Kaak Bi Ajwa Date Ring Cookies Palestinian Middle Eastern Recipes

KA'AK BI AJWA (DATE RING COOKIES) PALESTINIAN, MIDDLE EASTERN

Steps:

• Mix smeed, flour, salt, sugar, and butter/oil in a large pan. Cover and leave for ten hours, or overnight.
• Dissolve the yeast in 2 tablespoons water and a dash of sugar. When it rises, add to smeed mixture.
• Dissolve mahlab and miska in cold water. Add to smeed mixture.
• Combine warm water and milk. Pour gradually while mixing all the ingredients together. (Do not knead, just stir the mixture to have a moist crust rather than a dough).
• Mix dates, nutmeg, cinnamon, and butter in a pan and warm to soften dates. Knead well.
• Roll dates in 1/3 inch thick balls. Cut a piece of dough, one at a time, the size of a walnut. Spread lengthwise, 4" by 1". Fill with date ball and roll, sealing the sides together to form a ring.
• Pinch the rings with a cookie tweezer to decorate (so powder sugar will stick to it). Place on baking sheets and bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until light gold. (Place baking sheet on top rack).
• *NOTE* This is one way to do it, but I also take a round piece of dough, slightly bigger than the date ball, and push my thumb in it, then place the date ball inside and spread the dough around the date ball completely covering it. Then using a ma'amool cookie mold I place the dough with the date inside in the mold and tap the mold upside down so the finished cookie will fall out. Baking instructions are the same for either variation!
• When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. When completely cool, freeze or store in tightly covered jars.

PALESTINIAN SESAME CRUSTED BREAD RINGS (KA'AK BIL SIMSIM)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 f.
• Mix the warm water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a mixer and mix gently.
• Let sit for 10 minutes or until yeast foams doubles in size.
• Once the yeast is ready, add the vegetable oil and milk to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed.
• Sift the flour and the salt together then, slowly, add it one spoonful at a time, to the liquids, while the mixer is turned on low.
• Mix until all the flour is incorporated, then turn off the mixer immediately.
• Do not overwork the dough.
• Dust your hands with flour, and remove the dough from the mixing bowl.
• The dough will be very sticky, but do your best to form it into a ball and move it to a clean, flour-lined bowl.
• Cover the dough-filled bowl with a towel and let sit in a warm spot for 30-40 minutes.
• The dough will double in size.
• Punch it down and remove it from the bowl.
• It's consistency will have softened and it won't be as sticky.
• Sprinkle flour on a working surface.
• Place the dough over the flour. Knead the dough for 5 minutes.
• Roll out each piece into a long log and form into a ring.
• Brush the rings with egg wash on all sides and roll in sesame seeds.
• Place the ring a sheet pan.
• Put an oven-proof pot of boiling water in the oven, underneath the bread. Cook for about 25 minutes, or until the bread turns a light brown color.
• Remove and place on a rack to cool.
• OPTION: You can skip the long detailed instructions from #2 to #15 if you make the dough in a bread machine.

MA'AMOUL (LEBANESE DATE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Mix semolina flour, all-purpose flour, mahlab, and salt together in a large bowl. Work clarified butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until thoroughly incorporated. Cover bowl and let dough rest at room temperature, 8 hours to overnight.
• Pour milk into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until just warm, about 15 seconds. Stir in sugar and yeast until dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Pour yeast mixture and orange blossom water over the dough and mix until evenly moistened. Pinch off a piece of dough and roll into a ball; it should hold its shape without cracking. Add more milk or orange blossom water if needed. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Sprinkle some flour over the ma'amoul molds and tap out the excess. Pinch off a walnut-sized piece of dough and roll into a ball. Press your thumb into the ball to create space for the filling. Work the edges with your fingers so the sides are even and fairly thin. Drop in a piece of date paste and pinch dough over it to seal.
• Place cookie into the mold cavity seam-side up. Press down so that the top is flush with edges of the mold. Trim off any excess dough. Invert the mold and tap it against your work surface to release the cookie. Repeat with remaining dough and date paste, arranging cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven, 1 baking sheet at a time, until edges and bottoms are golden but tops are still mostly pale, about 15 minutes.
• Sift powdered sugar over the cookies while still slightly warm. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.