Ghraybeh- Lebanese Butter Cookies
Posted on 20. Dec, 2009 by Bethany in Desserts, Entertaining, Misc, Nibbles, Recipes, Starches, breakfast, middle eastern
Ghraybeh are Lebanese butter cookies laced wonderfully with orange blossom flower then individually adorned by a piece of almond, pistachio or a pine nut. They are usually made into either S shapes, diamond shapes and most often shaped into wreath- like shapes where the ends are sealed together with a nut of choice. They are very delicate and melt in your mouth.
Ghraybeh cookies are served around the holidays and are delicious with a cup of tea or coffee. I wanted to try something different, so I decided to cut them into santa hat shapes and make them thinner than usual. They are extremely moreish and I even had trouble resisting the batter.
The Cast of Characters
- 150g semolina
- 150g all purpose flour
- 150g sugar
- 175g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1.5 tablespoons or about 25ml orange blossom water
The Nitty-Gritty
Begin by whipping the butter till fluffy for about 1 minute. Next add the sugar and the orange blossom water and whip till all incorporated.
Mix the semolina and flour together in a separate bowl. Then begin adding this mixture a little at a time till it is all incorporated and the cookie dough formed. It should be soft and very delicate. Cover and place it in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
Once it has been chilled, roll out the dough on a clean work surface using a rolling pin. I rolled them to 1/2 inch thickness.
Then take your cookie cutter/s of choice, and begin cutting them into shapes. Gently insert one pistachio into each cookie. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper and bake in a pre-heated oven 325F/160C/3G for about 10 minutes. Make sure they don’t go brown as the white colour is essential. Remove and let them cool well and up to 30 minutes before trying to remove them. If you do so when they are still warm you run the chance of them falling apart.
Enjoy!
24 Responses to “Ghraybeh- Lebanese Butter Cookies”
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Roula
20. Dec, 2009
Yami! We just had some this morning. We always buy them from Bohsali!
Colloquial Cook
20. Dec, 2009
This cookie cutter is *insane* [says the girl who owns a diplodocus cookie cutter].
Paul - GetMeCooking
20. Dec, 2009
I’d put on a Santa costume and impersonate him just to get my hands on some of these cookies. They look yummy!
Chris Bourne
20. Dec, 2009
These sweet nibbles are indeed delicious!
Pierre h.
20. Dec, 2009
Nice one beta!
Mowie
20. Dec, 2009
Lovely cookie cutter honey, never had ghraybeh before. And I’m absolutely *loving* the pink Christmas tree decorations =) xxx
Kitchen Butterfly
20. Dec, 2009
Beth….we have to talk. Seriously….how good are these??????????????????????????????? For Santa? Should be for OZ
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
20. Dec, 2009
I love your Santa Hat cookie cutter, that’s brilliant!
I’ve not made cookies with semolina, I’ll have to raid my local Turkish store for the orange flower water. xx
Daily Spud
20. Dec, 2009
Fabulous! I don’t have any orange blossom water but I do have some rose water and I’m tempted to try that… I’ve also just bought a huge set of cookie cutters which are just itching to be used
Nic
20. Dec, 2009
Very cute, and delicious too!
Trissa
20. Dec, 2009
The first picture, with the Christmas tree in the background and the cookies looks gorgeous. Thank you for sharing this recipe – I am quite tired of making the same cookies every year – what a great idea to have a cooking with orange blossom water and semolina. It must taste fantastic.
George@CulinaryTravels
20. Dec, 2009
I’m not surprised you had trouble resisting eating the batter, anything with orange blossom water and semolina is bound to be gorgeous.
sarah
20. Dec, 2009
Interesting cookie cutters are such a boon. I have some numbers (since I’m a maths teacher) and heart, diamonds, spades, and clubs, as well as a set of six different heart shapes.
Where do you buy orange blossom water? And what do you use the rest of the bottle for?
Meeta
21. Dec, 2009
Beth – I know these well and melt in your mouth is too true. I was unaware they were made with semolina too. Nice one!
Tweets that mention Ghraybeh- Lebanese Butter Cookies | Dirty Kitchen Secrets -- Topsy.com
21. Dec, 2009
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bethany Kehdy, Sarah Trivuncic. Sarah Trivuncic said: RT @dksfood Ghraybeh- Lebanese Butter Cookies http://bit.ly/8npztn > Santa Hat cookies, brilliant! [...]
The Cooking Ninja
21. Dec, 2009
I was literally salivating over your cookies on my screen. They look so good … wish I can just pick one out of my screen and chomp it.
Bethany
21. Dec, 2009
Thanks everyone!
Hey Sarah. Orange blossom water can be found in any Middle Eastern shop! I use it a lot- in rice puddings, chocolate truffles, syrups etc. It’s very versatile. I hope you decide to give it a go as I believe you will truly enjoy it
Alessio
21. Dec, 2009
With the semolina you can really see the sun being mixed in with the dough. Very interesting recipe, might try it with my family once I will be back in Sicily
deeba
21. Dec, 2009
WOW Beth …. these are exotic & gorgeous! Love the semolina in there!
uberVU - social comments
21. Dec, 2009
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by ibfoodie2: RT @dksfood: New Recipe: Ghraybeh or Lebanese butter cookies in santa hat shapes…http://bit.ly/8PwPVq…
Muneeba
22. Dec, 2009
Mmmmmmmmm, love the orange blossom water in there … these look so delicate … like they’d melt on my tongue! Yummmm!
Heavenly Housewife
22. Dec, 2009
Hi there, I loved the idea of this recipe. I am going to be making them today. I was just wondering, would you mind if I used this recipe on my blog (I would be linking back to you, of course)?
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*kisses* HH
p.s. You have a fab blog, just discovered it. you and i have a lot in common. I am also a girl from FL living in the UK who is half middle eastern. We should compare notes sometime
Jeanne
23. Dec, 2009
Oh how adorable – i *love* that cookie cutter! These sound fantastic (and between you and me, I ALWAYS fail to resist the batter when I’m baking!)
tasteofbeirut
27. Dec, 2009
Those look lovely Beth! I wish I could say that I am crazy about ghraybeh cookies, but the truth is I find the ones in the stores too sweet ; I might try your recipe someday, I have never made them with both semolina and flour.