Best Egyptian Holiday Cookies Kach Al Ayid Recipes

KA'AK EL EID

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, combine the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, butter and oil. Rub the ingredients between your palms until the mixture resembles wet sand. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight (or several hours). This allows the semolina to soften and fully absorb the butter and oil.
• Finish the dough: The next day (or several hours later), after your semolina mixture has rested, add the nigella seeds, aniseed, fennel, baking powder, yeast, sugar and salt to the semolina mixture and gently rub together with your hands. Add 1/2 cup warm water and start to gently knead for no longer than 2 minutes. The mixture will probably still be crumbly at this point.
• Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup water to the mixture in 1-tablespoon increments, and continue to knead for about 1 minute after each addition - making sure you don't over-knead - until you can take a clump of dough in your fingers and it holds together. You may not need to use all the water, or you may need extra, a couple tablespoons at a time, depending on a variety of factors, like climate or flour. What you are looking for is a clump of dough to come together easily and not fall apart when you try rolling it into a log. Cover and let rest while you prepare the filling.
• Prepare the filling: Line a medium baking sheet with plastic wrap or parchment paper and grease with oil. Pour some oil in a small bowl that you will use to grease your hands as necessary. Put the date paste and cinnamon in a bowl and knead slightly with greased hands until evenly incorporated.
• Grease your hands and tear out about 35 portions of filling, each about the size of a golf ball. On a flat surface, roll each into a string slightly thinner than your finger and about 4 to 5 inches long. Place on the greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, then set aside until ready to use. This can sit at room temperature for a couple of days without any issue.
• Prepare the cookies: Heat oven to 400 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment. Take a golf ball-size piece of dough, keeping the rest of the dough covered to keep it moist, and roll it between your palms or on a flat surface into a sausage shape about 4 inches long. Using the tips of your fingers, gently press to flatten it. Take one of the date strings and place on top of the dough, cutting off as much as necessary for it to fit the dough. (Any cut off pieces can be used to extend shorter pieces or combined to make more filling strings.)
• Enclose the dough around the date filling and roll it on a flat surface into a slightly longer, thin sausage shape, about 8 to 9 inches long. Take one end and place it slightly overlapping the other end to form a ring shape. With a thin object (like a chopstick), press down all the way through to make two holes where the ends overlap to ensure they are firmly attached and won't come apart during baking. Place on the prepared lined baking sheet and repeat until dough and filling are finished.
• Bake cookies until a very light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container. Cookies will keep 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

KAHK EID COOKIES RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sesame seeds, sugar, cinnamon, yeast, and salt. Stir with a fork, then add the ghee and warm water and beat with an electric hand mixer until a soft, pliable dough forms.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the pistachio honey filling: In a small pot over medium heat, melt the ghee, then add the flour and stir until golden brown.
• Reduce the heat to low, add the sesame seeds and honey, and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat, add the pistachios, and mix well to incorporate.
• Let the filling cool for 10 minutes, then form into 24 small balls.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Once the dough has rested, roll into 24 balls.
• Press a ball of the pistachio filling into the center of a dough ball, then wrap in the dough and roll again into a ball that completely encases the filling. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
• Press the cookies lightly into a Mamoul tool, or make a crosshatch pattern using a fork.
• Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.
• Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
• When ready to serve, dust the cookies with powdered sugar.
• Enjoy!

EGYPTIAN HOLIDAY COOKIES (KACH AL AYID)

Steps:

• Prepare starter 30 minutes in advance. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Stir in the flour, salt and sugar and let stand until the mixture doubles in bulk and produces air bubbles.
• Meanwhile, to make the dough, melt the butter in a small saucepan and let it cool.
• Dough can be made by hand or in a food processor. To make it by hand, put the flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the butter into the well and add the starter, rosewater and vanilla. Stir to blend. Rub the mixture between the palms of the hands until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Add lukewarm water a little at a time until the dough can be gathered together to form a ball. Use as little water as possible. Knead the dough until it is smooth and even in texture. To make dough in a food processor, put the flour into the container of the processor and add the butter, starter, rosewater and vanilla while blending. If necessary, add lukewarm water, a little at a time, until the dough can be shaped into a ball and kneaded briefly. If the dough is too soft, it may be necessary to chill it briefly. If you overchill, let it rest at room temperature until it can be shaped by hand.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Divide the dough into 24 pieces of more or less equal size. Shape each piece into a ball.
• If you do not wish to use a filling, transfer the pieces of dough to a cookie sheet and flatten them into a cookie shape about half an inch thick or slightly thicker. Or if you use the filling, punch a hole partly down the center of each ball of dough. Shape the dough into a slightly curved saucer shape and put about one teaspoon or less of filling in the middle of the dough. Fold over the edges and seal. Place the dough, sealed side down, on the cookie sheet and press with the palms of the hands to flatten each into a cookie shape.
• Place the cookie sheet on the top rack of the oven and bake cookies 35 to 40 minutes. When done, cookies should have an even, golden color and the firmness of a cooked pie crust. Let cookies cool completely. Cover the top and sides of each one with a generous dusting of confectioners' sugar. If you plan to store the cookies, do not frost with confectioners' sugar until the day you use them.