makes her recipes (my mum doesn’t measure, she cooks and bakes by feeling so she can never  give you an exact recipe because she doesn’t make any recipe exactly the same twice)she didn’t quite believe them but still  everyone had a good laugh and the name stuck.

If you’re a fan of cinnamon like yours truly, you will love these cookies. The combination of almonds, cinnamon and dates is hard to beat. I like these particular cookies soft and chewy but if you like your cookies more on the crisp side check the notes after the recipe

Mum’s persian cookies

Printable recipe without the images here

Ingredients

2  and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (no substitutions), softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large egg

3 tablespoons powdered milk

3 tablespoons cinnamon (or 4 if you’re nuts about cinnamon like me)

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

pinch nutmeg (optional)

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

• In a bowl combine flour, baking soda,cinnamon , cardamom, nutmeg and salt.
• In the food process beat butter and sugar for 1 minute or until creamy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
•  Add  the eggs and vanilla; beat until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping down the sides. The dough will be soft and really sticky almost like a very think cake batter, resist the temptation to add flour
• Fold in the nuts and dates.
• Roll small pieces of dough between your hands
• Arrange on baking sheet
• press on almond on top of each cookie flattening it a little
• Bake in a preheated 180 C (375 F) oven on the lowest rack till the bottoms are golden brown
• place under the broiler for a couple of minutes till the tops are golden brown.

Notes

If you like your cookies more on the crisp side use 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda instead of 1/4 and after you have finished baking place the cookies in the warm oven, turn it off and leave the cookies there until the oven cools down completely.

Store these cookies in an airtight container and they will last for a month

Now let’s get to the giveaway

Sneakpeeq is a site for online shopping, with short sales, great deals, and new stores daily.Their products include Housewares, Apparel, Accessories, Gourmet food, Beverages, and more.

Sneakpeeq is giving EACH AND EVERYONE  20% off your next purchase just for entering,

 plus a chance at the Grand Prize:

 Two winners will be picked to receive a $25 sneakpeeq gift card to use on your favorite food, style and home products.

 Five runners-up prize winners will receive a $10 gift card—that goes a long way in sneakpeeq’s amazingly low-priced boutiques!

You can enter the giveaway by clicking on this link:  http://bit.ly/vAKFFp  and joining sneakpeeq

All winners will be announced on my blog on the 3/1/2012

Due to shipping issues this giveaway is open to readers in the US only