Crispy edges, chewy middle, sesame seeds on one side, pistachio chunks on the other ,this is how I can describe this delicious Syrian cookies.
Ingredients
How to make Barazek
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy then add the sugar and mix well.
- Mix in the egg, vanilla and vinegar until everything is well incorporated.
- Finally add the flour and baking powder along with a dash of salt.
- Cover and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Take a piece of the dough as big or as small as you want your cookies to be.
- Flatten the dough into a disc about ¼ inch thick.
- The thinner the cookie is, the more crunchy it will be. Images 2 and 3.
- Press in a bowl of the roasted sesame seeds to coat one side.
- Then press the other side to coat with pistachio chunks.
- Bake in a 350F preheated oven for about 20 minutes until bottom is golden brown.
Barazek cookies
one fine day, I've decided to try sending my kids to school with homemade lunches and snacks, just to reduce whatever unknown ingredients they may consume with the prepackaged store bought stuff.
It was a hard but wise decision to make, the commitment is killing me but when I remember all the things I'm stuffing them with, I go back to sacrificing my time and efforts in their health.
It was very overwhelming in the beginning, but now I've got used to this. One of my main concerns was treats, what to put in there that is not too sweet and have something on the healthy side of the road. So here came the Barazek.
Nutty and mildly sweet, these cookies are scrumptious, addicting and wonderful. They all loved it and asked for more. Make it as big or as small as you want, crunchy or chewy depend on the thickness you form them, so these cookies can be tailored to your liking very easy.
Thankfully my kid's school did not have serious nut allergy problems so it was passed, but if you have them in your school you may dip both sides of the cookies in sesame seeds.
It is wonderful beyond belief, I hope some of you get a chance to try it. Here is a short video on how to make barazek. Enjoy!!
Related Recipes
- Tahini cookies are like enjoying Halva in a cookie form. A delicious and nutty twist on traditional cookies, made with simple ingredients. These cookies are often topped with sesame seeds and have a crispy texture with a slightly chewy center.
If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar.
- ½ teaspoon baking powder.
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cup white flour.
- 1 teaspoon vinegar.
- a pinch of salt
- a dash of vanilla powder use any kind of vanilla you have
- 1 cup of roasted sesame seeds.
- 1 cup of coarsely chopped unsalted pistachios.
Instructions
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy then add the sugar and mix well.
- Mix in the egg, vanilla and vinegar until everything is well incorporated.
- Finally add the flour and baking powder along with a dash of salt, let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Take a piece of the dough as big or as small as you want your cookies to be, I like mine big and crunchy.
- Flatten the dough into a disc about ¼ inch thick. The thinner the cookie is, the more crunchy it will be.
- Press in a bowl of the roasted sesame seeds to coat one side.
- Then press the other side to coat with pistachio chunks.
- Bake in a 350F preheated oven for about 20 minutes until bottom is golden brown.
Video
Notes
If you want barazek cookies to be more crunchy make them thinner but if you want them chewy make them thicker than I did. Both are good and delicious it is just your preference.
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Aqilah
Hello! Do you perhaps have this recipe with measurements in grams/weight? Cup measurements tend to vary across the continents
Amira
Currently I don't Aqilah, I will try to do my best in the future. Thanks
lily
Thank you for your amazing recipe!
How many cc (ml) are in one cup? Because In my country one cup is 200ml.
Amira
A US cup- 236.588ml. I hope this helps.
Karen
Made these today, lovely, thank you for sharing. X.
Amira
Thank you so much, happy you liked them.
Melaney Taylor
Amira I love your recipes!.Shukran!.I am South African, my husband Egyptian and although I lived in the Middle East many years, I never mastered Egyptian cooking.Your recipes are easy
Thank you
Melaney
Amira
Thank you so much Melaney for your sweet comment, I am happy that my recipes are helping out in the kitchen.
Dr Martha Bordonaro
Amira,
Sylvia
Do you know approximately how many cookies this makes?
Bill
I'm about to make a batch of these for our Syrian refugee friends (I haven't tasted 'em yet, so can't really rate the recipe).
Anyway, your recipe should perhaps say which side should go on the bottom. From the photo, though, I'm guessing pistachio side down.
Soumya
I’m planning to bake them. Should the pistachios be roasted? Can I replace egg with any replacer?
Amira
I did not roast mine Soumaya, I've never made it without eggs but here is a link that might help.
Tamam Baida
Amira, my grandparents were from Syria. The Syrian ladies would make barazek during holidays....I forgot about barazek. Just made barazek and followed your recipe. Very good, indeed. {I added a little bit more flour. Put little syrup in the pistachios and this helped with sticking to batter. Thank you for the tips.]
Going to your website for more baking/cooking recipes for MidEastern food fare.
Amira
Tamam, than you so much for your comment. Syrian kitchen is filled with tasty recipes. I love these cookies a lot for their mild sweetness.
Stella
Hi Amira,
I am thinking of making these cookies when we have a Syrian friend over for dinner. However, my husband is allergic to pistachios and cashews. I can I use any other nut on the base, what would you suggest? Thanks,
Amira
Stella, traditionally it is made with pistachios, however you can leave it out, use any other suitable nut or use sesame on both sides. I am sure your guests will not object when they know it is for a medical reason.
Deborah Clarke
Fabulous recipe! Thankyou so much for sharing this - I've never made anything like these before but am certain I will be making them again soon! Adding vinegar seemed so strange and the texture when I was squashing them into disks was really unusual too - and I have loved this new, unfamiliar experience! Family favourite already! Stay well and best wishes.
Amira
Thank Deborah, so glad you and your family liked it.
Asma Afzal Hasham
Hello Amira
I liked this recipe of urs its very quick n easy wanted to know that can you please suggest substitute for egg in recipe.
Tamam Baida
Amira, moi, aussi!
sa musharbash
Hi , what is the vinegar do , for this recipe ?
thank you .
Amira
Sally, it reacts with the leavener to give the cookies some added lightness!
Michelle
The measurement for the powdered sugar seems to be missing it just says 1/2. But 1/2 what? Is it 1/2 cup?
Amira
Thank you so much for catching this Michelle. It is 1/2 cup indeed.
Rose-Anna
Hi ,
I am French Canadian, I had never tasted sesame seed cookies with pistachios before. I wish to thank you for sharing this lovely recipe, I made mine thicker at 1/4” and it was a happy discovery. My family really enjoyed them. They will now be part of my collection of recipes.
Jessica
Thank you so much for this recipe! My great-grandparents came from Syria and we have lost all their recipes, customs and traditions. I found your blog and made the barazek cookies and they turned out wonderful! It was so nice to have a way to connect with my ancestors and I plan to visit your blog often for more recipes.
Amira
Jessica, Thank you for your sweet words, I am so thrilled that you've liked the recipe and hopefully brought back sweet memories.
Lisa
Thank you for this recipe. They are delicious. I forgot to add the vinegar, but they still worked! I made them for a Syrian colleague who is going away for a long while. I hope he likes them!
Amira
Lisa, thank you for trying this out and I hope your friend will like it.
Lisa Feinson
Both Syrian colleagues loved them! They said they tasted just like home.
Amira
Thanks you Lisa for trying this out. I am glad that your colleagues were reminded of home.
Kelley
These are my new favourite cookies - have made them four times already! Not too sweet and the nuts and seeds add a lot of flavour. Thank you for introducing me to this recipe!
Amira
kelley, thank you for trying this recipe. You’ve just spotted the two things I like most about these cookies. They are fabulous and I am glade you’ve liked them.
Meg
Loved them. Not too sweet and the sesame and pistachio are great together. Great with a cuppa, which I am having now! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Meg
Amira
Meg, I am glad you liked them that much 🙂 they are indeed very flavorful with the sesame and pistachios.
Dan the aussie Man
They are in my oven right now. Kids excited to try something new and Im excited that it was so easy.
I swapped out sugar for dextrose.... hope it works out.
Amira
Hmmm Dextrose!! I do not know about that.. Everyone who tried this recipe as is liked it a lot. I hope you've liked your dextrose version. Thanks for trying the recipe.
Fatima
I made this some time ago. My family still remember them fondly and beg me to bake them again.
Amira
Fatima, they are one of our favorite cookies as well, glad your family loved it :). Thanks for the feed back.
Elke
Amira thank you for this recipe, the cookies turned out great! I never tried something like this before but it's an easy and yummy recipe. Greetings from Belgium
Amira
Glad you liked them Elke :), I hope you'll try more and tell me what do you think. Thanks for the feedback.
Shannon
Just a question - is it 1/2 cup of powdered sugar? It looks like the unit was left off in the ingredient list. Making these as a surprise and I want to make sure they come out right.
Also, about how many cookies does this recipe make? Thanks for sharing!
Suzane
Amazing recipe ! We loved the cookies I made them last night and I added my middle eastern touch to it, I mixed a tsp of rose water and a tsp of orange blossom while mixing the eggs and vanilla, and keep in mind ladies reduce the baking time if you're making them thin!
Amira
How cool!! I love your new additions to this recipe. Thanks for trying this out and I am happy that you've liked them. Good point in reducing the baking time though.
Henna
what lovely biscuits! Not only are they a great lunchbox snack, but also a great tea-time one as well 😉
Norma Chang
I too love the combination of sesame seeds and pistachio. Learning about Syrian cuisine and culture through your posts, thanks.
Juliana
These cookies look great Amira...I like the combination of sesame and pistachio...great flavors!
Hope you are enjoying your week 🙂
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz
Totally worth to make the effort for lunches. I love these cookies, I will try them soon. Sesame and pistachio together sounds amazing.
John/Kitchen Riffs
I'd have loved these in my lunch when I was a kid. Or for my lunch today, for that matter. 😉 These are terrific -- thanks.
marie
I think homemade food is the best for us and for kids! You are doing great for their health Amira. I think I would enjoy these delicious cookies too. Soon in vacation, perfect time to try and treat ourselves.
Thanks and take care of yourself my friend.
Hotly Spiced
It's great that you're making the effort to make lunch boxes for your kids. I know it's an effort but at least you know what your kids are eating. I'm very unfamiliar with Syrian cuisine so thank you for the introduction. The cookies look wonderful xx
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
I'd love these cookies. I've never eaten one but just looking at the photos and ingredient list - I know they'd be favorites here too.
Liz
I know I'd love these in MY lunch! You're a good mom 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
These are one of my favourite cookies! I had them in Oman where I was instantly smitten. Your barazek look wonderful!
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You
They are quite beautiful and delicious as well with sesame and pistachios. I am sure that would be make an awesome afternoon treat for both adults and kids.