Description
Traditional Egyptian buttery cookies with a delicate pistachio-honey filling, lightly spiced, and dusted with powdered sugar, perfect for Eid and festive occasions.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon dry yeast
- 1 cup ghee, room temperature
- ⅓ cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon ghee or butter (for filling)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (for filling)
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (for filling)
- ¼ cup honey (for filling)
- ½ cup coarsely ground pistachios (for filling)
- ½ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, toasted sesame seeds, and dry yeast.
- Add room-temperature ghee and mix until mixture resembles damp sand.
- Gradually add warm water while mixing until a soft dough forms. Cover and rest 1 hour at room temperature.
- Prepare filling: melt ghee or butter in a small saucepan, add flour and stir until golden.
- Remove from heat, stir in sesame seeds and honey, return to low heat, and stir until thickened.
- Fold in ground pistachios. Cool 10 minutes, then shape into 20 small balls.
- Divide rested dough into 20 equal portions. Flatten each portion, place a filling ball in center, seal, and roll into smooth ball.
- Press dough into Maamoul mold or create decorative pattern with fork.
- Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20–25 minutes until bottoms are golden.
- Cool completely on wire rack and dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- Plain Kahk: omit filling and dust with powdered sugar.
- Date-Filled Kahk: replace pistachio filling with 1 cup date paste divided into balls.
- Turkish Delight Filling: use small cubes of vanilla Turkish delight.
- Agameya Filling: honey-based filling without nuts.
- Mixed Nut Filling: replace pistachios with finely ground walnuts or almonds.
- Room temperature storage: 2–3 weeks; refrigerate up to 1 month; freeze up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: undefined
- Category: Dessert / Cookie
- Method: Mixing, Resting, Baking
- Cuisine: Egyptian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 197 kcal
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 20 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
