Date Bracelet Cookies

Ingredients

• 5 cups flour
• 2 cups fine semolina
• 1 1/2 cups ghee
• 1 1/2 cups Riton oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons kaak spice
• 1 tablespoon ground fennel
• 1 tablespoon ground anise
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 tablespoon nigella seeds
• 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
• About 2 cups warm liquid milk
• Filling:
• 1 kilo ground dates
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mahaleb
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients except the yeast.
2. Add the oil and ghee over them and rub them together until combined, then leave them overnight.
3. The next day, dissolve the yeast in a little warm water with 1 teaspoon of sugar and let it sit for a short time until activated and foamy.
4. Add it to the mixture and knead with the milk until you have a smooth dough that does not stick to the hands.
5. Let the dough rest for 1 hour.
   Timers: 60 min
6. Meanwhile, knead the ground dates with the oil and spices, then shape the date filling into balls slightly smaller than the dough balls you will make after the dough has rested.
7. Shape the dough into small balls, then roll them out lengthwise by hand. Roll out the date balls as well, then place the date filling inside the dough and fold the two ends over each other so you have a finger-like shape. Join the ends to get a bracelet shape.
8. When you finish shaping all the date bracelets and arranging them on baking trays, preheat the oven to 180°C, top and bottom heat.
9. Heat the oven, then bake the date bracelet cookies on the middle rack for about 12 minutes only, or حسب the oven, until the cookies or bracelets take on a light color on both sides. Do not overbake.
   Timers: 12 min
10. Serve them at room temperature.
11. Note: Milk powder can be substituted with the same amount of ground anise. In that case, the dough should be kneaded with anise water instead of liquid milk.
12. Click the link to get the recipe for Kaak Al-Abbas