I made these delicious homemade cookies as part of a Persian/Moroccan feast I had for friends, but they'd be perfect any time. They're simple to make, the only help I needed was a rubber spatula to blend the orange rind and ground saffron into the softened butter.I hadn't planned on making them when I put together my menu, but I had oranges and saffron, and the recipe looked so simple I decided to try them. I was glad I did. We enjoyed their delicate and exotic flavor.

1 stick unsalted butter- softened2 pinches saffron threads - finely ground1/2 tablespoon orange rind1/3 cup sugar2 large egg yolks1 1/8 cups all purpose flourLeave the butter out to soften. Grind saffron threads to powder. Place the softened butter in a large bowl. Work the ground saffron and orange rind into the butter. Blend in the sugar. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, blending well. Add the flour, form into a soft ball of dough. Don't over mix. Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.Get dough out of refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Break off a piece of dough and roll into 3/4" balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (they don't spread much so you can put them fairly close together). Press tops down with tines of a fork. Bake 12-15 minutes, until edges begin to brown. Cool on rack. Store in airtight container.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.Click here to print this recipe

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