Klaicha
Iraq's national pastry: small filled cookies of cardamom-scented dough, stuffed with date paste or chopped walnuts and sugar. Pressed with a klaicha cutter.
Overview
A buttery cardamom-scented dough enriched with milk and a touch of yeast (gives a tender bite without rising). Date paste sweetens with cardamom, cloves and a pinch of cinnamon. Each cookie wraps a teaspoon of filling, then gets pressed into a patterned mould or scored on top. Bakes pale gold; the surface stays soft, the inside spice-heavy.
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g plain flour
- 200 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground nigella seeds (optional but classic)
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 200 ml whole milk (warm)
- 1 egg (large)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Date filling
- 400 g pitted dates (chopped)
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
Glaze
- 1 egg yolk (large, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Method
Stage 1 - Date filling
- Combine the dates, butter, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon in a small heavy pan.
- Cook over low heat 5-8 minutes, mashing with a fork, until the dates are soft and the mixture is a smooth thick paste.
- Stir in the sesame seeds (if using). Cool.
Stage 2 - Dough
- Whisk the warm milk with the yeast and a pinch of sugar; rest 5 minutes until frothy.
- Cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the cardamom, nigella, salt and egg; mix.
- Add the milk-yeast mixture; mix.
- Add the flour gradually; mix to a soft, smooth dough (don't over-knead - just bring it together).
- Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Stage 3 - Shape
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
- Divide the dough into 30 walnut-sized balls.
- Flatten each into a 7-8 cm disc on a floured surface.
- Place a teaspoon of date paste in the centre.
- Bring the edges up and over the filling; pinch closed.
- Roll into a smooth ball, then flatten gently to a 4 cm thick disc.
- Press a klaicha mould onto the smooth side (or score with the back of a fork or knife in a decorative pattern).
Stage 4 - Bake
- Place on lined baking sheets, 3 cm apart.
- Brush with the egg yolk glaze; sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake 18-22 minutes until pale gold (not browned - Iraqi klaicha stay light).
Stage 5 - Cool
- Cool on a wire rack.
- Eat warm or at room temperature with tea.
Notes
- Date paste consistency: Should be soft and spreadable, not stiff. Add a splash of milk if too dry.
- Pale, not golden: Klaicha are baked light. Deep golden tops mean overbaked, dry cookies.
- Walnut filling alternative: Mix 200 g chopped walnuts, 100 g sugar, 1 teaspoon cardamom and 1 tablespoon rosewater for a nut-filled klaicha.
Storage
- Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight tin; flavour deepens in the first few days.
- Freezes 2 months.
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A buttery cardamom-and-nigella dough enriched with milk and a touch of yeast (yeast gives a tender bite, not a rise) wraps around a soft date paste cooked down with butter, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Walnut-sized balls flatten, fill, fold and press into a klaicha mould (or score the top with the back of a fork in a herringbone pattern). Brushed with egg yolk and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Baked at 180°C until pale gold (not brown, Iraqi klicha stay light, almost biscuit-coloured).
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