Lebanese Date Cookies Recipe​

Image and recipe from Munaty Cooking​

These delicious Date Cookies (Kleicha) are authentic and will melt in your mouth thanks to their ghee-based cookie dough, and a delicious, smooth date filling.

CourseCookies
CuisineArabian, Middle Easten

Ingredients​

FOR THE DOUGH​

• 250 gm all purpose flour
• 125 gm ghee refrigerated or at room temperature if the kitchen is cold
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
• 2 teaspoon honey

FOR THE WATER HONEY MIXTURE​

• ¼ cup chilled water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼ cup sugar

FOR THE FILLING​

• 220 gm pitted dates
• 2 teaspoon ghee
• ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder
• ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon powder

THE SESAME COATING​

• ¾ cup toasted sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon water

Instructions​

MAKING THE DOUGH​

• In a large bowl, add the flour and the ghee. Mix the two ingredients for 6 to 7 minutes with your hand.
• Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes.

PREPARING THE DATE FILLING​

• In a medium bowl, add the ghee, cinnamon powder and cardamom powder. Add the pitted dates and mix well until the mixture turns smooth and no longer sticky. Cover and keep aside.

THE WATER HONEY MIXTURE​

• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and water, add the honey, and continue mixing until the sugar is almost dissolved. Cover and keep aside.

MAKING AND FILLING THE DATE COOKIES​

• Remove the dough from the fridge. Knead it for a minute then pour the water honey mixture on it.
• Do not knead the dough, just work on gathering the dough from side to side. Kneading the dough will result in tough cookies.
• No worries the dough will look super sticky and you might think that it failed, it is supposed to look like that at this stage. And to make sure that your dough didn’t fail, take a bout two tablespoon from it and lightly roll it between your palms to form a ball, you will see that the ball is formed, and it is not as sticky as it looks. (Magic)!
• Cover the dough and refrigerate for 50 minutes to an hour.
• Take half of the dough and roll it into a 12- to 13-inch-long log. Press it down horizontally and then vertically to help in spreading it evenly.
• Take half of the date filling and roll it into a 12- to 13-inch-long log. Place the date filling at the edge of the dough (the side close to you).
• Roll the dough up just like when rolling up cinnamon rolls. Cut the log in half and roll it up and down gently just to smooth the surface.

PREPARING THE SESAME COATING​

• *It’s best to do this step after filling the dough with the dates and rolling it into a log.
• In a plate, add the sesame seeds, then to it add the sugar and honey. Mix for a minute, you will feel that the mixture is sticky and heavy. Now add the water and mix for a few seconds, the mixture will now feel much lighter in weight.
• Spread it on a large baking sheet.

COATING AND BAKING THE COOKIES​

• Now gently roll the on the sesame coating. Careful not to make a thick coating, but if you did, you can remove the access with a pastry or silicon brush. (Do not forget to repeat the previous steps with the remaining half of the dough and filling)!
• Cut the log into 2-inch cookies, you can cut it in an angle as shown in the video. To make the cutting easier place the logs in the fridge for 20 minutes and then cut the cookies.
• Place the cookies in a lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven of 200C/392F for 12 minutes.
• To cool, place the cookies on a cooling rack and then serve with coffee or tea.

Notes​

• Always use Ghee in this recipe, the butter will not work as well since it has a good amount of moisture.
• Refrigerate the filled and rolled cookie dough for 20 minutes, it will make the cutting easy.
• Instead of cardamom and cinnamon, you can use Kahk spices which is sold online or in the Middle Eastern stores.
• Preheating the oven for at least 30 minutes is crucial.
• You can use any type of date you wish, or even mix two types to make this recipe.

Nutrition​

Serving: 1 Cookie | Calories: 175kcal |

 

[Still Ebby]

Thats something different BB and they look so yummy.Must try and thankyou for recipe

 

[BeautifulMousey]

Great recipe Babybird. Thank you. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family

 

[Knell]

Thanks BB. I love these biscuits - I always order one with a Turkish coffee when at my favourite Turkish Restaurant. I will definitely try making this. Cheers.