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Shekerbura is an Azerbaijani nut-filled pastry shaped like a half-moon, with a tender sour cream dough around ground almonds, sugar, and cardamom. This baked version takes about 85 minutes and makes 18.
There’s something about the first one out of the oven. The kitchen smells like warm cardamom and toasted almonds. The crust gives with a soft crack.
Shekerbura sits at the center of the Novruz table, the spring new year celebrated around March 20 to 21. It shares space with pakhlava and a pot of strong black tea.
One thing goes wrong most often: too much filling. Go past 1 level tablespoon and the seam splits in the oven, leaking sugar onto the pan. Keep it level and you’re fine.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Dough comes together by hand in about 10 minutes
- Four-ingredient filling needs no cooking or toasting
- Baked pastries keep 5 days at room temperature
- Bakes at 180 C / 350 F in 18 to 20 minutes
Ingredient Notes
- ground almonds: Use blanched almond flour, or grind blanched almonds with 1 tbsp of the sugar until fine and sandy. Ground hazelnuts or walnuts also work at the same weight.
- sour cream: Full-fat gives the softest dough. Thick plain Greek yogurt works at the same weight but tastes tangier.
- unsalted butter: Keep it cold from the fridge and cut it into 1 cm cubes so it rubs into the flour quickly.
- ground cardamom: Grind green cardamom seeds fresh if you can. Pre-ground loses its scent after a few months in the pantry.
- egg yolk: One goes into the dough and one into the glaze. Save the whites for meringues or an omelet.
Baked Azerbaijani Shekerbura: Nut-Filled Pastry Crescents
Ingredients
Method
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and powdered sugar in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mix looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-size bits. Add the dough yolk and sour cream, then mix with a fork and finish by hand for about 1 minute, just until the dough holds together. It will be soft. Shape it into a disk, wrap it, and chill for 30 minutes.
- While the dough chills, stir the almonds, sugar, cardamom, and water in a small bowl until the filling clumps when you squeeze it. Divide it into 18 portions of about 15 g (1 level tablespoon each) and roll each into a ball.
- Heat the oven to 180 C / 350 F and line two 33 x 46 cm / 13 x 18 inch sheet pans with parchment. Roll half the dough on a lightly floured surface to 4 mm thick, keeping the other half in the fridge. Cut 9 cm / 3.5-inch rounds with the cutter. Re-roll the scraps once.
- Set a filling ball in the center of each round and fold the dough over into a half-moon. Press the edge shut with your thumb, pushing out trapped air. Pinch a pattern along the curved edge with clean tweezers or press fork tines along the seam. Place the pastries 2.5 cm / 1 inch apart on the pans, about 9 per pan.
- Whisk the glaze yolk with the milk and brush a thin layer over each pastry. Bake both pans for 18 to 20 minutes, swapping their positions at the 10-minute mark, until the bottoms and edges are light golden brown.
- Cool the shekerbura on the pans for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Bake until the bottoms and edges are light golden brown, usually 18 to 20 minutes at 180 C / 350 F.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Warm dough sticks and the pinched pattern loses its shape.
- Use one level tablespoon of filling, about 15 g, per pastry.
- Re-roll the scraps only once to keep the dough tender.
Tips for Success
- Keep the butter cold and cubed so the dough bakes up short and tender instead of chewy.
- Roll half the dough at a time and return the rest to the fridge so it stays easy to handle.
- Measure the filling by the level tablespoon, about 15 g, so each pastry seals cleanly and bakes at the same pace.
- Press the edges together with your thumb and push out trapped air before you crimp or pinch the pattern.
- Brush the glaze on in a thin layer and wipe pooled yolk from the grooves so the pattern stays sharp.
Variations
- Swap the almonds for ground walnuts and add 1 extra tablespoon of sugar for a deeper, slightly bitter filling.
- Stir 1 teaspoon of rosewater into the filling along with the water for a light floral note.
- Cut 6 cm rounds for bite-size pastries, use half a tablespoon of filling each, and bake 12 to 14 minutes.
Storage and Reheating
Store cooled shekerbura in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, with parchment between layers. The filling is dry, so they don’t need the fridge.
For longer storage, freeze baked pastries in a single layer for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature for 1 hour. To refresh them, warm on a sheet pan at 150 C / 300 F for 5 minutes, which brings back the crisp edge. You can also freeze shaped, unglazed pastries for up to 1 month, then glaze and bake from frozen at 180 C / 350 F for 22 to 25 minutes.
For make-ahead, wrap the dough and chill it up to 24 hours, then let it sit 10 minutes at room temperature before rolling. The filling keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Serving Suggestions
Serve shekerbura with strong black tea, ideally in small pear-shaped glasses. Pour it hot and keep the sugar bowl nearby, since the pastry is only lightly sweet.
For a Novruz-style spread, set them on a platter with pakhlava, dried apricots, and a bowl of jam. They also work on a coffee tray, and a plain 9 cm round stacked in a tin makes a good gift.
FAQ
Why did my shekerbura split open in the oven?
Too much filling is the usual cause. Use one level tablespoon, about 15 g, per 9 cm round, and press the edge shut with your thumb while pushing out trapped air. A seam that’s thin or dusty with flour can also open, so brush off excess flour before sealing.
Can I use hazelnuts or walnuts instead of almonds in shekerbura?
Yes, swap in 150 g of finely ground hazelnuts or walnuts, and keep the sugar and cardamom the same. Walnuts taste slightly more bitter, so I add 1 extra tablespoon of sugar. Grind the nuts fine so the filling packs into a smooth ball.
Can I freeze shekerbura before baking?
Yes. Shape the pastries and skip the glaze, freeze them on a tray for 1 hour, then bag them for up to 1 month. Glaze and bake straight from frozen at 180 C / 350 F for 22 to 25 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are light golden brown.
How do I make shekerbura dairy free?
Use 150 g firm vegan butter, 120 g unsweetened plain dairy-free yogurt in place of the sour cream, and oat milk in the glaze. The dough turns out slightly softer and less rich, so chill it the full 30 minutes before rolling.
What’s traditionally served with shekerbura at Novruz?
Strong black tea is the standard, often poured into small pear-shaped glasses. On the Novruz table, shekerbura sits alongside pakhlava and shorgogal, a spiced savory pastry. Dried fruit and jam round out the plate.
What is the difference between shekerbura and pakhlava?
Shekerbura is a single sealed half-moon of tender dough around ground nuts. Pakhlava is built from many thin layers with nuts between them and cut into diamonds. Both appear on the Novruz table, but shekerbura is much quicker to make at home.
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