It’s a simple shortbread bar filled with jam and topped with pasta like strudel. I don’t know exactly where it originated, but I can tell you we Palestinians make it all the time. It’s loved equally by adults and children. I hope you get to try it, and be sure to save this recipe for Ramadan, it’s delicious after iftar or for suhoor.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tbs. Vanilla extract nonalcoholic
- 1 tbs. Anise, ground
- 1/8 tsp. Nutmeg, ground
- 4 cups flour + 4 tbs.
- 2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/8 tsp. Baking soda
- 18 ounce Jam any flavor, I used raspberry
Instructions
- 1-preheat oven to 350F.
- 2-in a mixing bowl add 1 cup of sugar, oil, 4 eggs and vanilla. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
- 3-add 1 tablespoon of anise and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg and beat to incorporate.
- 4-add the flour 1 cup at a time while beating, make sure to scrape the bowl in between.
- 5- when adding the last cup of flour add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda. Beat until all the flour is in the dough.
- 6- now comes the tricky part sometimes you might need the extra flour and sometimes you don’t, depending on the quality of the flour and the season. I like to let the dough rest in the fridge for 10 minutes before deciding, add 1 tbs. At a time in this case I used 4tbs. You know it’s perfect when the dough doesn’t stick to the spatula.
- 7-spread a little bit over 2/3 of the dough evenly on the bottom of a baking sheet (13×18 inch) spread the jam then top with the grated dough using a cheese grater.
- 8-bake for 25 minutes on the bottom shelf then 10 minutes on top shelf or until golden.
- 9-let cool before cutting into bars, I like to use a pizza cutter.
- 10-store in an airtight tight container at room temperature.
Notes
- When grating the dough if you notice it’s becoming a bit sticky add a little bit more flour.