"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!

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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.

7. Separately, Mix ½ cup of room temperature milk with 3 tsp of yeast mix evenly.
8. After 30 mins, pour the ½ milk with yeast in the dough and knead the dough thoroughly.
   
   
   
   
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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:
    
    
    
12. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
13. Get a cookie sheet pan and lay parchment paper on it.
14. Place the cookies on the tray with even space between them likewise:
15. 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:
    
    
    
    

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

 

17. After the cookies have cooled down, sprinkle powdered sugar evenly on top of the cookies.
    
    
    
    
18. That is all for the recipe, Enjoy! 
    
    
    
    

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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!

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^[1] The celebration after Ramadan

^[2] Celebration cookies