Ma'karoun (Zaynab's Fingers)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fine semolina or soft wheat flour
• 1/2 cup medium semolina
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 1 medium tablespoon ground anise
• 1 tablespoon whole anise seeds
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ghee or butter
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk (or as needed)
• Sugar syrup (qatr / shireh) for dipping the ma'karoun after frying
• Note:
• This dough contains no yeast to preserve the pattern and the crunch and to allow the syrup to penetrate more into the pieces.
• The syrup should be thick so you get the desired crunch.
• You can add 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves to the syrup for a lovely flavor and aroma — optional, of course.
• These delicious Arabic sweets are from a chef and friend of the Shou Tabkhin Today site:
• Laila Hammoud
• Click Laila's name to visit her profile page on our site
• To get Laila's recipe for making mini 'Athmaliyyeh' sweets click this link: Mini 'Athmaliyyeh'
• To make Laila's Crème Caramel also click the link
• Fried Awamat with a successful recipe at this link

Method

1. Mix the dry ingredients, then add the oil and ghee and rub them well into the mixture.
2. Add the water and milk gradually and mix/knead until you have a soft dough.
3. Let the dough rest for 15–30 minutes.
   Timers: 30 min
4. After resting, shape the dough into finger-like pieces and pass them over a patterned sieve (or a tool made for this purpose) to give them the characteristic ridged pattern — you can also use other tools if you prefer.
5. Fry the ma'karoun in plenty of oil over medium heat until they are light golden.
6. Transfer them from the oil into thick sugar syrup.
7. Drain the ma'karoun from excess syrup after a few minutes, then serve.