Golden, tender cookies stuffed with a sweet cardamom-spiced date paste, shaped into crescents or rounds. These are Iraq's most iconic sweet, baked for holidays and offered to every guest with tea.
Nutrition & Info
Allergen Warnings
Equipment Needed
Instructions
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1
Mix flour, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, and yeast. Rub in softened butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
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2
Add milk and saffron water, knead into a soft, pliable dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
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3
Cook pitted dates with butter, cardamom, and cinnamon over low heat, mashing into a smooth paste. Cool completely.
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4
Roll dough into a long rectangle. Spread date paste in a strip along one edge, then roll up tightly into a log.
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5
Slice the log into 2cm rounds. Alternatively, cut circles from rolled dough, fill, and shape into crescents.
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6
Press each cookie with a kleicha mold or fork for the traditional pattern. Bake at 180C for 15-18 minutes until golden.
Did You Know?
Kleicha are so central to Iraqi identity that the recipe appears in ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets dating back thousands of years, making them one of the oldest known cookie recipes.
Chef's Notes
Equipment Tips
- mixing bowl
- baking sheets
- rolling pin
- kleicha mold or fork
The Story Behind Kleicha
Kleicha holds a sacred place in Iraqi culture, with roots reaching back to ancient Mesopotamia where date-filled pastries were offered to the gods in Babylonian temples. The recipe has been passed down through millennia, virtually unchanged in its essential form. Every Iraqi household bakes kleicha for Eid celebrations, and the aroma of these cookies is inseparable from the memory of Iraqi holidays. The date filling connects the cookie to Iraq's identity as the world's greatest date-producing civilization.
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