Okay, so I’ve been on this huge Middle Eastern food kick lately, and I decided I wanted to try making an Iraqi dessert. I didn’t even know what that was, to be honest, so I did some digging.
My Iraqi Dessert Adventure Begins
First things first, I googled “Iraqi dessert” to even know what I am looking for. And pictures showed up, they looked pretty good! I needed to find a recipe. I found a few that looked promising, lots of dates and nuts and spices, you know, the good stuff. I’m a sucker for anything with cardamom, so that definitely caught my eye.
I ended up picking a recipe called “Kleicha”. Seemed like a classic. These are like little cookies or pastries, sometimes filled, sometimes not.
Gathering the Ingredients – The Hunt!
Next up, I had to actually, you know, get the stuff to make them. Most of the ingredients were pretty standard – flour, butter, sugar. But then there was stuff like “date paste”. Date paste? Okay…off to the Middle Eastern grocery store I went! My local supermarket definitely didn’t have that.
It was actually kind of fun, exploring this store I’d never been to before. I found the date paste (score!), and I also grabbed some rosewater, because, why not? It smelled amazing.
The Baking Process – Fingers Crossed!
Back home, it was time to get down to business. The recipe seemed straightforward enough. I mixed the dry ingredients, cut in the butter (cold butter, always!), and then added the wet stuff. This dough was a bit crumbly, but it came together after some kneading. Which, by the way, is my favorite part – getting my hands dirty!
Then came the filling. Some Kleicha are plain, but I opted for a date filling. I mixed the date paste with some spices – cardamom, cinnamon, a little nutmeg. Smelled heavenly.
Rolling out the dough, filling it, shaping the little cookies – that was a bit fiddly. Some of them looked…well, let’s just say “rustic”. But I figured, hey, even if they’re ugly, they’ll still taste good, right?
The Moment of Truth – Baking and Tasting!
Into the oven they went! I set the timer and kept a close eye on them. The whole house started to smell amazing – warm, spicy, sweet. My mouth was watering.
Finally, they were done! Golden brown, slightly puffed up. I let them cool for a bit (the hardest part!), then I took a bite.
Oh. My. Goodness. They were SO good! Crumbly, buttery pastry, sweet and spicy date filling… seriously delicious. Even the ugly ones!
Final Thoughts
This whole Iraqi dessert experiment was a total win. I learned something new, explored a new cuisine, and ended up with a batch of super tasty cookies. I’ll definitely be making Kleicha again. Maybe next time I’ll try a different filling – I saw some with walnuts and coconut that looked amazing.
I have to go and enjoy it now!
