Saint Barbara cookies (Lebanese)

Submitted by Steve P.

"Traditional Lebanese Cookies for Saint Barbara's Day"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Yields: 3 dozen

ingredients

• 1⁄3 cup cooking oil
• 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄3 cup honey
• 1⁄3 cup finely chopped walnuts

directions

1. In mixer bowl, beat cooking oil into butter until blended, beat in sugar.
2. Add orange juice, baking powder and baking soda, mix well.
3. Add flour, a little at a time, to make a soft dough.
4. Shape dough into 2-inch ovals and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
6. Cool pastries on rack.
7. Meanwhile Prepare Natif topping: In a saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup sugar, honey and 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil.
8. Boil gently, uncovered for 5 minutes.
9. Dip cooled pastries into the warm syrup.
10. Sprinkle immediately with nuts.
11. Dry on wire rack.

Reviews

[Charishma_Ramchandani]

These cookies were something different. But, I'd like to make a few suggestions based on how I made them today. Firstly, on mixing the dry ingredients with the butter-oil mixture, I didn't get a soft dough. What I got was something similar to "boondis" i.e., small round balls. I made these into round balls(just like we make ladoos) and then baked them for 24 minutes. Once these were cooled, I dipped them in the topping. For the topping, I suggest to heat sugar and water together and once the sugar has melted, to add the honey. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then, dip the cooled cookies into this syrup and after removing from the syrup, arrange in a serving tray/dish and then sprinkle with nuts. Initially, I made the topping as the recipe says, but the problem was that the whole thing hardened up within seconds and made it very difficult for me. That's why I came up with the idea mentioned above. Another thing, I could make only 1 dozen cookies and not 3 dozen as per the measurements mentioned in this recipe. Overall, it was okie, something different from usual cookies.

 

[laurice sergyos]

Unfortunately what you have sent to me is a quite different recipe. I think what you have sent is called (fonikia). This is not the right natif topping for which I asked. Hints of what I know about the natif are as follows: it contains egg whites, white in colour, (irq halawa)and it is similar to royal icing.