Sablés (Short crust biscuits with Jam)

Ingredients: makes 25 pieces

125g cold butter cubed

125g icing sugar

250g plain flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 – 2 tbsp cold water

1 jar strawberry jam

Icing sugar

Steps:

1.   Put flour, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla and baking powder in food processor and blitz it until mixture texture is similar to sand. Rub all ingredients using both hands to get similar results.

2.   Add the egg and 1 tbsp of cold water and blitz again few times. Don’t over do it though.

3.   At this stage, the dough should starting blending as a ball at the sides of the mixing bowl. If you touch it, it should have a soft but crumbly consistency

4.   Take dough out of food processor, dust some flour over it and rest for 15 to 30mn. Roll to 3 mm thickness and cut out circles like on the picture.

5.   Bake in a preheated oven 180°C for 7 to 10mn

6.   Leave to cool down then dust the hollow circles with icing sugar.

7.   Sandwich the two circles with some strawberry Jam or any other jam of your choice

Mchouek مشوك (Almond spiky macaroons)

Ingredients: makes 40 pieces
3 cups ground almonds

1 cup caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

Vanilla essence

3 eggs separated

1 extra whole egg

1- 2 cups almond flakes

Steps:

1.      In deep bowl, mix the almond powder, sugar, lemon zest, sugar and vanilla.

2.      Slowly add the egg whites and mix using your hands. You should a get a firm but wet and sticky mixture.

3.      Take pieces of a size of a walnut and roll into balls

4.      Add the whole egg to the egg yolks and beat in a small ball. Dip few ball at a time in the egg mixture.

5.      Roll into the almond flakes.

6.      Put into baking cases. Top up with half glace cherry and bake in a preheated oven (180°C) for 10 to 15mn.





Maamool معمول (Semolina cookies filled with dates)

Ingredients: makes 35 pieces
3 cups fine semolina

2 cups plain flour

1 cup melted butter

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup icing sugar (dough)

½ cup icing sugar (dusting)

½ cup milk or less

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp baking powder

250g pitted dates


Steps:

1.      Melt the butter, leave it to cool down. Mix the semolina, flour, oil butter, sugar, salt, baking powder until all ingredients are well blended.

2.      Add milk and knead gently. You should get a soft and crumbly consistency. Leave to rest for ½ hour.

3.      Meanwhile try to make the pitted date into a soft paste. You could use the microwave to warm it (2mn). Then knead it into a soft bowl. You could also use a mini chopper to reach the same result. Add 1 tbsp of cinnamon for a nice flavour.

4.      Stuff walnut size dough balls with smaller dates’ balls. I used a special Maamool mould to give it a nice design. You can also flatten the

Stuffed balls and use a fork or a knife to give a nice design.

5.      Bake in a preheated oven 180°C for 10 to 20mn until lightly golden.

Light biscuits with chocolate topping

Ingredients: makes 35 pieces
125g cold butter cubed

½ cup icing sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla powder

1 tbsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 cups corn flour

½ - 1 cup plain flour

Cooking chocolate

Steps:

1.   Using hands, mix butter, sugar, salt, egg, vanilla and baking powder in a deep bowl until mixture is smooth.

2.   Add the corn flour and mix; add the flour until you have nice soft dough.

3.   Take walnut size ball, roll them and put them on a baking tray. Using the back of a fork flatten the ball to give a nice design.

Bake in a preheated oven 180°C for 10 to 20mn until lightly golden.

4.   Leave biscuits to cool down. Dip half of every biscuit in melted cooking chocolate and lay on a tray covered with aluminium foil and leave to set preferably in a cold area

Garn Ghazal قرن غزال (Almond crescents)

Ingredients: makes 35 pieces

Dough:

3 cups plain white flour

1 cup melted butter

½ cup icing sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

Some orange blossom water

Filling:

3 cups almond powder

1 cup caster sugar

1 tbsp melted butter

½ cup orange blossom water

More icing sugar for topping

Steps:

1.   Mix flour, sugar, butter, salt and baking powder then add orange blossom water to obtain soft but firm dough. Knead until smooth and leave to rest for 15mn

2.   Take walnut size dough balls and roll as in the picture. Take roughly 1 tsp of the filling and spread as a snake in the middle of the oval shape dough.

3.   Slowly fold the dough over the filling in your direction. You might roll as you go along.

4.   Pinch the edge of the snake where the dough ends to avoid the filling from escaping.

5.   Turn it until the smooth side is facing up and shape it as a crescent. Place on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven 180°C for 10 to 20mn until lightly golden.

6.   As soon as they are cooked dust with icing sugar and leave to cool down before removing them from the baking tray.







Mushroom cookies

Ingredients:

125 g unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 icing sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups cornflour

1 cup plain flour, all purpose

1 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp cocoa powder

Steps:

1. Cream the sugar with butter using a small egg whisker, then add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk. Add the cornflour, and then mix with your hand. Gradually add the flour and baking powder, knead. You will have very soft dough.
2. Let stand for 5 minutes, and then make chestnut sized balls with your hands. Put parchment paper on an oven tray and arrange them on it.

3. Place cocoa in a small bowl and pour 1 tbsp water in another small bowl. Wash and dry a glass soda bottle. Soak the rim of the bottle into the water, and then dust it with cocoa. Press the rim of the bottle lightly on the dough . Finish them all. Wipe the rim of the bottle with tissue paper every 3-4 times.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. Arrange them on the wire rack so they cool down.

 

Jammy bars الهوا و الريح

This is one of my childhood favourite biscuits, and I think that I am keeping the traditions alive because my boys are very fond of eating it and also making it with me. It is quite an easy biscuit to prepare with children: my boys find grating the dough quite fun. I have known this biscuit under the name ‘lhwa wa reeh’ meaning ‘the air and the wind’ in Arabic. It is probably a reference to it’s easiness, easy like air…
My friend from Algiers calls it ‘Qataa warmi’ meaning ‘cut and throw’ because she doesn’t grate the dough but covers the top with tiny pieces of dough, a bit like a cobbler. She also calls her version ‘louz bla louz’ meaning ‘almonds without almonds’ referring to the rich taste that will make you think there is some almond’s powder in the dough which obviously is not the case.

Last story about it (I promise) is that it is a popular children’s treat in Bosnia known as Lazy pie (no need to explain this one…)

So, if you want to have some fun baking as a beginner or baking with children, this one is for you!!!

Ingredients:

250g butter or margarine
200g icing sugar
500 g plain four
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
Jar of your favourite Jam (450g)

Steps:

 

1.      In a big mixing bowl, put the four, baking powder and sugar. On top of that grate the butter (use a cheese grater) or cut it into small pieces

2.      Rub the butter into the four and sugar until you have no lumps and the mixture looks like bread crumbs.

3.      Add the 2 beaten eggs. Mix with the rest of the ingredients to get a firm and soft dough. Divide into 2 halves and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

4.      Spread the first half on a rectangular deep baking tray (I take small pieces of dough and stick them beside each other)

5.      Empty the jar of jam on top of the dough and spread evenly. Be careful that no jam touches the edges of the baking tray as it will burn during the cooking.

6.      Evenly grate the 2^nd half of the dough on the top of the jam layer

7.      Bake in a preheated oven (200°C) for about 30 minutes or until cooked and surface is golden.

8.      leave to cool down and cut into squares, triangles or rectangles