Arabic recipesSweets
Ghraybeh Recipe: Melt-in-the-Mouth Levantine Ghee Shortbread Cookies
Ghraybeh are pale, delicate Levantine shortbread cookies baked for Eid and special gatherings using a precise 4-to-2-to-1 ratio of flour, cold whipped ghee and sifted icing sugar with no eggs or leavening. Shaped into pistachio-studded rounds or slender bracelets, they bake at low heat so they stay ivory without browning.
Also known as:GhorayebaSyrian and Lebanese Eid shortbreadArabic ghee cookies with pistachios
Servings8
Prep time40 min
Cook time12 min
Ingredients
Add ingredients to cart- 400 g plain white flour, sifted
- 200 g cold, firm Arabic cow or sheep ghee straight from the fridge
- 100 g finely sifted icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1/2 tsp orange blossom water or a tiny pinch of vanilla (optional)
- Whole shelled green pistachios to garnish
Preparation Steps
- 1Beat the cold firm ghee and sifted icing sugar together with an electric mixer for 5 to 6 minutes until pale, billowy and thick like whipped cream.
- 2Add the orange blossom water if using, then fold in the sifted flour in two additions, bringing the mixture together gently with your fingertips without overworking the gluten; wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- 3Pinch off small pieces of dough, knead briefly in your palm just until pliable, and shape either into smooth balls pressed in the centre with a pistachio or thin ropes looped into neat rings.
- 4Space the cookies slightly apart on a parchment-lined baking tray and chill the tray for 10 minutes right before baking so the cookies hold their crisp edges.
- 5Bake on the middle rack of a preheated 150 °C oven for 11 to 13 minutes until set underneath yet completely pale ivory on top; leave untouched on the tray until completely cool before lifting.
