If the person whose heart you hope to win is not a fan of chocolate, try the exotic flavors of the Middle East instead. Stir that special person’s heart with a combination of freshly brewed Turkish coffee, fragrant ground cardamom and golden toasted nuts. The following recipe, which combines these alluring ingredients into a cookie, has been adapted from Israeli chef Pine Giron, the proprietor of the Cooking Culinary Center.

Turkish Coffee, Cardamom and Nut Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon Elite Instant Turkish Ground Coffee with Cardamom
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 egg yolks
• Whole blanched almonds, pistachios or walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 320°F.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a food processor except for the whole almonds, pistachios or walnuts.
3. Place the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes.
4. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
5. Roll out the dough on a surface sprinkled with flour.
6. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.
7. Place the cookies on the cookie sheet.
8. Press whole almonds, walnuts or pistachios into each cookie.
9. Bake for 18 minutes.