Kleicha with Walnut
Sealed crescents with walnut filling and divided sugar/cardamom.
50 min hands-on + 15 min resting · Total: 1 hr 5 min · 2 servings
Ingredients
- 240 ml All-purpose wheat flour
- 120 ml Ready-to-eat walnuts, finely crushed
- 0.5 tsp Ground cardamom, half for dough and half for filling
- 1 tbsp Sugar for dough
- 80 ml Ghee, melted
- 45 ml Warm dough water
- Egg yolk, beaten for brushing; pasteurized where available — 1
- 1 tbsp Additional sugar for walnut filling
Instructions
Measure the exact dough
For two base servings, measure 240 ml flour, 80 ml melted ghee and 45 ml warm water. Half ghee is 40 ml, not 37.5 ml; fourfold is 320 ml, not 312 ml. Instructions describe base quantities; scale the ingredient list for other yields.
Preheat and prepare the tray
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare a suitable tray with an oven-rated liner; no unlisted grease, dusting flour, milk or leavener is included. Do not taste raw dough or egg wash.
Divide sugar and cardamom
Mix the flour with 1 tbsp DOUGH sugar and 0.25 tsp cardamom. Reserve the other 0.25 tsp cardamom and the SEPARATE 1 tbsp filling sugar for walnuts; total base sugar is 2 tbsp.
Rub in the ghee
Rub all measured melted ghee into the flour mixture with clean fingertips until evenly sandy.
Add water and knead
Add the measured warm water gradually. Knead from about 3 minutes until cohesive and pliable; do not silently add more flour or water.
Add water and knead: 180 seconds
Rest the dough
Rest covered from about 15 minutes while preparing the filling. Keep raw egg wash separate from filling and ready-to-eat food.
Rest the dough: 900 seconds
Combine walnut filling
Mix all 120 ml finely crushed ready-to-eat walnuts with the separate 1 tbsp filling sugar and reserved 0.25 tsp cardamom. No date syrup or butter dough is substituted.
Divide matching dough and filling portions
Divide all dough and walnut filling into matching manageable portions. Approximate 6 cm dough rounds are guides, not a guarantee a tablespoon fits each; adjust matching portions rather than overfill or invent a cookie count.
Fold and seal crescents
Fold each portion around its filling into a crescent and seal the edges completely. If unavoidable filling remains, serve or store it separately with clean utensils; do not force it into seams.
Arrange pastries on the tray
Place sealed crescents on the prepared tray with space between them. Remove all shaping sheets before baking at 180°C.
Brush with measured yolk
Beat the listed yolk and brush a thin layer over the pastries. For half a batch, use half the beaten yolk; fourfold uses four yolks. Do not invent a yolk ml density; discard excess egg-contaminated wash and clean tools.
Bake and check dough and egg wash
Bake at 180°C, beginning checks around 15 minutes. The supplied 15–18 minutes is an estimate; pastry centres and egg wash must be fully cooked, not merely glossy or golden.
Bake and check dough and egg wash: 900 seconds
Cool before handling
Cool on a suitable rack until safe to handle before serving. These two catalogue servings are not a guaranteed cookie count.
Store safely
Cool promptly in shallow portions and refrigerate, aiming within 1 hour, at 4°C or colder. Use within 2 days. This is a selected conservative household limit, not a validated shelf life. Follow any shorter product use-by limit; keep cream separate until serving where possible.
Tips
- Cup = 240 ml, tbsp = 15 ml and tsp = 5 ml. Ingredient amounts scale exactly; instruction amounts describe the base 2 servings. Use compatible equipment and manageable batches; times are first checks, not readiness guarantees.
Common mistakes
- Do not restore ingredients from an older draft or count process water, frying media, prepared syrup and conditional additions as a fixed consumed yield. Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat food.
Substitutions
- Only explicitly listed alternatives are included. Follow prepared-product labels; do not substitute unknown-acidity vinegar, unpasteurized dairy or a different raw/frozen pocket process.
Storage
Cool promptly in shallow portions and refrigerate, aiming within 1 hour, at 4°C or colder. Use within 2 days. This is a selected conservative household limit, not a validated shelf life. Follow any shorter product use-by limit; keep cream separate until serving where possible.
Reheating
Serve the fully baked cookies cooled if preferred, keeping the remaining batch refrigerated.
About this recipe
Kleicha with Walnut is presented as the owner's Iraqi household version or stated adaptation. Ancient origin, national exclusivity, universal customs, preservation efficacy and medical benefits are not independently authenticated.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.