Ma'karoun Sweets (Zainab's Fingers)

Ingredients

• 3 cups semolina (coarse semolina OK)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups anise-flavored water
• A pinch of salt
• For soaking the ma'karoun:
• Sugar syrup (qater or shira)
• For more sweets you'll love, try this recipe: Basbousa with Toffee
• From the Arab kitchen, enjoy this tasty kunafa: Knafeh with Mozzarella Cheese

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together, then let the dough rest for about half an hour.
2. After 30 minutes, shape the dough: roll into balls, then press each piece over a sieve to form long ridged shapes.
   Timers: 30 min
3. Fry the pastries in hot oil until deep golden and cooked through.
4. Remove them from the oil and place them into cold sugar syrup.
5. Drain the pieces from excess syrup, then serve.
6. Note: If the ma'karoun is hot, place it into cold syrup. If you let the pastries cool after frying, soak them in hot syrup — this keeps the crisp, crunchy texture.