Karabeej Maa Natef (pistachio cookies with meringue)
Have you ever tried karabeej before? A specialty of Aleppo, Syria, these soft semolina fingers are filled with pistachios, lightly sweetened, and finished with a delicate cloud of cream (Natef).
Simple ingredients, but so much history and so much soul.
This is the kind of dessert that brings you back to old kitchens, to quiet afternoons, to hands that made everything with love.
Have it with your coffee or tea and enjoy a fragrant golden treat with just the right amount of sweet.
Karabeej Maa Natef (pistachio cookies with meringue)
Yield: 30
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1½ cups fine semolina
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
- ¼ teaspoon instant dried yeast
- 5½ oz butter cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon ground mahlab (found in Middle Eastern grocery stores)
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup raw pistachio, plus extra to serve
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground mahlab
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon rose water
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Put the semolina, flour, sugar and yeast in a large bowl, then rub in the butter.
- Add the mahlab and aromatic waters, mix well, then knead until the dough is soft and elastic.
- Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for at least 2 hours.
Make the filling:
- Pulse the pistachio in a food processor until coarsely ground.
- Add the powdered sugar, mahlab, butter and rose water and pulse until combined.
Bring it all together:
- Knead the rested dough a few times until pliable. If the dough is too loose, refrigerate it for another 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 C).
- Take a quarter of the dough and roll it out into a long thin rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
- Take a quarter of the filling and lay it down the middle of the rectangle, then roll in the sides to enclose it.
- Give the log a roll back and forth on the work surface to seal it and cut with a sharp knife into little fingers, around 2 in long.
- Place on a lined baking sheet and prick with a fork all over. Repeat until all the dough and filling is used up.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly golden. Cool completely before serving.
