These Rice Crumbles (Nan-e-Berenji) cookies make an appearance in almost every Persian gatherings. From grand weddings to informal tea break to picnics you are sure to find a version of these rice shortbread cookies. They are deliciously crumbly with a sandy texture and breaks apart in your mouth, traditionally not overly sweet and accidentally gluten free, so it’s a perfect treat for someone who is gluten intolerant. Essentially , it’s a shortbread cookie that’s made of rice flour with the kiss of cardamom and rosewater.
When we visited Iran, we were very lucky to be invited for a weekend away by one of Persian Prince’s cousins. Ardalan and his beautiful wife Nargez lived in Mashad but had a farm in the hills of Shandiz. We were welcomed with tea and a tray of these Nan Berinji, and I have to admit I sampled quite a few during our stay.
Between her broken English and my mangled Persian, I was able to obtain her recipe. I also mentioned to Nargez how I loved the hand carved wooden box in which they were served. When we left the farm , she gave me a package to take home. I found out later that it had the wooden box (which I admired) filled with the rice crumble cookies. Not only did I get to take the cookies, I also got the box, the cookie recipe and a lifelong friendship all of which I treasure dearly. That’s Persian hospitality for you.
What you need..
- Rice Flour – I used Erawan Brand from Thailand, but you can use any other brand as long as the flour is finely milled.
- Pantry/Fridge Staples – Butter,Egg,Vanilla, Rose water (Optional) Cardamom Powder, Icing Sugar. Soft Icing mixture maybe substituted for pure Icing Sugar if gluten is not an issue.
- Toppings of your Choice – Pistachio, Poppy Seed,Coloured Sanding Sugar
Easy does it…
- Combine cooled melted butter with egg yolks vanilla and rosewater. Whisk egg whites lightly in a separate bowl.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together of rice flour, sifted icing sugar and cardamom powder.
- Add the butter mix and egg whites to the rice mix and combine together using a wooden spoon to form a dough, with the texture of wet sand.
- Form walnut sized balls and place them in a baking paper lined baking tray.
- Use a cookie tamper to imprint patterns on top of each cookie.
- Sprinkle tops of cookies with topping of your choice.
- Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven or until light golden.
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Rice Crumbles (Nan-e-Berenji)
Course: DessertCuisine: PersianDifficulty: Easy16
servings15
minutes12
minutesCrumbly Cardamom Rice Cookies
Ingredients
125g butter,melted and cooled
150g icing sugar,sifted
1 teaspoon ground cardamom or to taste
1 egg, separated
1/2 teaspoon rosewater,optional
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla paste;
250g rice flour
Poppy seeds, finely chopped pistachios, red sanding sugar to decorate
Directions
- Preheat oven to 170°C and line a baking tray with Silpat or baking paper.
- Add vanilla paste,rosewater if using and beaten egg yolk to the cooled melted butter. In a separate small bowl, whisk egg whites and set aside.
- Whisk rice flour ground cardamom and icing sugar together in a bowl. Add the melted butter mix from step 2 and the lightly whisked egg whites and work into a dough with a wooden spoon. It should look like wet sand.
- Take walnut sized pieces of dough and form into a smooth ball, then place balls into the prepared tray spacing them about 1 cm apart to allow for spreading.
- Use the cookie stamper to imprint a pattern on top of each cookies. Or you can use anything that will make a pattern.
- Sprinkle with poppy seed ( or any topping of your choice) on top of each cookies.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, turning the tray halfway at about the 6 minute mark so the coookies bake evenly.
- Remove from the oven when cookies are light golden. Cool in the baking tray for about 10 minutes. The cookies will be very fragile when warm.
- Once cookies are cold, store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Cool completely and store in an airtight container for 1 week.
