Chef Zohra
Fekkas (فقاص)
The Moroccan biscuit that waits well: anise-scented logs baked once, cooled, sliced thin, then baked again until crisp enough for mint tea and generous enough for guests.
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Ghriba Coco
Created by
A tender Moroccan coconut cookie, rolled in sugar and baked until domed, pale, and cracked, with a soft macaroon crumb made for mint tea and a full table.
Pastries & Cookies
Moroccan
Celebration
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
14 min cook•1 hr 4 min total
Yield28 cookies
The crack on a ghriba tells you the dough was treated kindly. These coconut ones rise into little domes, split across the top, and stay tender inside, almost melting, if you bind them with just enough egg and no more. Too much egg makes the coconut heavy. Too little and they crumble before they reach the plate.
Work by feel here. The mixture should hold when you press it in your palm, soft and sticky but not wet. Let it rest so the coconut and semolina drink a little before baking. That rest matters: dry coconut is thirsty, and if you rush it, the cookie bakes sandy instead of tender.
Ghriba coco belongs to the tea table, to Eid plates, to visits where someone arrives with a box tied in ribbon and everyone pretends they won't eat three. Make more than you think. Une table, c'est une porte qu'on laisse ouverte, a table is a door you leave open, and a plate of ghriba is a small way of saying, sit, you're expected.
Ghriba belongs to a broad Maghrebi cookie family found in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, with older Moroccan versions made from almonds, sesame, or flour for feast days and tea service. The coconut version is more recent, spreading through Moroccan urban homes in the 20th century as dried coconut became a common grocery ingredient through Atlantic and Mediterranean trade. Its exact birthplace is not fixed, and that honesty matters: it lives now across des cuisines marocaines, especially on family celebration platters.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
unsweetened desiccated coconut
Quantity
250g
fine semolina
Quantity
100g
icing sugar
Quantity
120g, plus 80g
plus extra for rolling
eggs
Quantity
2 large
beaten
neutral oil
Quantity
80ml
orange blossom water
Quantity
1 tbsp
lemon zest
Quantity
1 tsp
finely grated
baking powder
Quantity
8g
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| unsweetened desiccated coconut | 250g |
| fine semolina | 100g |
| icing sugarplus extra for rolling | 120g, plus 80g |
| eggsbeaten | 2 large |
| neutral oil | 80ml |
| orange blossom water | 1 tbsp |
| lemon zestfinely grated | 1 tsp |
| baking powder | 8g |
| fine sea salt | 1 pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide mixing bowl
- •Two parchment-lined baking sheets
- •Small cookie scoop or kitchen scale for 25g portions
Instructions
- 1
Mix the dry base
Put the coconut, fine semolina, 120g icing sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a wide bowl. Rub everything through your fingers so the zest perfumes the sugar and the baking powder is evenly scattered. The coconut should feel light and loose, not clumped.
- 2
Bind the dough
Add the oil, orange blossom water, and most of the beaten eggs. Mix with your hand until the dough comes together into a sticky, soft mass. Add the last spoonfuls of egg only if the mixture won't hold when pressed. This is the deciding gesture: enough egg to bind, not enough to make the coconut dense.
La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes. If the dough holds its shape in your palm and still feels tender, stop adding egg. - 3
Rest the mixture
Cover the bowl and let the mixture rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. The coconut and semolina will drink in the moisture and the dough will firm up slightly. If it feels dry after resting, wet your hands with a little orange blossom water before shaping rather than pouring in more egg.
- 4
Shape and sugar
Heat the oven to 170°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls, about 25g each, then press each one lightly into the extra icing sugar so the top is well coated. Set them on the tray with space between them, domed side up.
- 5
Bake until cracked
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the cookies have puffed, cracked, and set around the edges while staying pale. Do not chase a dark color. A good ghriba coco should be tender inside, with only a faint gold at the base.
- 6
Cool gently
Leave the cookies on the tray for 10 minutes before moving them. Warm ghriba are fragile, and if you rush them they'll break in your hand. Once cool, the outside settles delicately and the center stays soft.
Chef Tips
- •Use unsweetened coconut, not the very sweet damp kind. The dry coconut drinks the egg and oil properly and gives the crumb that tender macaroon feel.
- •Do not overbake. The cookie should stay pale, cracked, and soft under the sugar. If it browns all over, you've taken away its tenderness.
- •Orange blossom water should whisper, not shout. Use a good one that smells clean and floral, never soapy.
- •For feast trays, make the ghriba one day ahead. They settle beautifully overnight and travel well in a tin.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can rest covered in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Bring it back toward room temperature before shaping so it rolls without cracking.
- •The baked cookies keep 5 days in an airtight tin at room temperature, with parchment between layers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 25g)
Calories
130 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
15 mg
Sodium
45 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
2 g
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