DessertsDifficulty: medium

Kaak bil Ajweh (Date Ring Cookies)

Name: Kaak bil Ajweh (Date Ring Cookies)
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 68 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 400 g fine semolina; 100 g butter, melted; 80 ml milk, warm; 50 g sugar; 7 g yeast; A pinch of mahleb or cinnamon; For the filling: 300 g pitted dates, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tsp cinnamon; Sesame seeds, to decorate

Soft semolina rings wrapped around spiced date paste — Levantine bakery at its homeliest.

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Instructions

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1Rub the melted butter into the semolina; add sugar, yeast, mahleb and warm milk to make a soft dough. Rest 1 hour.

2Knead the dates with butter and cinnamon into a paste.

3Shape rings around ropes of date paste, seal well, and press a pattern with tongs or a fork.

4Bake at 180°C for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden — do not over-bake.

Chef's Tip

Rub the butter into the semolina and rest at least an hour — coating each grain is what makes the cookie melt rather than snap.

More tips ↓

Knead the dates with fat: sticky paste becomes a filling that pulls like caramel.
Keep them pale in the oven; browning dries out the date center.

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Kaak bil Ajweh (Date Ring Cookies)

Ingredients

Instructions

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