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Wednesday, April 28, 2021

"Kahk El-Eid (Egyptian Eid Cookies)" By Anastasia L


            With Coptic Orthodox Easter and Eid El-Fitr[1] around the corner, I have to tell you about these amazing Eid Cookies cookies[2] or, as they are traditionally called, Kahk El-Eid. Kahk is believed to date back to Egypt during the Pharaonic times; it was found in the pictures drawn on the temples and buildings of Egypt. In present time, it is a symbol and tradition of celebration for both Muslim and Christian communities in Egypt.

 As a Christian, my family gathered and made Kahk, usually twice a year, for Christmas and Easter. The making of these cookies is simple but it brings great unity to all of the members of the family. Even after coming to America, my mother kept these traditions and made these cookies every year to bring the family closer together. To me, Kahk is a symbol for family, happiness, and celebration all in one. Because it is a celebration that brings all family and friends together, usually, every year I would make a large amount of cookies and share them with my classmates and teachers at school; however, since the pandemic is still ongoing, I share this with my co-workers. I always enjoy sharing my happiness with others because it makes the occasion 10x better than it already is. This is definitely my favorite dessert and I’m glad to be sharing this with you. I hope you enjoy this recipe and may it bring you much joy like it does to me!


Ingredients and tools:

   6 cups of flour

   2 ½  cups of hot butter

   3 Tbsp of sugar

   3 Tsp of yeast

   ½ cup of room temperature milk

   Agameya (special honey filling) , walnuts, loukoums, and pistachios(optional)

   Powdered sugar

   Spatula

Recipe:

  1. Put 6 cups of flour in a bowl. 





  2. Then, add 2 tbsp of sugar and mix together.
  3. On high heat, put 2 ½ cup of butter in a pot and wait till it gets hot melted but be careful, do not burn it.
  4. After the butter is melted and hot, pour it carefully bit by bit and mix with your favorite spatula. While pouring the butter, it should make bubbles like this:





  5. After mixing it carefully, the dough should look like this: 


  6. Leave the dough for about 30 mins to cool off completely.

Notice: The dough needs to be room temperature because the yeast will not activate if the temperature of the dough is high.

  1. Separately, Mix ½ cup of room temperature milk with 3 tsp of yeast mix evenly.
  2. After 30 mins, pour the ½ milk with yeast in the dough and knead the dough thoroughly.


  3. After kneading the dough evenly, take a small part of the dough and shape it into a sphere, then press the dough down with the palm of your hand.
  4. If you want fillings in it, slightly press your thumb down in the middle of the sphered dough and put a small amount of your filling in it. Then close the dough by gathering all sides of the dough to the center, then shaping it into a sphere and press it down on your palms again.
  5. After closing the dough, get a fork and press down slightly on the dough several times so the heat can be distributed evenly through the dough. It should look like this:

  6. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
  7. Get a cookie sheet pan and lay parchment paper on it.
  8. Place the cookies on the tray with even space between them likewise:
  9. Place the cookie tray in the oven and wait till the bottom of the cookie presents a golden color. The color should look like this:






  1. After cookies are ready to take out of the oven, place on the counter to cool down.

 

  1. After the cookies have cooled down, sprinkle powdered sugar evenly on top of the cookies.


  2. That is all for the recipe, Enjoy! 







The picture above should be the final result. Usually these delicious cookies are eaten with other homemade cookies and any type of tea. The cookie should feel soft and smooth and have a golden color to it. These are usually placed on a coffee table in a cookie platter for people to eat throughout the day and to remind them of the beautiful and holy occasion we are celebrating. One Kahk is about 160 calories and it is pretty filling, therefore, it is a very good snack. I hope everyone enjoyed the blog and to tell me how the cookies turned out (if you get to try the recipe). Thank you everyone for taking you time to read this recipe, Have a Wonderful Day Everyone!



[1] The celebration after Ramadan

[2] Celebration cookies

35 comments:

  1. I absolutely love your story about the Kahk El- Eid cookies! I never knew that these were such a big deal! It's so cool that you shared your recipe with us! I'll have to try and make some myself! I loved the picture that you included with each step! Great job! - Samantha Galarza

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  2. I really enjoyed reading this recipe! The pictures you included along with each step were a great visual. It was also really interesting to hear about how this desert is connected to your culture.

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  3. I loved reading your introduction and understanding the importance of these cookies, and your personal experience with making them. They sound and look so delicious and I will have to give it a try. I also enjoyed reading about the historic prevalence of these cookies. It was very enlightening to read about. Wow! I’m so glad you incorporate pictures for each of the steps, this couldn’t have been a better recipe tutorial. As a visual learner I appreciated seeing your pictures for each step, this made your recipe even more clearer to understand. Personally, I always choose recipes that have a short list of ingredients that are easy to obtain, so I liked that your cookies had simple ingredients as well! Overall good job, when I make these I’ll make sure to have them with tea.

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  4. I loved reading your introduction and understanding the importance of these cookies, and your personal experience with making them. They sound and look so delicious and I will have to give it a try. I also enjoyed reading about the historic prevalence of these cookies. It was very enlightening to read about. Wow! I’m so glad you incorporate pictures for each of the steps, this couldn’t have been a better recipe tutorial. As a visual learner I appreciated seeing your pictures for each step, this made your recipe even more clearer to understand. Personally, I always choose recipes that have a short list of ingredients that are easy to obtain, so I liked that your cookies had simple ingredients as well! Overall good job, when I make these I’ll make sure to have them with tea.

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  5. As one who celebrates Ramadan.. I have tot ell you that these are my favorite cookies to eat and drink tea with after the Eid party we have. It's crazy how much of a culturally tradition have such an impact on many families. I should try and make some of my own... we usually buy ours from the store haha.

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  6. Hailey M HillstockMay 5, 2021 at 7:38 AM

    I can really tell that this recipe is special to you and your family. I always enjoy learning from different cultures so thank you for sharing this recipe !

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  7. Michaiah StanfordMay 5, 2021 at 9:15 AM

    Thank you for sharing this recipe! I was glad to read how this dish really brings your family together and you enjoy sharing it with others. Can't wait to try it sometime!

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  8. Richelle MendozaMay 5, 2021 at 9:18 AM

    I love cookies and these look so amazing. I'm a big fan of powdered sugar so I really want to try this! I love the deep meaning behind them.

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  9. Thank you for sharing your recipe and story! I loved hearing how this dessert is connected to your family and culture. Great job!

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  10. Oh my goodness these look delicious! I've had them before in the past but never exactly knew what they were so I thank you for sharing this because I would love to try making these :)!

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  11. Diego KontorovskyMay 6, 2021 at 11:59 AM

    I have a friend who celebrates Ramadan and he always is excited for these so its cool to see how they are made. They look very good, thank you for sharing!!

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  12. I love how you explained the importance of the cookies to you and your family and how they're eaten at different holiday celebrations. With Eid coming up I'm glad you made this recipe that has great instructions because I'd love to make them for my family.

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  13. Benjamin Galaz Jr.May 8, 2021 at 4:23 PM

    Thanks for the recipe, my sister loves making cookies and I'm sure she'd love to give these a shot. I love how you including your backstory on the dish.

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  14. I always love to hear about the importance of food when it comes to culture! Thank you for sharing the recipe with us, I cannot wait to try making these.

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  15. I loved how you mentioned that making food from our heritage ultimately brings everyone together as one. The cookies look sweet and tasty and I would love to try some on my own, all with the fun of making them myself! Thank you for sharing your culture and food with us, expanding our appetites and search for new things!

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  16. Reading your introduction to these delicious cookies was amazing! I loved how you gave background information about Kahk El-Eid. Not only are these cookies but these have a special meaning to you and your family. I can't wait to try these cookies!

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  17. I love how you included pictures throughout your instructions! It made it easier to follow along, and I like how you talked about how this recipe was a big tradition within your Christian household.

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  18. The symbolism these cookies bring to you, almost made me shed a tear!!! It's crazy how a food can bring family from all parts of the world together. These look SO YUMMY and I can't wait to try them out!

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  19. Kaitlyn EdmundsonMay 10, 2021 at 5:52 PM

    I really like how you gave the background and meaning behind the dish before telling us how to make it. It gave the recipe so much more meaning. Thank you for including a lot of pictures that clearly show the progress of making the cookies. I need all the help I can get when it comes to baking lol.

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  20. Charmaine LucianoMay 11, 2021 at 2:27 AM

    I loved your introduction and how you expressed how meaningful these cookies are for you! I love cookies so much and these look tasty so I must give this a try! I like how you included pictures to show how each step should look like. Thanks for this recipe :) -Charmaine Luciano

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  21. Andrew AbdulkarimMay 11, 2021 at 6:02 AM

    Being half Lebanese myself, it is so cool to learn about other Middle Eastern countries regarding their culture and traditions. These sound so good and I would love to make them sometime. Thank you for sharing!

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  22. OOO this looks so good. Great job being precise on the ingredients and directions, one day I'll make this and see how delicious and sweet this is

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  23. This looks like such a yummy recipe and i love love how you added pictures throughout to make the recipe easier to make. I hope to make this one day.

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  24. THESE LOOK SO GOOD! Also love how meaningful these cookies mean to you and your culture. Thank you for sharing and I can't wait to try it out!

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  25. This looks so yummy! I loved how you included step by step pictures throughout the process. Thank you for sharing I cant wait to make these myself!

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  26. As someone who celebrates Eid, I definitely need to try these cookies. They sound absolutely yummy!! I can't believe out of all the years my family has celebrated Eid, I haven't tried these. Thank you so much for sharing! I am definitely trying these this year. - marwa jamily

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  27. Thank you for sharing the history and cultural significance of these cookies and the meaning that it caries for you. I love baking and it is always nice to learn new recipes.

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  28. Michelle WilliamsonMay 11, 2021 at 10:54 AM

    Anastasia!

    As someone who has tried your cookies, I am SO GLAD YOU POSTED THE RECIPEEEEEE. Im genuinely going to be making these because I would ALWAYS stuff these in my purse when you brought them to work. Thank you maam !

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  29. These look so awesome and delicious! Never tried them before but this recipe definitely caught my eye into trying something new. Also thank you for providing background into this tradition! I loved reading it.

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  30. OMGGGGGG THESE LOOK AMAZING. I literally love how you included pictures throughout the instructions, it helps so much. Whenever I'm baking I always ask myself if that's what its supposed to look like. LOL. Thank you for the amazing recipe can't wait to try it!!!

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  31. Thank you for sharing this part of you and your culture it really makes me want to give these cookies a try !!!

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  32. These look so good! I never thought yeast could be used for something like a cookie

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  33. Omg these look so good, I also liked how you spoke of your culture and the significance it has to you.

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  34. These cookies look absolutely delicious. As a Christian, it's really exciting to learn about how different the religion could be without even knowing. I will definitely be showing this recipe to my parents to make for the next Easter.

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  35. These cookies look so delicious and fun to make and I loved hearing about how relevant they are to your religion! I definitely want to try making these because the way you wrote the recipe made it very easy to read and follow along. I hope you have a wonderful day as well! Thank you for sharing these! :)

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