A Celebration Cookie That Demands To Be Eaten

Icun Recipe (Almond Cardamom Shortbread Cookie)

There’s a cookie that I adore called icun. This translates to “eat me” in Somali. I’m not sure if this is the shortened name for the cookie but I do know that every time I’ve had this cookie someone would sing “icun, icalaanji, caloosha iggee,” which translates to “eat me, chew me, take me to the stomach.” I have no idea how this phrase came to be and whether it was a marketing technique to entice customers when it was sold by vendors in Somalia, but I’ve always been so charmed by it. However it came to be, I can’t think of a more accurate name for these cookies that I cannot stop eating.

I grew up having this cookie in times of celebration. It was always in the to-go dessert boxes that my hooyo brought back from the weekend weddings that she often frequented. She would slip through our front door adorned in a bright dirac and gold at one or two in the morning, with a box of sweets in hand. I would grab the box from her eagerly and ask “What did you bring this time?”

Every wedding loosely followed the same to-go dessert protocol: one thick slice of cardamom dolsho (cake), sticky orange cuts of xalwo, sugar glazed shushumow, several cardamom cookies, one stick of gum (I am anti-gum in the dessert box), and pale little icun cookies dotted bright red. The icun cookies were always my first priority. I was obsessed with their crumbly texture thanks to the almond meal and butter in the dough and their floral cardamom scent.

Icun cookies were not limited to only weddings. They showed up in other times of celebration too. They would be passed around after Eid prayers when we would sit around enjoying qahwo, and before the inevitable and much deserved Eid nap. Icun were also present during the feasts my family would make for martiqaads. After we enjoyed plates of tender goat meat, rice and salad, the parade of dessert would follow. Icun was always accompanied by steaming cups of spiced shaah (tea), popcorn, cake, and a vibrant assortment of fruits.

Below is my recipe for Icun cookies. I hope you’ll enjoy them anytime. But especially in times of celebration, too.

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Icun (Almond Cardamom Shortbread Cookie)

Time: 1 Hour 25 minutes

Yield: 15 Cookies

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INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/3 cup cane sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp powdered cardamom

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed

red food coloring and a toothpick or edible writing gel

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PREPARATION

Step 1

In a large mixing bowl, whip the softened butter for one minute. Next, add in the sugar and beat into the butter for three to four minutes, or until the mixture incorporates together and becomes light.

Step 2

Add in the all-purpose flour, almond flour, cardamom powder, vanilla extract, and olive oil and mix until a smooth dough forms. If your dough is too dry, add in a little more olive oil for moisture. Once you have a firm dough, cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for one hour. In the last 15 minutes before you pull the dough out of the fridge, preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 3

Pull out the dough from the fridge. Using about 1 tablespoon worth of dough, use your palms to roll the dough into a small smooth ball. Place the ball on the lined baking sheet and flatten the ball very slightly so that its looks a little more disc like than a perfect ball. Grab the decorative icing or food coloring and draw one small red dot onto the center of the cookie. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough and make sure to leave adequate space between each cookie.

Step 4

Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are a very light golden color on top and bottom. Let the cookies cool and enjoy.

Notes:

Measuring cup sizes do vary. If your dough is too dry, add a little more olive oil to help the dough come together. If it feels too sticky, add a little more all-purpose flour until it comes together into a firm dough. Oven temps also vary so make sure to bake until your cookies are a very light golden color. Store these cookies in a dry, airtight container and/or in the fridge. They can last for up to 10 days. Enjoy with coffee or tea.