I find the most memorable food is often the food made to be shared, and Palestinian Date Cookies (Ka’ak Asawer) fits that spirit beautifully. Some sweets are meant to be admired before the first bite, and this is certainly one of them. Its Middle Eastern roots give the recipe a sense of both comfort and occasion. Once it is in the oven, the kitchen begins to do that wonderful work of building anticipation.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo all purpose flour
- 1 cup semolina
- 1/2 cup powder milk
- 1/2 cup powder sugar
- 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup black sesame seeds
- 1/4 tsp mastic rock ground
- 1 tsp mahlab ground (wild cherry pit)
- 2 tbs anise ground
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 cup olive oil be
- 1 cup melted ghee
- 1 1/4 cup warm water depending on the flour and how much it will take to form a dough
Filling
- 1 kilo date paste
- 1 tbs cinnamon ground
- 2 tbs anise ground
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg ground (optional)
- 1 tbs olive oil or ghee
Instructions
- Mix all the dry ingredients well, add the fats to the flour mixture and rub between the palms of your hand until the dough is saturated and forming tiny balls.
- Add the water gradually while kneading with your hands until you have a sticky dough, cover and let rest for an hour.
- In the meantime prepare the filling by mixing the ingredients well and forming into slimy cylinders.
- Cut the dough into small balls and shape lengthwise, place the date cylinder and close the dough around it pushing the seems together, you then start rolling between your hands to shape into a long cylinder, form into a circle pinch and place on a baking sheet.
- After forming all your cookies bake in a 425 F preheated oven.
- Until golden from the bottom and then broil on top to get that golden color.
- Let cool completely and enjoy.
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