Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 200 gsugar
- 2eggs
- 100 mlsunflower or olive oil
- 1 teaspoonbaking powder
- 1/2 teaspoonsalt
- 1 teaspoonaniseed, crushed
- 1 tablespoonorange blossom water
Additions
- 150 gwhole almonds, toasted
- 100 gsesame seeds, toasted
- 100 graisins
- the zest of 1 lemon
Sometimes added
- 1 teaspoonground cinnamon
- 50 gpistachios
- a pinch of saffron
Directions
- Toast the almonds in a dry pan. Give them about six minutes until golden. Shake the pan constantly as they toast. Toast the sesame seeds separately. They take only about three minutes.
- Let everything cool completely. Warm nuts make the dough greasy. Beat the eggs together with the sugar. Beat them until pale and thick. Add the oil and the orange blossom water. Add the lemon zest and the crushed aniseed.
- Whisk them together thoroughly. Combining it needs a light hand. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Add it to the egg mixture gradually. Mix it into a firm stiff dough. Stop as soon as it comes together. Add the toasted almonds and sesame. Add the raisins to it as well.
- Work them through the dough evenly. They should be distributed throughout. Divide the dough into three or four pieces. Roll each into a long log with your hands. Aim for about five centimetres across.
- Set them on lined baking trays. Leave plenty of space between them. Flatten them slightly with your palm. Heat the oven to 180C before baking. Bake the logs for about twenty-five minutes. They should be firm and lightly golden. Take the logs out and let them cool. Give them at least one full hour.
- Use a long serrated bread knife. Cut the logs into thin slices. Aim for about five millimetres thick. Cut straight down in one movement. Sawing gently helps through the nuts. Lay the slices flat on baking trays. Do not overlap them at all there.
- Turn the oven right down to 150C. Bake them for about twenty minutes. Turn them over halfway through. They should be dry and pale gold. Take one out and let it cool completely. It should break with a sharp clean snap. Return them to the oven if it is not. Let them cool entirely on the trays. Never put warm biscuits into a tin. Put them into an airtight tin. They keep three weeks or more.
Technique
- The dough is baked as a log, cooled, sliced thin and baked again to drive out the remaining moisture, which is the same principle as Italian biscotti.
- The log must be completely cool before slicing, since a warm log crumbles under the knife, and this is where the process usually goes wrong.
- The second bake decides how long they keep, since any moisture left means they go soft and can eventually go mouldy.
Substitutions
- Any combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruit works in the dough.
- Rosewater can replace orange blossom water for a different perfume.
Variations
- Some bakers add cinnamon, pistachio or a pinch of saffron.
- A version with chopped dates rather than raisins is also made.
- Ghriba and kaab el ghazal are the other Moroccan tea biscuits.
History
Baked as a log then sliced and returned to the oven, giving a hard biscuit that keeps for weeks in Moroccan pantries.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fekkas?
Fekkas is a dessert from Morocco: twice-baked almond, sesame and raisin biscuits sliced thin for dunking in tea. Baked as a log then sliced and returned to the oven, giving a hard biscuit that keeps for weeks in Moroccan pantries.
How long does Fekkas take to make?
Fekkas takes 30 minutes plus cooling of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 50 biscuits. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Fekkas?
Yes, within limits. Any combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruit works in the dough. Rosewater can replace orange blossom water for a different perfume.
What is the most important thing to get right in Fekkas?
Use a long serrated bread knife. Cut the logs into thin slices. Aim for about five millimetres thick. Cut straight down in one movement. Sawing gently helps through the nuts. Lay the slices flat on baking trays. Do not overlap them at all there.
