Ghraybeh Cookies are delicate, buttery, shortbread-like cookies made with three simple ingredients: clarified butter, sugar, and flour. These cookies are garnished with pistachios on top. They take less than ten minutes to make, and you can enjoy them with a cup of hot Turkish coffee!
Shortbread is an easy, delectable snack and Ghraybeh adds to this. When it comes to choosing to make my Lime Shortbread Cookies or converting shortcrust to make Raspberry Jam Tarts, shortbread is a perennial favorite at home. The delicate Ghraybeh Cookies, or any version of shortbread with its glorious rendering, makes teatime for my kids and me a highpoint of the afternoon.
I was first introduced to them at the local Halal shop. The Lebanese owner who was 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.
I have to admit that given the delicate nature of the Ghraybeh was a bit of an experiment in terms of both technique and proportions. During my first attempt years ago, the lack of chilling the cookies made it hard to shape the cookies. I now like my modified recipe. Pairing it with coffee or tea is a personal preference. But what I have found is that tea works better if you are making a delicately flavored Ghraybeh and coffee works better if your flavoring is richer or sweeter.
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 their versatility and the fact that they can take less than ten minutes to make.
As I’ve written in other posts, there are some dishes that 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 are treats 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 which is then 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 couple of weeks. What I do is 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 in it, it has a higher calorific concentration of fat than butter. A tablespoon of typical commercial ghee has about 120 calories as compared to the 102 calories found in butter.
- Flavor: If everything tastes good with butter, in my opinion, 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 pretty much 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.
Ingredients:
- Clarified butter or ghee is used for the Ghraybeh Cookies recipe. Unsalted butter is not recommended for this recipe.
- All-purpose flour is ideal and not self-rising flour.
- Caster sugar is not recommended as the confectioner’s sugar gives it a melt-in-your-mouth texture. You could powder and sieve the caster sugar if like.
Variations:
- Some like to 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 just make a thumb print or impression with your thumb and not garnish with any nuts. Sometimes the Ghraybeh Cookies are scented with orange blossom water or even rose water. We like them with a pistachio on top.
How to make Ghraybeh Cookies:
- Beat the cold clarified butter until light. Add the confectioner’s sugar and beat until smooth.
- Fold in the flour until combined. Do not overmix at this stage. Cover the dough with a cling film and chill for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 3000F. Shape the dough into small balls using the palm of your hands. (Use an ice cream scoop if you want evenly sized cookies). Press gently down with your thumb in the center. Place a pistachio on top.
- Arrange the cookies on an ungreased baking tray , spacing them 1” apart.
- Bake for 22 minutes or until very lightly colored.
1. Do not overmix the dough after folding in the flour.
2. The cookies are supposed to be very light colored and not golden brown. So do not add more baking time but instead remove them from the oven at or around 22 minutes when they are light colored. Oven temperatures vary so be careful not to burn them.
3. Cool the cookies on the tray for at least 10 minutes prior to lifting them from the tray. I use a butter knife to gently nudge the cookies up. They are so delicate when hot that touching them will create an impression on top.
4. The cookies expand a little, so space them out on the baking tray to at least an inch apart.
5. Feel free to use cold ghee and there is no need to melt it.
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.
How to store Ghraybeh Cookies:
Ghraybeh Cookies can be stored at room temperature for three weeks in an airtight container. The dough can be frozen for a couple of months and then thawed to be shaped and baked. If you are using the frozen dough, do not thaw completely, the dough must still be cold to touch and not frozen hard.
Ghraybeh Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer, baking tray
Ingredients
- 7 oz clarified butter (ghee)
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup pistachios for garnish
Instructions
- Beat the cold clarified butter until light. Add the confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth.
- Fold in the flour until combined. Do not overmix at this stage. Cover the dough with a cling film and chill for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 3000F. Shape the dough into small balls using the palm of your hands. (Use an ice cream scop if you want evenly sized cookies). Press gently down with your thumb in the center. Place a pistachio on top.
- Arrange the cookies on an ungreased baking tray , spacing them 1” apart.
- Bake for 22 minutes or until very lightly colored.
Notes
- Do not add more time to bake the cookies as they are meant to be light colored.
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!