Ghraybeh Cookies are delicate, shortbread-like cookies made with three simple ingredients: clarified butter, date sugar, and white whole wheat flour. These diabetic-friendly cookies are garnished with pistachios on top, adding a subtle crunch and a pop of color. They take less than ten minutes to make, and you will enjoy their rich buttery flavor balanced with the sweetness of dates and a hint of nuttiness from the ghee. These delicate cookies taste great when paired with a hot cup of Turkish coffee!
Shortbread is an easy, delectable snack and Ghraybeh adds to this. The delicate Ghraybeh Cookies, or any version of shortbread with its glorious rendering, make teatime for my kids and me a high point of the afternoon.
I was first introduced to them at the local Halal shop. The Lebanese owner selling the commercial versions informed me that the Ghraybeh Cookies were made with ghee and confectioner’s sugar and baked at a moderate temperature. As an Indian, the ghee reference surprised me, as I had previously thought that (like the samosas), ghee was a wholly Indian invention.
Origin of the Ghraybeh Cookies:
Ghraybeh Cookies are so versatile and have a long and glorious history. The earliest reference to the cookie comes from a 10th-century Arabic cookbook “Kitab al-ṭabīḫ”, which used sesame oil. Obviously, with the trade routes, this dish migrated throughout the Mediterranean and has now become a staple, primarily because of its versatility and the fact that it can take less than ten minutes to make.
As I’ve written in other posts, some dishes are so universal that you will find variations in almost every country. Just as the sambusak became the empanada in Spain and the samosa in India, so too has the Ghraybeh Cookies. This delicate, buttery, shortbread-like cookie has regional variations. It is called the khourabia in Armenia, kourabiedes in Greece, and the ghoriba in Morocco, as well as the other Maghreb countries. And like the variations in its name, this shortbread cookie is made from different types of flour including semolina, wheat, sorghum, and chickpea flour.
So too are the flavors. They can be nutty pistachios or almonds or scented with rose or orange blossom water. Ghraybeh is a treat at celebrations such as Easter, Christmas, or New Year as well as at baptisms. But most commonly, they are tasty teatime snacks served with Turkish coffee or even mint teas.
What is clarified butter or ghee?
Before we talk about the differences, let us understand what butter is and how it is made. Butter is essentially milk fat made through a process called churning.
- Making butter: Churning agitates or shakes up milk physically until the membranes that surround the fatty cells in milk are ruptured. Once that occurs, the fat droplets clump together to form fat. As we continue churning, the fat clumps increase in size and the trapped air bubbles begin to pop. The result of that popping is a watery foam called buttermilk, which is drained leaving butterfat which is then worked into a smooth mass that is frozen.
- Making ghee: Ghee takes this process one step further. Even though the butter has less moisture than milk, it still contains water. To make ghee (also called clarified butter), the butterfat is heated to a point where the remaining water evaporates leaving a caramelized milk solid or ghee.
While this process can seem complicated, I make ghee at home every few weeks. I take a couple of sticks of butter and boil them gently until the butter becomes a clear liquid. It is that easy!
Difference between ghee and butter:
- Higher smoking point: Ghee has a higher smoking point than butter, so it doesn’t burn as quickly. Ghee smokes at about 485°F (252°C), while butter can smoke and burn at about 350°F (177°C).
- Lactose sensitivity: The process of making ghee separates milk from fat, which means that it has lower levels of lactose and casein (a milk protein), making ghee a better choice for those who are lactose intolerant or are allergic to dairy products.
- Higher calories: As ghee has more butter fat, it has a higher calorific fat than butter. A tablespoon of typical commercial ghee has about 120 calories compared to the 102 calories in butter.
- Flavor: If everything tastes good with butter, ghee is a couple of notches better. Removing the moisture and leaving only the fat, ghee provides a wonderfully rich and nutty flavor profile to any dish.
- Fundamental difference: The nutritional benefits between ghee and butter are negligible. Ghee edges butter out if you are lactose sensitive or your dish needs a higher smoking point.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What are some of the variations for these cookies?
- Use jam on top, but it is usually garnished with nuts. Other nuts such as almonds or cashew nuts can be used.
- You could also make a thumbprint or impression with your thumb and not garnish with any nuts.
- Sometimes the Ghraybeh Cookies are scented with orange blossom or rose water.
2. How can I make them with refined flour and granulated sugar?
Please use the recipe below and substitute date sugar with 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar and use 1 1/8 cups of all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour.
If you’ve tried this recipe or have questions, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to share (below) your thoughts, comments, or any questions that you might have. And if you like my recipes, you could subscribe to my mailing list for the latest recipes that will be delivered to your inbox. From my pen to your table, Bon Appetit!
Ingredients:
- Clarified butter, date sugar, white whole wheat flour, pistachios
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make this dish. Please refer to the recipe card below for the measurements.
How to make Ghraybeh Cookies:
- Cream the clarified butter with the date sugar in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until light.
- Fold in the flour until combined. Do not overmix at this stage. Add 1-3 tablespoons of milk or as needed to form a dough. Cover the dough with a cling film and chill for 10 minutes.
- Shape the dough into small balls using the palm of your hands. (Use a cookie scoop if you want evenly-sized cookies). Place a pistachio on top by gently pressing it down. Arrange the cookies on an ungreased baking tray, spacing them 1” apart.
- Bake until golden brown and cool them.
1. Do not overmix the dough after folding in the flour.
2. Oven temperatures vary so be careful not to burn them, keep an eye on them towards the last 5 minutes of baking time.
3. Cool the cookies on the tray for at least 5 minutes before lifting them from the tray.
Serving suggestions:
My kids love to eat them for tea or a quick snack. My husband and I enjoy them with a hot cup of homemade cardamom-scented Turkish coffee or mint tea. Pairing it with coffee or tea is a personal preference. But I’ve found that tea works better if you make a delicately flavored Ghraybeh Cookie and coffee works better if your flavoring is richer or sweeter.
Storage:
Ghraybeh Cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for two weeks. The dough can be frozen for two months and then thawed, shaped, and baked. If you are using the frozen dough, do not thaw completely, the dough must still be cold to the touch and not frozen hard.
Other shortbread-like recipes that you might like:
Ghraybeh Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer, baking tray
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz clarified butter (ghee)
- ½ cup date sugar
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp whole pistachio unsalted, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cream the clarified butter with the date sugar in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until light.
- Fold in the flour until combined. Do not overmix at this stage. Add 1-3 tablespoons of milk to form a dough. Cover the dough with a cling film and chill for 10 minutes.
- Shape the dough into small balls using the palm of your hands. (Use a cookie scoop if you want evenly-sized cookies). Place a pistachio on top by gently pressing it down. Arrange the cookies on an ungreased baking tray, spacing them 1” apart.
- Bake for 25-26 minutes or until golden brown and cool them. Serve with a hot cup of cardamom-spiced Turkish coffee.
Video
Notes
- If using all-purpose flour, omit the milk. You will need 1 1/8 cups of plain flour instead of white whole wheat flour.
Nutrition
they’re so cute!
I love the use of clarified butter! Thanks for sharing!
These would be perfect as Christmas gifts!
these turned out so well when i made them at home! thanks, kanchan!
Nice to hear that, Abby. Thanks for your comment!
it was sooooo good!
Thank you for your rating – I’m glad you liked them!