Sunday, June 17, 2007

better-the-next-day cookies

these cookies are somewhat like the very popular mexican wedding cake type cookies or the greek kourabiedes, the exception being that they contain no eggs and include semolina. the semolina gives the cookies a different texture, one which is a little chewy. much much better the next day, these are very easy to make and great with strong coffee or tea.

called kurabiyeh, a turkish (or perhaps arabic, too) word for just "cookies" these are typically coated with icing sugar, a very common practice in many mediterranean countries. my siblings and i used to call these 'crabby' cookies because of the name — however after a few of them, you certainly weren't crabby but more happy from all the sugar :D. they probably made our parents crabby as there was always icing sugar all over our clothes and the floor! don't forget your plate or napkin when you eat these.


semolina kurabiyeh (cookies)

perfect with coffee or tea, these cookies taste even better the day after you make them. the semolina, which gives them a bit of a chewier texture, seems to relax a bit producing a firmer textured cookie.

makes approx. 24 kurabiyeh

ingredients:

1 c AP flour or cake flour, or 50/50 mix
1/2 c semolina
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

1 c pistachios or other nuts, chopped

1 tbsp orange flower or rose water, optional
1/4 lb margarine or butter
2 tbsp oil

icing sugar, to coat cookies
1 tbsp finely ground pistachios, to garnish (opt)

method:

preheat oven to 325 F and lightly grease baking sheet.

mix dry ingredients together.

add nuts and mix everything.

cut butter or margarine into cubes and add oil. add the orange flower or rose water, if using.

with your hands, mix everything until it is crumbly. test by taking some of the mixture and squeezing it together. it should clump. if it does not, add a bit more oil. the mixture should be dryish.

make your shapes, either round or oval. it's about 1 generous tbsp for each cookie.

place on a baking sheet which has been lightly oiled leaving space between each cookie as they will expand some as they bake.

bake for only 20 minutes and remove from oven. let cool completely. don't move them before or they will break.

once cool, coat them in icing sugar. let them sit overnight. they taste better the next day and will harden up. they will be too "chewy" on the same day of making them.

after coating with the icing sugar, you can put about 1/8 tsp of ground pistachio powder on top to garnish each cookie (i ran out of pistachios when i made these!) to make them fancier.


enjoy!


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh, they look so good, I HAVE to make them. The best part is there is no beating the butter, just mix it all by hand...I can do that. I will and let you know the results.

BTW, can you include a print this recipe button or something, so it is easier to print a recipe, without the photos. I usually have a printout for reference when cooking/baking, although I don't follow it exactly.

burekaboy — said...

hi vidya - thanks for the comment and suggestion .... i had actually, earlier on, thought about adding a print button to make things easier. first, i have to figure out how! :P i will look into it.

as for the cookies, yes, i like the fact that it's all done by hand and no mixer involved. it's a very quick to prepare recipe. it's also very good for putting in whatever kind of nuts or flavourings you like. as always, will be interested in seeing/hearing what you do and how yours turn out.

Emily DeVoto, Ph.D., said...

Wow! They just look, and sound, wonderful.

Once again, you have surpassed yourself, BB...

burekaboy — said...

thanks em :D

i won't say no to such a nice compliment :))

Viji said...

I admire your presentation always. With step by step photos. I could not do for all my recipes. This one looks so yummy. You enjoy your cooking I believe. Have a nice weekend. Viji

Zofia said...

WOW!
I have just found your blog. It is one of the best ever cooking blogs I have ever seen. I love the pictures as they go step by step and I can see the cooking process. I am very impressed. All the food looks sooo yummy! I don't know what else to write, just wanted to say how amazed I am and really love your blog! Toda raba Zofia (Singapore)

burekaboy — said...

viji - thank you for your kind words -- it is, in reality, a lot of work but as i enjoy it, it doesn't seem like "work" per se. hopefully, i will be able to continue to do so.

hi zofia - b'vakashah -- welcome; i'm glad to see you found your way here and enjoyed what you've seen. thank you for taking the time to tell what you think; it is much appreciated on my part. hope to see you again in the future :)

Nafeesah said...

Okay so I've come to write on this cookie again :) actually I did it twice already but both times I dont think my entry went thru ..lol..

I'm wondering whether these cookies will be dry BB? so far almost all of the cookies that have called for so much semolina always ask for it to be soaked in some sort of syrup after or something...

I learnt one type of semolina cookie from a Moroccan friend 7 years ago. She called it Makroot and I've made it regularly for my dad, really sweet though! it makes my teeth ache lol.

The dough is of semolina and flour and ghee (or melted butter) its very pliable. They roll it out and then spread over it a paste of dates and butter. Then roll it back up swiss roll style and cut it into little disks....then fry until just barely light brown and then dunk it in a syrup.

Okay I'm gonna take a deep breath now and press the enter button even though I'm just guessing which button it is because for some reason everything on this page is showing up in Korean!! haha :))

burekaboy — said...

hi nafeesah - ha! it worked!! sorry to hear you had so many problems trying to comment. blogger is not behaving itself. i give you extra gold stars for trying to repost :D

no, the cookies aren't really dry but they are on the "dryish" side in terms of final texture. there isn't that much semolina in them so that helps.

many cookies (middle eastern type) are made with semolina and there are different granulations, too. depending on the other ingredients, usually fat content to semolina, many preparations are soaked in a syrup. that, however, is a common practice and extends from cookies to baklawah and all sorts of other deep fried pastries. not all recipes need it but it is still done.

makroud or makroot are also very common here; we have a big jewish moroccan community and many of the pastries and cookies are the same — very common at holiday time and bar mitzvahs and weddings, so i know exactly which kind you're talking about.

you also have semolina used with ma'amoul cookies but our kind never uses it. we use plain flour only and the texture is kind of like shortbread.

anyway.... call the dentist! LOL.

korean ??!! what the...??