More Middle Eastern Sweets

This just might be our favorite Arab sweet! Filo pastry encloses a smooth, delicate cream, baked and then soaked in Middle Eastern simple syrup. Chopped pistachios on top give the crunch that extra munch. And yes, they’re easy to make!

warbat bil ashta/shaabiyat

 (Middle Eastern Cream Stuffed Pastries)

30 phyllo sheets, thawed and kept covere

2 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

1/2 cup ground pistachios, for garnish

ASHTA/ CREAM FILLING:

2 cups whole milk

1 cups heavy whipping crea

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon orange blossom water/or vanilla extract if preferred

dash of salt

SUGAR SYRUP:

      2 cups granulated sugar

      1 cup water

      ½ teaspoon lemon juice

      2 teaspoons orange blossom

water, optional

Prepare Ashta/Cream FIlling:

 -In a large saucepan that doesn’t scorch, whisk together all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, while stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

-Remove from heat and transfer to a heat-proof dish and cover with plastic wrap (this will prevent a skin from forming). Cool completely.

Prepare Sugar Syrup:

-In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer (medium-low) and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the orange blossom water (if desired). Set aside to cool.

Assemble:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F and set aside a greased baking sheet.

2.  On a clean surface, gently lay flat one sheet of phyllo. Brush with melted butter, and place another sheet directly on top. Continue this process until 10 of the phyllo sheets are used, ending with the final sheet brushed with butter.

3.  Gently cut the stack of phyllo dough into squares, about 3 to 4-inches in size.

4.  Place a heaped tablespoon of the cooled ashta/cream filling at the center of each square. Gently fold the corners over to form a triangle.

5.  Transfer each triangle pastry to the prepared baking sheet. Traditionally the pastries are placed in blocks of 4 so that the folded parts of the pastry form the outsides of a square, and the open corners of the triangles meet in the center. However, you can place them on the pan as you please. Brush the tops with butter.

6.  Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes.

7.  Remove from the oven and allow them to sit for 5 minutes. Gently pour 1-cup of the prepared sugar syrup over the baked pastries then allow the pastries to cool completely and soak up the syrup. Garnish with ground pistachios. A small pink or red rose petal is often placed on top of each one as an accent.

8. Continue the above process to make 2 more batches of Warbat, using 10 sheets of phyllo for each batch.

Makes 18 Warbat triangles.

Almond Filo Snake

Flaky and buttery filo pastry filled with almond paste, the kind of snake you like to see coiled on your dessert platter!

ALMOND FILO SNAKE 1 cup ground almonds (in food processor) 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 egg, separated 2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind 1 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 cup melted butter 24 sheets phyllo pastry Pinch of ground cinnamon Powdered sugar to dust

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch round pan.
-Place the ground almonds in a bowl with the powdered sugar. Put the egg white in a bowl and lightly beat with a fork. Add to the almonds with the lemon rind, and extract. Mix well.
-Remove 2 sheets of phyllo and cover the rest with plastic wrap to prevent it drying out. Brush the phyllo sheets with butter, then cover with 2 more sheets and butter, repeat one more time with 2 more sheets of phyllo, using a total of 6 sheets. Spread 1/4 of almond mixture along the length of the buttered pastry and roll up to enclose the filling. Form into a coil and set the coil in the center of the pan. Make 3 more snakes and use butter to join to the other rolls and continue shaping to make a large coil.
-Add the cinnamon to the egg yolk and brush over the snake. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes then dust with powdered sugar, sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds and serve cut in wedges.

(The snake will keep for up to 3 days but should not be refrigerated.)

Middle Eastern Butter Cookies

These Greek/Middle Eastern cookies are a Christmas classic! Greek families give tins of these buttery, almond cookie treats to neighbors around Christmas. (Koulourakia in Greek/ Ghraybeh in Arabic.)

Middle Eastern Butter Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup white sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting

1/4 cup toasted almond slices for garnish

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 cookie sheets or use parchment paper or silpad.

-In an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and egg together in a medium bowl, on medium-high speed until smooth. Stir in salt and vanilla and almond extracts. Blend in flour, then turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to combine well to form a soft dough.

-Place a teaspoon full of dough onto a lightly floured working surface in front of you and by rolling and shaping gently, create logs, or "S" shapes. Place cookies 1 to 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Push an almond slice into one end of each cookie.

-Bake in the preheated oven just until edges are golden, about 10 minutes.

-Allow cookies to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar. Makes about 3 dozen.

Kataifi Shredded Filo Rolls

A delicious Mediterranean pastry made with shredded filo pastry and filled with nuts! A treasure of a treat!

Kataifi Shredded Filo Rolls

l pound Kataifi pastry (available in Middle Eastern Groceries)

2 sticks melted butter, 1 cup

1 cup shelled and ground pistachios

2 cups shelled and ground almonds

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons ground cloves

1 egg white

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2-inch strip of lemon rind

4 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon honey

-Allow the kataifi pastry to come to room temperature, still covered in its packaging. If frozen solidly, this will take about 2 hours. Pastry should be completely thawed before working with it.

-Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 9 X 12-inch baking tray with some melted butter.

-Place the nuts in the bowl of a food processor with the cinnamon and cloves. Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork and add to the mixture. Mix briefly to make a paste. Divide the mixture into 8 portions and form each into a sausage shape about 7 inches long. (Dampen your hands before shaping each log to keep mixture from sticking.)

-Divide the pastry into 7 portions. Take 1 portion of the pastry strands and spread them out fairly compactly with the strands running lengthwise towards you. The pastry should measure about 10 X 7 inches. Brush and dab the pastry with melted butter. Place one of the “nut” sausages along the end of the pastry nearest to you and roll up into a neat sausage shape, keeping the nut log in the center of the pastry strands. Roll as neatly and tightly as possible, tucking the loose strands in as you go. (It is impossible to get the strands to behave just as you would like but just do your best.) Repeat with the other pastry portions.

-Place the rolls close together on the baking sheet and brush them well with more melted butter. Every surface of the pastry should be coated with butter. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

-While the pastries are cooking, place the remaining sugar in a medium saucepan with 2 cups water and stir over low heat until dissolved. Add the lemon juice, rind, cloves and cinnamon stick then bring to a boil. Stop stirring once the mixture comes to a boil or it will become cloudy and may crystallize. Boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in the honey, remove the lemon rind and set aside to cool completely.

-Remove pastries from the oven when cooked and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Pour the cool syrup over the top, as evenly as possible. Leave the rolls to soak in the syrup and cool completely before cutting each roll into 5 pieces. The Kataifi should absorb most of the syrup as it cools.

-Makes 40 pieces. Serve at room temperature.

Armenian Bourma - Baklawa Rolls

Not quite up to the challenge of preparing the diamond shaped wedges of heaven, called Baklava? Well, rejoice, here is a much easier way to create the delicious nuggets of flaky crust, walnuts and simple syrup with the warm hum of cinnamon.

Armenian Bourma - Baklawa Rolls

24 sheets thawed filo pastry

3/4 cups melted butter

2 chops finely chopped walnuts, pecans or pistachios

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons powdered cinnamon

Atar Syrup:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1/2 small lemon

1 - 2 inch piece of cinnamon stick

-Place nuts in a food processor, add sugar and cinnamon and pulse until nuts are finely ground. (About 12 pulses or on high speed for 1 minute.)

-Place 2 sheets filo pastry on working surface. Brush well with melted butter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup nut mixture across the surface of the filo, leaving a 1 inch border around the edges.

-Lay a long thick-handled wooden spoon or 1 inch dowel, along one of the long edges and then roll the long edge around the spoon handle fairly tightly and continue to roll until the dough is rolled up completely. Place both hands on either edge of the filo wrapped around the spoon handle and gently squeeze both ends toward the center of the handle, similar to threading a curtain on a curtain rod, crinkling the bourma until it is about 5 inches long.

-Butter a large baking dish well on the bottom and sides, then place each bourma roll into the dish, seam side down, carefully removing the spoon handle. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to create about 12 bourma rolls. Place snuggly against one another as you set them in the baking dish so that little space remains between the rolls. Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining melted butter so that all surfaces of the filo or covered with butter.

-Place bourma rolls into an oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake for about 25 minutes, until the rolls are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

-Meanwhile, prepare the Atar syrup by placing the sugar, water and cinnamon stick into a medium saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir only until the mixture begins to boil as continuing to stir will create a cloudy instead of a clear mixture. Allow to boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and place the lemon half into the mixture. Let cool completely, then remove the cinnamon stick and lemon half and stir together.

-Drizzle the cooled syrup over the cooled bourma rolls and let sit at room temperature for at least an hour to allow the pastry to absorb as much of the syrup as possible.

-Remove the rolls from the baking dish and cut each into 3 pieces, about 1 1/2 inches in length. (If the bourma are still soupy from the syrup, place them on a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet and allow excess syrup to drain for bout an hour.) Makes 36 pieces.