Barazek

Ingredients

Dough

• 300 gplain flour
• 150 gunsalted butter or ghee, softened
• 100 gcaster sugar
• 1egg
• 2 tbspmilk
• ½ tspbaking powder
• ¼ tspsalt
• 1 tsporange-blossom water

Coatings

• 150 gsesame seeds
• 3 tbsphoney
• 2 tbspwater
• 120 gpistachios, finely chopped

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar until pale, beat in the egg, milk and orange-blossom water, then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt to a soft dough. Chill 1 hour.
2. Warm the honey with the water to a thin syrup and put it in a shallow bowl. Put the sesame seeds in a second bowl and the chopped pistachios spread on a tray.
3. Roll the dough into balls the size of a large marble, about 12 g each.
4. Dip one side of each ball in the honey syrup, then press that side firmly into the sesame seeds so they coat it thickly.
5. Press the other, bare side down onto the chopped pistachios, flattening the ball into a thin disc as you do. Barazek are sesame on one face and pistachio on the other, and both sides go on before baking.
6. Set them pistachio side down on a lined tray, well spaced — they spread considerably.
7. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 12–15 minutes until the sesame side is golden and the edges are set. They will still be soft in the middle.
8. Cool completely on the tray before lifting. They crisp as they cool, and moving them warm will break them. They keep two weeks in a tin.

Technique

• Roll them small and press them thin. Barazek should be a crisp wafer, not a thick biscuit.
• The honey syrup is the glue for the sesame; without it the seeds fall off in the oven.
• Watch the last two minutes closely. Sesame goes from golden to burnt very quickly.

Substitutions

• Ghee in place of butter, which is traditional and gives a more fragrant cookie.
• Rose water instead of orange-blossom.

Variations

• A version with the pistachio side left plain, sesame only.
• Aleppan barazek, slightly thicker and chewier than the Damascene.

History

Damascene biscuits crusted with sesame on one side and pistachio on the other, eaten with coffee.

Frequently asked questions

What is Barazek?

Barazek is a dessert from Syria: thin crisp Damascene cookies pressed with sesame and pistachio. Damascene biscuits crusted with sesame on one side and pistachio on the other, eaten with coffee.

How long does Barazek take to make?

Barazek takes 30 min plus 1 hr chilling of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 40 cookies. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Barazek?

Yes, within limits. Ghee in place of butter, which is traditional and gives a more fragrant cookie. Rose water instead of orange-blossom.