222 – Walnut Ghriba – Moroccan Cookie (gluten free)

Ingredients :

• 15.5 oz (450 grams) of raw walnuts
• A few pebbles of arabic (mastic) gum (optional)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon apricot jam (optional)
• 2 large eggs (egg yolks and egg whites separated)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) butter melted
• Powdered sugar for rolling

Directions :

Step 1: Making the Cookie Mixture
1-  In a food processor, grind the walnuts until you get a fine mixture.
2-  To prepare the arabic gum, use a mortar and pestle set to crush the gum with a bit of sugar until it becomes like a powder.
3-  In a large bowl, place the walnut powder, the mastic gum powder, the granulated white sugar, the baking powder, pinch of salt, ground cinnamon, the apricot jam, and the egg yolks. Mix well using your hands until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
4-  Add the melted butter to the mixture and continue mixing.

Step 2: Rolling the Cookies
1-  Preheat your oven to 350F (180 C) degrees.
2-  Roll the dough into small balls the size of a walnut.
3-  Once you roll a cookie ball, dip it in the egg whites, then in the powdered sugar until it’s completely covered with powdered sugar. Place the ball in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Give a little tap to the cookies balls to flatten them a bit.
4-  Continue steps 2 and 3 until you finish the cookie dough. Make sure to space the cookies in the baking sheet as they are going to expand when baking.

Step 3: Baking the Cookies
1-  Bake the cookies for around 12-15 minutes (depending on the oven).
2-  The cookies will still be soft when you remove them from the oven, but they are not ‘runny’ or ‘gewy’.
3-  The cookies will harden when they cool down.
4-  Let the cookies cool down for around 10 minutes, then gently remove them from the baking pan and roll them in a fresh batch of powdered sugar until totally covered.
5-  Let the cookies completely cool down before serving!
Note: you can keep the cookies in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 1 month.
Bon Appetit!