Pistachio Ghoriba(Algerian cookies)
Ghoriba, also known as ghriba, is a traditional butter cookies popular in The Greater Maghreb and the Middle East area as well,and come in many variations, from almond ghoriba to semolina ghoriba, and Pistachio ghoriba,,,, The name Ghoriba literally means "the mysterious" and it seems that the cookies were introduced to Moroccans by Andaloussi who fled to Spain and then came back to Morocco, bringing the recipe with them.
It’s crunchy from the outside and it literally melts in your mouth with each bite, I choose to prepare it with Pistachios this time,and it was really mouthwatering! also I was in love with the green color!
Ghoriba is the perfect tea time cookie,and can be served with Coffee as well :) Very delicious, so soft in the mouth!
lets jump in to the recipe,,,
Pistachio Ghoriba
Ingredients :
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup powder sugar, sifted
around 1 and 2/3 flour cups (and I added 2 extra Tablespoons flour)
1 cup lightly toasted and finely ground pistachios preferably powder
green food color if desire
some whole pistachios for decoration
Directions :
- In your food processor beat butter tell it gets creamy, add sugar and keep beating for 10 minutes until you get a homogeneous soft mixture.
- Add in ground pistachio powder and mix it in ,you now can add 2-3 drops of green food coloring to enhance the color more.
- Gradually start adding flour and mix gently tell a soft dough is formed .Don't over mix
- Knead the dough with your hands a few times to bring it together (here I needed to add the 2 Tablespoons flour because it was sticky little bet), don't over knead.
- Then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 175C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge then take small pieces of dough and shape them into a balls ,then use a knife to make a star shape on each, and place a whole Pistachio in the middle, place dough balls on prepared baking sheet pans and return them back to the fridge for 30 minutes.(This will help dough balls to hold their shapes while baking).
- Bake in the oven for 10-14 minutes just until slightly golden brown on the edges. Don't over bake them as they will dry out too much.
- Let them cool completly in the pan before transferring on a serving platter or airtight container. Serve with tea or coffee :)
Bon Appétit :)
