Ghriba Bahla (غريبة بهلة)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow mixing bowl
• •Heavy baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Small food processor or mortar for almonds

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the nuts

   Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring often, until they smell nutty and turn one shade darker. Toast the almonds the same way, or in a 160°C oven for 10 to 12 minutes, then cool them completely and grind them coarse. Don't make almond paste; you want little grains that break under the teeth.

2. 2

   Mix the dry

   In a wide bowl, combine the flour, sifted icing sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cooled sesame and ground almonds, then rake everything through your fingers so the nuts and seeds are spread evenly. The mixture should look pale and speckled, with no pockets of sugar hiding at the bottom.

3. 3

   Rub in fat

   Pour in the melted butter and most of the oil, holding back 2 tablespoons. Rub the mixture between your palms, lifting and dropping it, until every bit of flour looks damp and sandy. Press a handful: it should hold, then crack at the edges. If it falls apart like dry dust, add the held-back oil a teaspoon at a time. Stop as soon as it gathers; kneading wakes the flour and turns the crumble tough.

   The dough should never feel elastic. It should feel like rich wet sand that agrees to become a cookie only when you press it.
4. 4

   Rest the dough

   Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 45 to 60 minutes at cool room temperature. This pause lets the flour drink the butter and oil, so the cookies shape without needing rough handling. If the kitchen is hot, rest it in the refrigerator, then let it soften just enough to press.

5. 5

   Shape the cookies

   Line two heavy baking sheets with parchment. Pinch off walnut-size pieces, about 28 to 30g each, and press each one firmly into a ball. Set them on the tray with space between them, then flatten only the bottom slightly so they sit steady. Leave the tops a little imperfect. Don't polish away the small cracks; they are already telling you where the cookie wants to open.

6. 6

   Bake for cracks

   Heat the oven to 180°C with one rack in the upper third and one in the middle. Bake one tray on the upper rack for 7 to 9 minutes, until the tops split and the cookies puff slightly. Move the tray to the middle rack and bake 8 to 10 minutes more, until the bottoms are pale gold and the tops still look light. Let them sit on the tray for 10 minutes before lifting; hot ghriba break if you hurry them.

   If your oven browns fast from above, start in the middle and add a minute or two. You want open cracks and toasted sesame, not scorched edges.

Chef Tips

• •Toast the sesame and almonds, then let them cool before they meet the flour. Warm nuts make the fat run, and the dough turns greasy before you can shape it.
• •Do not add water. If the dough refuses to hold, use a teaspoon of oil at a time. Water makes a harder cookie, and bahla should crumble, not chew.
• •The top should stay light. Look underneath for the color: a pale gold base tells you the cookie is baked.
• •Families change the balance of almond, sesame, cinnamon, and smen from one city to another. Il n'y a pas une cuisine marocaine, mais des cuisines marocaines, not one Moroccan cuisine, but many.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rest overnight in the refrigerator. Bring it back toward cool room temperature before shaping, so it presses without cracking apart.
• •Baked ghriba bahla keep 10 to 14 days in a tight tin at room temperature. They are made for a tray that waits for guests.
• •Freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months, well wrapped. Thaw them uncovered so their surface stays dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 36g)