Just as Persian main courses vary from town to town, so too do Persian dessert traditions and recipes. In every corner of Iran, you will find a unique flavor and dessert specific to that area.

KAAK

Kaak is a native dish of the province of Kermanshah, Baluchestan, and Khorramabad. 

It is a rectangle-shaped, multilayered sweet that is very light and airy. Every layer is covered with powdered sugar and spices and the top layer can have decorative pistachios or almonds.

Kaak might contain cinnamon, cardamom, and coconut flakes too. 

This sweet famously belongs to Kermanshah, and many who travel to this region bring it as a souvenir to their family, to be had with tea in the afternoon. But you can also find it in the big sweet shops of the capital. 

Noon Khamei: Persian Cream Puffs

It is inevitable that, on your the first bite, you will fall in love with these puffy pastries filled with white cream. Noon khamei is a popular pastries to take when visiting a Persian family for the first time, or when you want to make a big announcement.

The soft and tasty dough filled with a delicious sweet white cream makes the perfect mouth-watering puff combination. They are sometimes decorated with slivered pistachios.

KOMAJ

Komaj (pronounced co-mawdge) are round breads made originally in the province of Hamadan located in the Zagros mountains. 

To make Komaj bread, Iranians use vanilla, cardamom, and sherbert to flavor a dough that they decorate with sesame and bake. Sometimes they put a sweet mixture of walnuts, sugar, and other spices inside the dough too.  

BADAM SOOKHTEH

This is the appetizing candy of Shiraz, in Fars (Pars) Province. 

Badam or Badoom means almonds in Persian, and Sookhteh means burnt. But the dessert, we assure you, is not really burnt! It is a crunchy treat that we sometimes buy to put on our Haft-Sin table to present to little kids who visit our homes in Nowruz. 

This sweet is prepared by tossing almonds into very hot and viscous caramelized sugar. 

HAJI BADAM

Badam, as we said, means almonds. The second part of the nomenclature is not, however, so sensible. Haji means a man that one does not know well. Perhaps a distant uncle who always brought this candy as a gift to children? 

Haji Badam are soft, bite-sized cookies traditionally made in Yazd or other towns in the central region of Iran. 

Haji Badam ingredients include saffron, nutmeg, and almonds. 

KOLOMPEH

Kolompeh is a nourishing and filling pastry of Kerman province. 

Kolompeh looks like round, soft cookies with a lot of dark, sweet filling inside. 

They say that Kolompeh originated in Bam village, in North Khorasan Province. But these days, Kolompeh is widely produced in Kerman city. 

Walnuts, dates, saffron, flour, traditional animal butter, and the spices that Kermanis use in preparing this dessert make for a high-calorie, scrummy treat. Because of the dates, you may hear it called “Persian Date Pastry” as well. 

Pashmak: Cotton Candy

Pashmak, which originated from Yazd, is cotton candy and is very popular with children. Persian pashmak has more soft threads than other cotton candies and is usually flavored with sesame, rose water, cardamom, orange blossom, saffron, vanilla, or pistachio. The threads are often referred to as angel’s hair in Farsi. Pashmak can also be used to garnish other desserts such as saffron ice cream.

LEGHIMAT

Leghimat, Legeimat, or Legimat is a sugary dessert of Bushehr and some Arab countries, sometimes called Loqaimat too. These are small fried dough bites sweetened with a lot of sugar sherbert. 

Laghimat of Bushehr is made with date syrup, rice flour, and eggs. People of the south of the country like to prepare and eat this dessert during the month of Ramadan. 

Cake e Yazdi: Persian Cupcake

Obviously, cake e Yazdi is from Yazd: a province in Iran. It is one of the most popular items in Persian pastry shops and one of the most common cakes served to visitors for tea. This pastry is also known for being served as a treat (shirini) when someone has good news to tell, such as a newborn’s announcement, buying a new house, etc.

The secret ingredients that make this cupcake stand out from others are the rosewater and ground cardamom, which give it more flavor.

SOHAN 

This sweet looks like an opaque and flat slab of sugary paste that is hardened and decorated with colorful nuts. 

Sohan is a type of brittle (hardened sugar) prepared with saffron, Golab (rosewater), and pistachios that originated in Qom, in the Qajar Era. Sohan is a delicious candy and a lovely gift or souvenir. A small piece of it with tea in the afternoon is energizing and favorable. 

GAZ

Gaz is best described as a type of nougat. You may also hear it be called Persian Nougat. Gaz is a cubic, white-colored candy that is sometimes covered in flour and filled with pistachios. When you bite into it, it is extremely chewy, sweet, and rich. 

Reportedly, the people of Isfahan Province have popularly made Gaz since the Safavid Era. Based on another account, the production of Gaz dates back to the Qajar Era, the kings of the time known to bring Gaz with them to the neighboring lands they visited as offerings and gifts. 

As for the ingredients of Gaz, first-rate Golab (rosewater), glucose syrup, egg whites, and a little flour, make up the creamy white nougat, and excellent, indigenous nuts and seeds comprise the inside component.  

Since Gaz has a long shelf life and can be conveniently packaged and sold, we like to buy them for each other as gifts and tourists like to buy them as souvenirs. 

Zoolbia-Bamieh: Persian Deep Fried Pastry

Zoolbia-bamieh is one of the sweets eaten during Ramadan. The nutritional energy and sweet taste of this pastry keep you full for hours. Zoolbia has a crispy spiral shape, and bamieh is a small funnel shaped fritter.

Yogurt and baking soda (or yeast) are mixed with flour to create a batter that is poured into sizzling oil in circular patterns. Finally, it is dipped in thick syrup and then served!