Ghraybey_Middle Eastern Butter Cookies

Tags

butter cookies, cookies, Dessert, ghraybeh, ghreybeh, middle eastern, shortbread, بسكويت الزبده, غريبه

Delicate, buttery shortbread cookies, a special occasion treats in many middle eastern countries.

Ghraybeh [ghray-beh] or ghreybey is a soft middle eastern butter cookie garnished with pistachios, and it is also referred to sometimes as a sugar cookie or wedding cakes. It is so soft and delicious, due to its abundance in butter ghee and powder sugar, has a distinctive smooth taste that melts in your mouth in seconds.

It is popular in many Middle Eastern countries, especially in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, and the Gulf region. It is also popular in Turkey, Morocco and Greece.

To make Ghraybeh, the dough is first prepared by creaming butter ghee (sometimes use half butter half margarine) with powder sugar, mix in flour and a hint of rosewater or orange blossom water, but you can add vanilla if you like. Small pieces of dough are then cut and rolled by hand to form circular shapes. Whole pistachio pieces are added for garnish, and the dough is baked on medium temperature for 10 minutes. They must remain pale, almost white, to keep their delicious taste and tender.

The cookies come in many shapes - rounds, crescents, diamonds, or S shapes.
It is a cookie best served with coffee or tea.

Ghraybey_Middle Eastern Butter Cookies

1/2 cup sugar confectioner
1/2 cup butter
about 1 1/4 cup sifted cake flour, you may need more
1\2 teaspoon rosewater or orange blossom water(optional)
almonds, pistachios, or pine nuts

Cream the butter and beat in the sugar for about 3-4 min. Until it is smooth cream, add the rosewater.
Gradually, mix in the flour, with hands, mix well until combined, the dough should be soft and pliable when shaped into a ball. If required add 1 -2 tablespoon of flour.
Cover the dough and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. heat the oven to 300 f.

Take a small amount of the dough, the size of walnut, roll in your hands and shape into a ball, then flatten slightly with your balm, in the middle press a pistachio nut into the dough. Arrange them on a baking sheet a little apart from each other bake for 10 min.

Do not let them overcook, they must remain white. Let them cool completely before you try to move them.

Anise-Scented Fig and Date Swirls

Tags

anise, Anise cookies, cookie dough, cookies, cream cheese, dried dates, Dried fig, Fruit cookis, Spice cookies, swirl cookies, turbinado sugar

Soft, delectable, sweet cookies touched by the sweet flavor of anise wraped wonderfully of healthful filling of fig and date.

If you want a rating for these cookies, I’ll give 10/10. Yes, can’t believe how delicious these cookies are, all together from the filling to the dough layers.

Another successful recipe from The Gourmet Cookie Book. I made before Biscotti di Regina.

When my son’s 3rd grade class was planning to make bake sale week to collect money for the zoo trip. They were divided into two groups; one to design and sell cards of some zoo animals, and the other making cookies and goods for the bake sale. My son was so excited to be with the bake sale group so he will join me to make some cookies. I searched for a good and healthy cookie recipe to make for the kids, when I found it, I knew this is the one.

You can’t go wrong with the date and fig when it comes to nutrition, which are within the most food rich in fibers and nutrients. To make the filling, it’s better to use a food processor to purée the figs and dates and don’t forget to trim the stems from the figs before pureeing.

The cookie dough is so rich, I used cream cheese to give more extra flavors and yield to soft crunch that will melt in your mouth. The anise will add a pleasant sweet taste to the dough, and usually the taste complement better with fig and date. When making the dough, if it becomes too soft while rolling, chill it in the fridge until it is firm. This also will make it easy when you spread the filling, also make sure to Leave 1/4 inch border when spreading the filling.

Another good advantage, before baking and slicing, you could keep the logs chilled up to a week in the fridge, or freeze for a month, if you see that the amount of the cookies is too much. After baking ke ep the cookies in airtight container to keep up soft and fresh up to a week.

Anise-Scented Fig and Date Swirls

1 cup packed soft dried figs stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 cup packed pitted dates  trimmed and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons anise seeds, ground in an electric coffee/spice grinder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup granulated raw sugar such as turbinado or Demerara

Purée figs and dates with milk and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a blender or food processor until almost smooth.

Whisk together flour, anise, baking powder and soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter, cream cheese, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at moderate speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla and yolk until combined well. Add flour mixture and mix at low speed until just combined.

Halve dough and form each half into a rectangle. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.

Roll out 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 9 by 7 inch rectangle, about 1/3 inch thick. Remove top sheet of wax paper and drop half of fig mixture by spoonfuls onto dough, then gently spread in an even layer, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges. Starting with a long side and using wax paper as an aid, roll up dough jelly-roll style into a log. Roll log in raw sugar to coat completely. Make another log in same manner. Chill logs, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut logs crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices and arrange slices about 2 inches apart on lightly buttered baking sheets. Bake in batches in middle of oven until pale golden, 15 to 17 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool.

Eton Mess and Any Time for Treats

Tags

berry sauce, Dessert, Easy dessert, egg white, Eton mess, fast dessert, Meringue, Meringue cookies, whipping cream

Now, let’s clear this. Sometimes it’s not necessary to spend time making an impressive dessert when your organs urgently shiver demanding a sugar shot.

even if you are looking forward to your guests with unstinting enthusiasm, you may suddenly think that a chapter devoted to making dessert after preparing a good night dinner is going to complicate your life.

But no, it’s precisely intended to make it easier.

The name eton mess does’nt mean mess as not good, it’s an accidental creation of a dessert. That has been told that the name came when Eton college player crushed a picnic basket filled with cream, meringue, and struaberry sauce, those ingredient came together in a complimentary messy dessert.

Eton Mess is a lightly sweet, old-fashioned British dessert made by blending whipped cream with freshly crushed berries and crisp meringue. It’s simple and convenient dessert that you can do the ingredient a time ahead, then assemble once you want to serve. And to make it more easy and fast preparing dessert you may use store-bought meringues instead of homemade.

The most challengeable step in making eton mess is making the meringue. The key to making meringue cookies is beating the egg whites. Here are some tips on the best way to achieve a good meringue cookies:

1. Start with egg whites at room temperature.

2. Be sure the bowl and beaters are spotlessly clean, especially from oil. Clean the bowl occasionally with lemon juice or white vinegar to prevent any film of oil from developing on the surface.

3. Do not use aluminum or plastic bowls.

4. Be sure the eggs are at the soft peak stage before adding sugar. And be sure the egg whites look white, not yellow. At the soft peak stage, egg whites are shiny and when you lift the beater, the whites lift up and then rather gracefully curve over slightly

5. Do not beat the eggs too quickly. This may be the most common mistake, and the one that causes meringues to deflate. When you whip whites at a high speed, both large and small air bubbles form and the large ones burst‚ which causes flattening.

6. Meringues crack when they cool too quickly. Leave them in the oven after baking (with the oven turned off) to slow the cooling process and help avoid the cracks

Meringue Cookies:

3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup superfine or caster sugar (if you don’t have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30 seconds in a food processor)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (105 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of your oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks.

Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract. (Note: The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.)

Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding. Then, using two spoons or decoration bag, place 10 equal sized mounds of meringue onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying overnight.

Meringue Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for several days.

Mascarponi Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/2 cup mascarponi cheese at room temperature

In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, mascarponi, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. If not using right away, cover and place in the refrigerator. (The whipped cream can be made several hours in advance.)

berry Sauce:

1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup mixwd berry fresh or frozen (raspberry, blueberry, blackberry)
4 tablespoons granulated white sugar, or to taste

Place about one third of the strawberries in your food processor and process until just pureed. Alternatively, you can crush them with a potato masher or fork. Add the frozen berry mix along with pureed strauberry in a pot at low heat. Sprinkle the granulated white sugar over the berries, stir to combine and cook for 15 minutes. Cut the rest of the strawberries into bite size pieces and add to the cooked berries.(can be made about one hour before assembling the Eton Mess).

To assemble the Eton Mess: Break meringue cookies into bite size pieces. Then fold the strawberries and meringue cookies into the whipped cream. Place in pretty dessert bowls or long stemmed glasses. Serve immediately.

Biscotti di Regina

Tags

biscotti, biscotti di regina, Biscuit, Cookie, italian cookies, Sesame, tea time

The queen’s biscotti, it’s a Sicilian cookies, a cake-like covered with sesame seeds and slightly sweet, very good companion with tea or coffee.

Despite it’s italian originality, I grew up enjoying these cookies, having them on breakfast with a cup of chocolate milk, is the world’s best morning treat I had before going to school. Almost every day, my dad used to wake up very early in the morning, hit the humus stand to bring us a plate of humus for breakfast before we going to school, on his way he also brought us a very warm pita bread and some of these biscotti freshly baked from the nearby bakery shop. Until now, every time I went home, my dad knows whats to bring us for breakfast that even my kids enjoy it too.

Qorshalli b’simsim, that’s the name in arabic. These are not too sweet and cake like in the inside, crunchy from the outside and covered with wonderful toasted sesame seeds. The vanilla flavour has its own act with these cookies, and on top of all of that they are so easy to make.

A few months ago, while searching the library, I came around with the Gourmet magazine cookie book, I noticed these cookies and decided to try. To be honest, they came up very delicious like the one’s my dad used to bring, but these are more cake like or more soft from inside, the flavor is the same.
These cookies can be in many shapes. The one from the bakery shop in Palestine make them a fingers shapes or thick sticks.
Don’t forget to enjoy these cookies in the evening tea time too, they are a good companion with tea.

Biscotti di Regina (Queen’s Biscuits)

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
5 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 pound sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 450°
Cream butter add 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and add gradually milk and vanilla extract.
Sift together into a bowl flour, salt, and baking powder. Make a hollow in the center and gradually work in the butter-sugar mixture. If the dough seems too dry, add more milk.

Shape the dough into a ball and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Wash and drain well sesame seeds.
Break off pieces of the chilled dough the size of walnuts and flatten them slightly between the palms.

Roll the biscuits in the sesame seeds and bake them on a cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart in a hot oven (450° F.) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Makes 5 dozen biscuits.