Ghoriba – Moroccan Butter Cookies

27

October 5, 2010 by Dana

Yesterday I got a message from my brother on Twitter.  Like any snarky caring little brother would do, he alerted me of a faux pas I had made.  Apparently, my Napolean Dynamite reference was sadly outdated.  It was seven years too late, to be precise.

Fortunately, he was able to look past my mistake.  He still voted for me.  We are family, afterall.

If you weren’t able to be as forgiving as my brother, if you couldn’t see past this gaffe, I totally understand.  If you didn’t vote for me because you were so offended by my archaic reference, I offer you this recipe to make amends.

Believe me, you are getting a good deal.  This recipe is worth far more than an apology for an outdated movie reference.  This is I’m sorry I ate the last oreo good.  I’m sorry I ruined your favorite shirt good.  I’m sorry I lost your cat good.

You don’t even have to take my word about how good they are.  This recipe made 80 cookies, so I got a lot of feedback.  Everyone at my Mediterranean Dinner Cruise, my Business Communications project group, my colleagues, my doorman, and the security guard at my school library all raved about these cookies.

If you don’t have an entire army to cook for, feel free to halve the recipe.  Or don’t, and make some new friends.

Ingredients

4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 T cinnamon and 1/6 cup toasted sesame seeds*
OR 4 T cinnamon
OR 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds*

To make these Ghoriba cookies, I combined two recipes from about.com, primarily following this one.   I decided to make 40 cinnamon cookies and 40 sesame seed cookies.  Both were delicious, so I would suggest doing the same.  But, if you have a preference, I did include directions to make a large batch of either flavor instead.

*To toast the sesame seeds, spread them on baking sheet and place in a 400° F oven for about 10 minutes, or until they have a nutty aroma and crunchy texture

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Sift together the flour and salt.  Set aside. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg yolks.  Gradually mix in the flour mixture to form a thick, stiff dough.

3. For 80 cinnamon flavored cookies, add 4 tablespoons cinnamon to the dough.  For 80 sesame seed cookies, add 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds to the dough.  For 40 cinnamon flavored cookies and 40 sesame seed cookies, split the dough into two bowls.  Add 2 tablespoons cinnamon to one bowl, and 1/6 cup toasted sesame seeds to the other.  Mix well.

4. Shape the dough into small balls about 1″ in diameter. Place the balls on ungreased baking sheets and flatten them by pressing with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. Brush the tops lightly with egg white (not too much – I had quite a bit of egg white left over).

5. Bake the cookies 8 to 9 minutes, or until barely colored for a chewy cookie; bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden for a crispy cookie. (I did exactly 10 minutes and they were a perfect balance of chewy and crispy)

6. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Now that I’ve shared this absolutely delicious recipe with you, I hope we are on good terms again.  So please, if you haven’t already, go vote for me.  Thank you!!