How to Make Mabsoos (Oil Cakes)

Ingredients

• 500 g (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup olive oil, or ½ cup olive oil + ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp whole anise seeds
• 1 tsp mahleb
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp nigella (black) seeds
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, or more to taste
• 1 cup warm water for kneading, or as needed for the flour

Method

1. Mix the dry ingredients, then add the oil and combine.
2. Add the warm water gradually and knead until you have a cohesive, soft dough that can be shaped.
3. Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour or longer in a warm place. Allow more resting time if the weather is cold.
   Timers: 60 min
4. After resting, divide the dough into balls and shape into discs. You can use cookie/cake molds for this or shape them by hand.
5. Place them on parchment paper on a baking tray, or lightly oil the tray.
6. Bake the mabsoos in a moderate oven until cooked through and lightly browned.
7. Serve once cooled to room temperature.
8. Mabsoos recipe from a friend and cook on Shu Tabkhin el-Youm
9. Georgina Bitar
10. Click Georgina's name to visit her profile on our site
11. For more delicious cakey recipes from our site, see Kahk al-Khamis (Thursday cakes / al-murqad)