Chebakia (Moroccan Sesame Honey Cookies)

About This Recipe

Chebakia are the cookie most associated with Ramadan in Morocco, appearing on nearly every table each evening to break the fast alongside harira soup, their shape twisted into flower-like rosettes before frying. The dough is spiced with cinnamon, saffron and orange blossom water, rolled thin, cut into strips, and shaped by hand into loops before being deep-fried until golden and delicately crisp. While still hot, the fried cookies are dunked immediately into warm honey and then rolled in toasted sesame seeds, the honey soaking in as it cools to give chebakia its signature sticky, deeply sweet finish.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 4 cupsall-purpose flour
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 pinchsaffron threads
• 2 tbsporange blossom water
• 1/4 cupvegetable oil(for dough)
• 1 tspbaking powder
• 1/2 tspsalt
• 1egg
• 1/2 cupwarm water(approximate, as needed)
• 4 cupsvegetable oil(for frying)
• 2 cupshoney
• 2 tbsporange blossom water(for honey syrup)
• 1 cuptoasted sesame seeds(for coating)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Combine flour, cinnamon, saffron, baking powder and salt, then work in orange blossom water, oil, egg and enough warm water to form a firm, smooth dough.

2. 2

   Knead well

   Knead the dough thoroughly for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic; rest covered for 20 minutes.

3. 3

   Roll and cut

   Roll the dough thin, about 1/8 inch, and cut into strips roughly 4 inches by 1.5 inches, making 3-4 lengthwise slits in each strip without cutting through the ends.

4. 4

   Shape into flowers

   Weave the strip through its own slits and gently pull to open it into a rosette or flower shape.

   This shaping takes practice — it's fine if the first several look imperfect; the flavor is unaffected.

5. 5

   Fry

   Fry the shaped cookies in batches in hot oil (350F/175C) until deep golden, 3-4 minutes, turning to color evenly.

6. 6

   Warm the honey

   Gently warm the honey with orange blossom water in a wide pan (do not boil).

7. 7

   Coat

   Drop the hot fried cookies directly into the warm honey, turning to coat, then transfer immediately to a tray of toasted sesame seeds and turn to coat generously.

Variations

• •

  Some families add a few tablespoons of toasted ground almonds to the dough for extra richness.

• •

  Chebakia keeps improving for a few days as the honey fully soaks in, so many households make large batches ahead of Ramadan.

• •

  A simplified version skips the intricate flower shaping and simply twists the strips into loose knots.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks — chebakia is designed to keep well, and the flavor actually deepens over the first several days.

Frequently Asked Questions