Watermelon Cookies for Yalda Night: Three Ways

This recipe for watermelon cookies contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, LiT may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, LiT earns from qualifying purchases. See our affiliate disclosure.

Watermelon is one of the two fruits every Yalda table needs, and these cookies turn it into something children can make. The dough is split in two and coloured red and green, for the flesh and the rind. Here are three ways to do it: in a frying pan, in the oven and with piped icing.

Good food colouring makes all the difference. Gel or paste colours give strong red and green without making the dough wet.

Frying-pan watermelon cookies, no oven needed

• 1 egg
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1½ cups plain flour
• Red and green food colouring
• Chocolate spread or cream, for sandwiching

1. Whisk the egg, sugar and vanilla until thick and pale. Beat in the oil a little at a time.
2. Sift the flour with the baking powder, add it to the egg mixture and knead to a dough.
3. Split the dough in two. Colour one half red and the other green, adding a little extra flour if it turns sticky.
4. Roll the dough into very small balls and space them out in a non-stick frying pan lined with baking paper. Set the pan over a heat diffuser on a low flame, cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
5. When cool, sandwich one green and one red cookie together with chocolate spread or cream.

Oven-baked watermelon cookies

• 200g plain flour
• 10g cornflour
• 100g sugar
• 70g butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 20g milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp vanilla
• Red and green food colouring
• Icing sugar, for rolling

1. Heat the oven to 170°C. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light, then beat in the egg and milk.
2. Sift the flour, cornflour and baking powder together and fold them in.
3. Split the dough, colour one half red and one half green, and chill for an hour so it is less sticky.
4. Roll into small balls, coat them in icing sugar and set them on a lined baking tray.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Iced watermelon cookies

• 600g plain flour
• 300g butter, softened
• 200g icing sugar for the dough
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• For the royal icing: 1 egg white, 150g icing sugar, a drop of vanilla, 2 drops of lemon juice, cornflour as needed, and red and green colouring

1. Beat the butter and icing sugar until light, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
2. Sift in the flour and baking powder a little at a time and mix to a smooth dough. Cover and chill for an hour.
3. Roll the dough out between two sheets of cling film and cut half-moons or your own shapes.
4. Bake at 160°C for about 20 minutes, until golden. Let them cool on the tray.
5. Whisk the egg white with the lemon juice and vanilla until foamy, then beat in the icing sugar until the whisk leaves a trail. Colour it red and green, pipe the flesh and rind onto each cookie and dot on seeds.

Iced cookies keep well, so they can be made a few days ahead.

Shop the kit

Everything for a plate of watermelon cookies.

Adapted from recipes published by Digikala Mag.

The frying-pan version cooks in about 20 minutes, with no oven at all.