These cookies are made in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in my mom’s home village of Baalbek, a week before Easter. They are such a hit that everyone asks for the recipe. They taste good, and they’re not hard to prepare, especially if you add the right ingredients.
Preparation Details
Prep Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 10 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 60
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds butter
- 4 cups white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 9 cups semolina flour
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup black sesame seeds
- 1 ½ tablespoons quick rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground mahleb
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- nonstick spray
- ¼ cup rose water
- ¼ cup orange flower water
- 1 cup warm water
Steps
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in sugar and water; continue stirring to dissolve sugar. Do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Measure flours into a large bowl. Add melted butter mixture, sesame seeds, yeast, cinnamon, mahleb, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and allspice; stir slowly for about 10 minutes to thoroughly blend ingredients. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave dough in the bowl to rest for 1 hour.
- Grease 3 baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Pour rose water and orange flower water into a small bowl. Pour warm water into a second small bowl.
- Transfer dough to a floured board or work surface. Pull off about 1 cup dough. Dip your fingers in warm water and knead dough for a few minutes; dip dough in flower water and knead again until dough is soft and pliable.
- Use the palm of your hand to roll dough into a rope 12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Cut rope in half and make a wreath-shaped cookie with each piece, pinching the ends together. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover cookies with a clean towel and place in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove baking sheets from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature while the oven preheats.
- Bake cookies in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
