A Flower Cookies - For Peace

Our friend Rosa of rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com is organizing an event called "Pastries For Peace" . Hoping that one day the Muslims and the Jewish will live in peace and harmony.
Anybody can participate. The the deadline is extended till the 15th of December 2009. Just send your links to grandchampatgmxdotch.

Flower Cookies

I saw this recipe at Mona Saboni's blog http://www.l2ma.com/ Mona is a member of the Walima Club, her blog is in Arabic, and full of delicious Middle Eastern Food.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup of semolina

1 egg

1/4 cup of unsalted butter
tsp of vanilla

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp of vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 cups of flour (depends on the flour and the mix, you need enough to make a cookie dough)

Syrup:

1 cup of water

2 cups of sugar

juice of 1/2 of lemon

cinnamon sticks, cloves

Stuffing:

ground walnuts, almonds, pistachios or even Kashta or pastry cream or Marscapone cheese

Preparation:

In a pot prepare the syrup , add the spices , when it starts to boil add the lemon juice and lower the heat , let it simmer for 8 minutes. cool completely before using.

In a food processor or by hand add the wet ingredients stir, then slowly add the semolina flour and mix to combine, add enough flour to make a nice smooth cookie dough... knead by hand to combine. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight...

On a floured board, knead the dough , roll very thinly, using a round cookie cutter cut 5-6 circles, and stack them one half way on top of the other....Roll from the last circle up gathering the sides , cut in half to get two flowers, try to open the ends as much as you can...to take the shape of a flower. You can stuff them between the layers of the flowers with your desired nuts or cream stuffing... I added the nuts before rolling the circles , making sure each centre has some .


Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 15-18 minutes or until then start to turn light brown, drizzle them with the cool syrup... Let them cool before you move them to a platter.

The cookies are not overly sweet , they have a crumbly texture which I like . delicious, and fit for any party or wedding reception.