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Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies)
Round, patterned cookies of wholewheat and white flour enriched with ghee and scented with cardamom and cinnamon, filled with date paste spiced with black lime and baked golden to eat with Arabic coffee.
Saudi · medium · serves 20
prep 45 min · cook 15 min · plus 1 h hands-off time
~243 cal · 4g protein · 31g carbs · 12g fat · 2g fiber · 10g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kleija is the signature sweet of Qassim, the date-growing heart of Najd north of Riyadh, and the region is said to be the largest producer of it in the Gulf. It has been made there for about a century, and every year Buraydah holds a kleija festival at its date market that draws tens of thousands of visitors. In 2024 it was chosen for UNESCO's Creative Cities "Breads" project.
Despite its name it is quite different from the Iraqi kleicha. The dough is made of wholewheat and white flour enriched with and milk, and seasoned with and cinnamon. It is rolled into rounds, filled with date paste flavoured with and dried black lime, and pressed on a metal grid or with a stamp to pattern the top before baking. Other fillings use sugar, date molasses, nuts or coconut.
Kleija keeps well, and it is a sweet for guests: set out with and small cups of -scented Arabic coffee.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 20
- 250 g wholewheat flour
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground (for the dough)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 200 g , melted (for the dough)
- 150 ml warm milk, plus a little more if needed
- 300 g date paste
- 1 tbsp (for the filling)
- 1/2 tsp ground (for the filling)
- 1/2 tsp dried black lime (loomi), ground
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds (for the filling), optional
- 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
Instructions
- 1Mix both flours with the yeast, salt, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric in a large bowl. Pour in the melted ghee and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture looks like damp sand.
- 2Add the warm milk gradually and knead for about 10 minutes into a soft, smooth, supple dough, adding a spoonful more milk if it is crumbly. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour, until puffy.
- 3Meanwhile, make the filling: knead the date paste with the ghee, cardamom, black lime and sesame seeds, if using, until smooth, then roll it into 20 small balls.
- 4Heat the oven to 200 C and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Divide the dough into 20 balls. Flatten each into a round about 8 cm across, set a date ball in the middle, bring the dough up around it and pinch it closed, then press it flat into a disc about 1 cm thick, seam side down.
- 5Pattern the tops by pressing them with a kleija stamp, a clean wire rack or the tines of a fork, and set them on the sheets. Brush with the beaten egg.✎ Chef’s noteThe pattern is the traditional finish and helps the tops brown evenly.
- 6Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a rack. They keep for two weeks in an airtight tin; serve with Arabic coffee and dates.
Qassim tradition, Saudi Arabia.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Riyadh. Which dish is national is not actually settled. Kabsa is what most people would name, but in 2023 the Saudi Culinary Arts Commission declared jareesh, crushed wheat cooked down with meat and yoghurt, to be the national dish instead. Kabsa's own origins are sometimes traced to Yemen, and it appears round the Gulf as machboos or majboos.
🗺️
Saudi Arabia. Coffee here is a ceremony with rules. Qahwa is lightly roasted, cardamom-heavy, pale rather than dark, poured from a dallah into small handleless cups filled only part way, and refilled until the guest shakes the cup. Dates come with it, and the pairing is offered before any conversation about business begins.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Saudi Arabia
KabsaSpiced rice cooked in aromatic broth with chicken, dried lime, and a whole-spice perfume, heaped high for sharing.
MasabibSoft, holey yeasted pancakes drenched in date syrup or honey, a Hejazi and Saudi breakfast.
MutabbaqA thin folded pastry stuffed with spiced minced meat and egg, griddled crisp, a favorite Saudi street snack.
Browse all Saudi Arabia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Mould or tin.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
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AreekaDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies)?
Round, patterned cookies of wholewheat and white flour enriched with ghee and scented with cardamom and cinnamon, filled with date paste spiced with black lime and baked golden to eat with Arabic coffee.
Where does Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies) come from?
Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies) is a Saudi dish from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Can Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kleija (Qassim Date-Filled Cookies) take to make?
About 2 h in all: 45 minutes prep and 15 minutes cooking, plus 1 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 20.
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