Chebakia: Moroccan Sesame Cookies With Honey

1. Gather the dough ingredients.
2. Grind the toasted sesame seeds in a food processor until they turn powdery. Keep grinding until the powder becomes moist enough to press or pack.
3. Mix the mastic grains, if using, with the sugar and crush it into a powder.
4.  Combine the mastic-sugar mixture, ground sesame seeds, flour, baking powder, salt, ground anise and cinnamon, saffron, and turmeric in a large bowl.
5. Add the egg, butter, oil, vinegar, orange flower water, and dissolved yeast. Mix with your hands to form a dough. Add more flour if necessary to achieve a dough that is rather stiff, but pliable.
6. Knead the dough by hand for 7 to 8 minutes or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook for 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Divide the dough into four portions, shape each into a smooth mound, and place the dough in a plastic bag to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
8. Take one of the portions of dough, and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of a thin piece of cardboard.
9. Use a pastry cutter to cut the dough into rectangles approximately 3 x 3 1/2-inches.
10. Make 4 evenly spaced lengthwise cuts in each rectangle. These cuts should be almost the length of the rectangle, but should not cut through to the edges of the dough. The resulting rectangle will have five strips of attached dough.
11. Take a rectangle, and thread the middle finger of your right hand through alternating strips of dough. This enables the rectangle to drape over your finger.
12. With your left hand, pinch together the outer corners of the dough, which hang over the tip of your finger. This will form the center of the flower shape.
13. While holding the pinched corners with your left hand, allow the strips of dough to slide down off your right finger while gently turning them inside-out around the pinched portion. Gently pinch the opposite corners closed once the dough is turned inside out. If done correctly, you'll have formed the dough into an elongated flower shape.
14. Place the folded piece of dough on a baking sheet or tray. Repeat the process with the remaining rectangles and mounds of dough. Gather together the scraps of dough as you work, mold them together into a mound, and return them to the bag to rest before you try rolling them out again. Use up all of your dough in this manner. Cover the trays of folded dough with a towel until ready to fry.

Frying the Chebakia

Soaking the Chebakia in Honey

Tips:

The chebakia may be made without the mastic gum if you can't find it. Serve chebakia with harira, at iftar for Ramadan, or with tea or coffee.

The longer you soak the chebakia, the more honey they will absorb, and the sweeter and less crispy they become. How long to soak them is a matter of personal preference. However, too short of a soaking will result in pale-colored chebakia that eventually lose their glossy coating.

If the honey cools and thickens before you've finished making all the cookies, simply reheat it briefly over medium-low heat. This can be done even if some chebakia are in the pot soaking.

Toasting Sesame Seeds:

Spread sesame seeds on a baking pan and toast in a 350 F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the sesame seeds are crunchy and nutty-flavored. Allow them to cool thoroughly, and then store in an airtight container until ready to use.

How to Store Chebakia:

Allow the chebakia to cool for several hours before putting them in an airtight container for storage. They'll keep at room temperature for a month or longer, and will freeze well for four or five months.

BESAHA!