Iraqi Almond Macaroons with Rosewater and Cardamom for Passover

These delicious Iraqi Passover almond macaroons come from Jennifer Abadi’s awesome new cookbook, Too Good to Passover. More than a cookbook, this is an absolute treasure trove of Passover recipes, traditions, and memories from the Sephardic world and beyond, including from some less-discussed Jewish food traditions like Ethiopian and Yemenite.

I was lucky enough to attend a launch event for the book earlier this month at Kehila Kedosha Janina, a historic Romaniote (Greek Jewish) synagogue on the Lower East Side in NYC. It has a small museum that is open to visitors on Sundays, and I highly recommend a visit.

At the event, I learned that the author spent nearly a decade tracking down members (or descendants) of nearly 20 different communities, interviewing them, and sometimes even cooking with them, to write this book. I’m so excited to be cooking and learning from it, and at over 600 pages it will keep me busy for a while. Highly recommended.

Abadi writes that using ground almonds in place of flour in sweets and pastries is an ancient Middle Eastern tradition dating back all the way to the days of Mesopotamia.

In Iraqi Arabic, these little cookies are called hajji badam, which translates roughly as “worthy almond,” or “best of the almond cookies.” If you try these for yourself, I think you’ll agree that this is an accurate epithet. The cardamom and rosewater add a sophisticated touch to what would otherwise be a common (if still very tasty) cookie, giving the recipe that little something extra that makes it truly memorable.

There is also a version of hajji badam containing flour and eaten at other times of the year, especially at Purim and at the Yom Kippur break-fast meal.

And these wonderful little cookies are also eaten in Turkey, where they are called aci badem (bitter almonds), due to the inclusion of bitter almonds back when they were readily available. A commenter let me know that they are still sold in bakeries in Istanbul to this day, and if I ever make it over there I will certainly be on the lookout!

The macaroons can be made in advance and frozen, which is great news for those of us looking to get a head start on seder prep. They’re also gluten-free. My recipe is very slightly modified from the original.

Almond Macaroons with Rosewater and Cardamom (Hajji Badam)

3 cups whole almonds, blanched or regular

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cardamom

2 teaspoons rosewater

¼ cup egg whites (from about 3 large eggs)

Additional whole almonds and/or dried rose petals for decoration, optional

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine almonds, sugar, and cardamom in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Add rosewater and egg whites and pulse again until a soft dough is formed.

Drop one level tablespoon of dough at a time onto a prepared baking sheet, leaving an inch between each macaroon. Do not flatten or shape the dough. If you like, decorate with either an almond placed vertically into the center, or a dried rose petal.

Bake the macaroons until very lightly browned around the bottom edges, around 15 minutes. They should still be mostly white in color and soft in the center. Cool completely. Serve at room temperature. Store in an airtight container layered between pieces of wax paper at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month.

Sources: Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Gil Marks, 2010); Too Good to Passover (Jennifer Felicia Abadi, 2018)