Dates are a huge part of Ramadhan and not just to break your fast with. They are a great ingredient to bake and cook with too. This date and nut paste makes for a sweet and aromatic filling in these swirly biscuits, called kleicha, which are perfect with a cup of tea for a light treat after breaking your fast – or simply as a tasty spring sweet treat. No excuses needed!

How to make Nadiya Hussain’s date-swirled cookies (makes 24)

INGREDIENTS

For the dough

225g plain flour

120g salted butter, chilled and cubed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

Icing sugar, for dusting

For the filling

150g pitted dates

100g hazelnuts

boiling water, to cover

To finish

3 tablespoons golden syrup, warmed

METHOD

• Let’s start by making the dough. Put the plain flour in a bowl with the cubed butter. Rub the butter into the flour till there are no large lumps of butter and the flour looks less fine.
• Add the ground cinnamon and icing sugar and mix through.
• Make a well in the centre and add the egg in. Bring the dough together gently, being sure not to knead it – just bring it together so you don’t have any floury bits left.
• Shape into a square, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling by putting the pitted dates in a bowl with the hazelnuts. Pour boiling water on top till they are submerged and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, drain completely, reserving any water, and blend to a smooth paste. Add a few tablespoons of the reserved water if necessary.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with some baking paper.
• Dust the worktop with some icing sugar, unwrap the dough and roll the dough out to a 24cm square. Brush the date paste all over in an even layer. Roll up and freeze for 30 minutes.
• After freezing, slice into 1cm swirly biscuits. Lay them out on the prepared baking tray and bake for 15–20 minutes, till they are golden brown.
• Take them out, brush generously with the golden syrup and then wait for them to be just cool enough to eat, but still lovely and warm.

Recipe taken from Rooza (Penguin Michael Joseph) by Nadiya Hussain. Copyright for all images: Chris Terry. for more recipe ideas see here. Get, set cook!