Bascot ElQuaker (Oat Cookies)

 Bascot ElQuaker was my Dad’s favourite type of cookies. He introduced us to oats and porridge after his trip to the UK...

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour

1½ cup Butter (softned)

2 cups Sugar

2 cups Oats

1 cup Walnuts

1 cup Raisins

3 Eggs

2 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 teaspoon Baking Powder

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoon of sugar with ½ tsp of cinnamon (for decoration)

     Rub flour, oats and butter between your hands.

 Add the rest of ingredients and mix all together to make dough. Mix sugar & cinnamon (for decoration) in tea saucer. Pinch a bit of dough and roll it up into a ball between your hands.

Then flatten it a bit. Dip it in the tea saucer so the top of the cookie is coated with the sugar mix.

Place it on greased baking tray. Repeat until the tray is full, leaving some space between the cookies.

 Bake in preheated oven gas mark 6(200C/ 400F) for 15-20 mins or until they are done. 

Bascot bil Custard (Custard Cookies)

I love this recipe at it is very simple and the cookies have a great texture. I couldn’t stop myself from eating a couple hot from the oven...

Ingredients:

1 cup Custard powder

½ cup Sugar powdered

½ cup Butter softened

1½ cup Flour

1 Egg

Cream the butter & sugar together. Add the egg. Sift the flour & custard powdered together. Add to the butter mixture and mix well.

Using a cookie maker (cookie press) or a cookie cutter, cut out cookies and arrange on lightly greased baking tray. You can make any shape you like.

Bake for 10-15 min in preheated oven gas mark 6 (390F – 200C).

If you like to make it chocolaty, add 2 tablespoon of Cocoa powder to the ingredients (instead of 2 tablespoon of flour to keep the dough consistency).

Snein El Ajouz

Snein El Ajouz is  a deep fried dough coated with honey syrup........This is my favourite dessert that mum used to make especially for me  when I visited her...Simple ingredients but superb taste.

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 Eggs

2 cup Flour (as much you need to make it a soft manageable dough)

Vanilla

Pinch of Salt

Vegetable fat and vegetable oil for frying

Syrup:

1 cup Sugar

1/3  cup Water

½ cup Honey

Squeeze of lemon

Mix eggs with vanilla, salt & flour until it becomes a soft dough. 

Roll into rope & cut them into small cube with the knife. 

Deep fry them in mixture of vegetable fat & vegetable oil until they become a golden brown.

Place them on kitchen towel to absorb the extra fat /oil.

For the syrup: Put sugar & water in a saucepan on the hob. Bring it to boil while continuously stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil the syrup for a couple of minutes till it thickens. Add a squeeze on lemon then add the honey. Bring it to boil again for a minute. Syrup should become thick. Remove the saucepan from heat.

Add the deep fried diced dough. Mix it with syrup for a minute & then pour it in a serving plate till it cool down.

Mum used to put a glass in middle of the plate & pour all the Snein El Ajouz around it. Once cooled, remove the glass & they will be in shape of a ring as above top picture.

Or simply as this -->

Bascot bil Yansoun ( Aniseed Biscuits)

This is a very old recipe that I copied ages ago from my mum’s cookbook. Mum used to make it long time ago, I didn’t remember how it tasted, so I had to try it for myself and it was a great success! Simple and yet full of flavour, scrumptious!

Ingredients:

4 cups Flour

1 cup Sugar

¾ cup Sunflower oil

1 Egg

2 teaspoon Baking Powder

¼ cup Aniseed

A bit of water (if needed)

     Mix all ingredients together. Add a bit of water if needed to get a good dough consistency.

Take a bit of dough, roll it into a long thin rope & cut it into a 10cm length piece. Pinch both ends of each piece together into a ring. You can do any shape you prefer.

Then place the biscuits on a greased or greaseproof paper lined baking tray, leaving some space between the biscuits.

Bake in preheated oven gas mark 6 (200C/ 400F) for 15-20 mins or untill they are done. Sahtein!

Maamoul

Maamoul is Lebanese shortbread pastry filled with dates, walnuts, pistachios or almonds. Our Family Maamoul is stuffed with a mix of pistachio, walnuts and almonds all together! The taste is so distinctive! Also, instead of using the maamoul molds, mum used to make us all help out decorating the maamoul using special brass tweezers.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1kg fine Semolina

½ kg Butter melted
1/2 cup Flour

½ cup mixed Rose Water

½ cup Orange Blossom Water

1 tablespoon of dried Yeast (I used dried instant Yeast)

Nuts filling:

1 cup Pistachios

1 cup Walnuts 

Maamoul molds (only had 2 designs out of 3)
& brass tweezers

 1 cup Almonds

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoon Rose Water

3 tablespoon Orange Blossom Water

Dates Filling:

500g Dates

½ cup Butter

½ teaspoon Miskeh/ Mastic

Mix fine semolina, melted butter and yeast together. Add Rose water and Orange blossom water gradually to make a dough and knead for a minute or two to be sure the dough is well blended. Cover dough and let stand for at least one hour.

Ground together all the nuts. Mix together ground nuts, sugar, rose water and orange blossom water till the mixture is crumbling together. Set aside.
Mix together dates, butter and mistek so that that mixture is like dough. Set aside.
Now we have both fillings ready. You will have enough dough to use  both of these fillings. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 or 400F (200C).
Grease cookies sheet, or line with greaseproof paper.

 Knead dough again briefly, and form into walnut sized balls. Make a hole in the centre using your finger.

Fill the hole with a teaspoon of the nut mixture (or dates mixture), and seal the dough up over the hole.

Gently form into balls. Place into the maamoul mold , press in gently; level it up with the mold. Turn it round and gently tap on the worktop & the maamoul will come out. 

If you don’t have a mold you can make designs with brass tweezers or simply with a fork.  

Maamoul with dates

Maamoul with mixed nuts

 

   

Place it on baking tray, keep spaces between the maamoul.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Dust with powdered sugar while still warm if desired.

Usually we dust the maamoul stuffed with nuts and not the dates ones.

  

Snow Balls

I learned how to make this recipe from Aunt Jessy....I love this recipe because it is easy to make and taste amazingly good!!

Ingredients:

½ cup Powdered Sugar

1 cup Butter

1 cup Ground Nuts (Ground Almonds is my favourite!)

1 ¾ cup Flour

1 tsp Vanilla

Preaheat  oven to  gaz mark 5 (350F).  

Mix all ingredients together till you  have soft dough.

 Pinch a bit of dough and roll it up to a ball between your hands  and then place it on greased or greaseproof paper lined the baking tray. Repeat until the tray is full, leaving some space between the cookies. It makes about 30 balls.  Let it stand for 1hr. Bake on medium heat oven for 15-20 min or until golden. 

Before serving, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

Mum’s Fruit Cake

Mum’s fruit cake is the cake that we used to eat especially on Mother’s Day.

It was mum’s favourite and used to call it “Mums Cake” because it’s rich and full of ingredients.

Since this Sunday it is Mother’s Day... Happy Mother’s Day! 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour

1 cup Sugar

½ cup Butter

½ cup Milk

1 cup diced Apple

½ cup Raisin

½ cup Walnut (chopped)

½ cup Dates (chopped)

2 Eggs

Zest orange or lemon

½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Cinnamon

 

Dice the apples, bake it saucepan on low heat with the half of sugar & cinnamon. Leave it to cool.  Mix the flour with walnuts, raisins, dates, baking powder & bicarbonate of soda.  In separate bowl, mix the butter, sugar, eggs & zest.   Add the flour mix gradually with the apple & milk to the butter & egg mixture.  With a spatula, mix them all together.

Pour in greased and flour dusted cake tray and bake in medium hot oven gas mark 5 (350F) for 35-40 mins or till the cake is done.  

Done when a toothpick comes out clean. Sahtein!