Tamara (Date Filled Gyraybeh with Pistachios) are one of the most delicious cookies I have ever made. If you’re looking for something sophisticated to enjoy with coffee or tea, an edible gift to share with friends or neighbors, or just a fun baking project, these cookies are exactly the right thing you need to learn and keep in your baking repertoire.

Tamara/ Date Filled Ghrayebeh with Pistachios (Video)

At its most basic, ghraybeh is made from flour, ghee and powdered sugar, humbly beautiful on their own with a cup of coffee, but the beauty can be adaptable to different versions, they can be made with nuts (just like pistachio filled sanioura ) or simply filled with dates like date filled ghraybeh; but when you combine ghraybeh with both pistachios and dates together  you will have the best of both worlds— you will end up with a third version that often goes by the name tamara. These melt-in-your-mouth delights involve flaky, buttery pastry that envelops a sweet date filling with a rich nutty flavor—thanks to the pistachios that incase the cookies. A Lebanese/ Syrian shortbread that belongs to the ghraybeh family and often found in most oriental sweet pastry shops. In Lebnanon all versions of Ghraybeh are especially baked for Eid, as well as Easter and Christmas.  And just like maamoul no celebration is complete without it.

Here is a step-by-step video to make the process more comprehensive and to show you exactly how to get the perfect Tamara.

Ingredients needed to make Tamara Ghraybeh

• All-purpose flour: It needs to be measured properly, and the correct way to do that is by weight. This is a more accurate way of measuring than with cups.
• Ghee: an integral ingredient in most of Middle Eastern sweets, it is popular due to its nutty flavor and high smoke point, because the milk solids are removed. Ghee adds a unique flavor to Tamara Ghraybeh, use a good brand.
•  Powdered sugar, aka Icing Sugar: Despite its fine texture, I recommend sifting powdered sugar to make it even fluffier and remove any lumps.
• Dates, use a soft variety like medjool, or Omani dates.
• Orange blossom water: a frequent ingredient in Middle Eastern desserts that has a delicate flavor and floral aroma.  Add it to the date filling to deepen the flavor notes.
• Mastic gum, optional but highly recommended, mastic adds an amazing flavor to the dates.
• Raw shelled pistachios, use fresh unsalted raw shelled pistachios.

Tips and Tricks!

• No doubt that the secret to flavorful tamara or any ghraybe cookies is flavorful ghee. Use the best brand you can find, it should be at room temperature but not melted.
• Use fleshy, soft and moist dates like Omani, Khudri or Medjool dates, and avoid any dry type, since you are going to transform them to a soft paste.
• Tamara like any ghraybeh contains no eggs which makes it a perfect option for those with egg allergies.
• No leavening agents included.
• I would prefer you use a scale in measuring the dough ingredients, specifically for this recipe, it is far more accurate than measuring with cups, which means you can be confident that you’ve followed the recipe exactly right.
• Mix together the ghee and powdered sugar, then gradually add the flour, until you end up with an adhesive dough. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, this will prevent the tamara from spreading out.
• It is easy to create log-shape tamara by your hands without a mold. Watch the video tutorial.
• Bake tamara on baking parchment or baking mat to prevent sticking!
• Watch your tamara carefully while they are baking, respect the oven temperature and baking time, so you want to take them out the right moment, tamara should be kept snow white. In order to achieve this but still make sure the tamara is entirely cooked through, you need to bake it at a low temperature. Typically, it should be baked at 300F / 150°C for 20 to 22 minutes.
• Tamara ghraybeh will be slightly soft once they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool down, so avoid touching or moving them while they are still hot so you don’t break them.
• Don’t ruin your efforts by rushing the cooling process. Cookies need to be completely cool to the touch before you store them. Hot cookies will release condensation into the air making your cookies soggy, which is something we need to avoid.

Can I use butter instead of ghee?

Ghee and Middle Eastern desserts are a match made in food heaven. Since ghee lacks the water content of regular butter, it produces far smooth, and dense melt-in-your-mouth ghreybeh. I don’t recommend butter in making tamara or any other ghraybeh version. The best substitute would be clarified butter. Here I explained how to clarify butter.

“Tamara Ghraybeh” cookies are a bit of a project to make but worth the time and effort. Assembly takes the most time, although it’s easy if you divide the work among a few sets of hands. To make the dough: Place the ghee and powdered sugar in a large bowl, mix with your hands to integrate together; add the flour a little at a time, and start mixing with the tips of your fingers. The mixture may first crumble, continue kneading until you have a dough of one texture, knead for more until it has a malleable smooth texture. Alternatively, you can use your stand mixer. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate just for 20 minutes. To prepare the date filling: Pull open the dates and remove the pits using a serrated knife. Transfer the dates to a food processor and add the ghee, orange blossom water and mastic gum, if used, and blend to get a paste. If your food processor is having a hard time making the chunks smaller and smooth, add a couple of tablespoons of water into the mix. Roll the date into small balls roughly to 2 -inches bites, if the dates are sticking to your hands rub your hands with a little oil. Place the raw pistachios in a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly grind them. Transfer to a large plate and spread in a single layer.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead well again. Take a bite sized dough a little bit bigger than the date balls. Make a hole in the center of each ball, with your finger fill the hole with a date ball. Seal the hole patching the dough together and roll it into a ball. Using With your hands, try to shape the date filled ball to miniature log, continuing to smooth and shape the dough by hand into a log, ensuring there are no cracks, then dip in the crushed pistachios, press well to help the pistachios stick to the date log on both sides. Roll it one more time on a countertop back and forth to ensure the pistachios are engraved. Carefully transfer the cookies to the parchment lined baking sheets and place them 1 inch apart.

For almost 20 years, I have made platters of tamara, sanioura, plain ghraybeh, almond paste stuffed cookies and maamoul for friends and family during holidays and special occasions, and I would say they were the talk of the town. Make each individually alone or you can even put together a big charcuterie-like board with all of the mentioned cookies together and serve them on holidays, parties and special occasions.

• Date Maamoul: They’re one of my favorite things to bake, eat and gift! If you’re looking for a lovely addition to your cookie collection, look no further.
• Plain Ghraybeh: With those humble ingredients you will end up making one of the most gratifying cookies in the Middle East to enjoy with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
• Pistachio Maamoul:  A semolina shortbread Lebanese/ Middle Eastern cookie that is bound with clarified butter, orange blossom water and rose water and accented with mahlab (an aromatic white spice used in the Middle East for baked goods).  The filling is usually either dates, pistachios or walnuts! The maamoul cookies are found in every Lebanese home during Eid and Easter holidays – they are rich, buttery and extremely indulgent!!
• Plain and Pistachio Filled Sanioura:  These simple sanioura cookies are ones I turn to when I need a quick and tasty cookie, but fair warning, they are dangerous to keep around, you’ll be snacking on them all day long!
• Date Filled Ghraybeh: If I had to think about a staple holiday cookie that reminds me of home, then ghraybeh is quite literally the first thing that jumps to my mind, and specifically date filled graybeh; yes ghraybeh, the Lebanese shortbread cookies with an interior date mixture.
• Almond Paste Stuffed Cookies: They are soft and loaded with an ultra-delicious almond flavor! But I guess these are an adult cookie recipe, a well scented something to enjoy with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
• Iraqi Kleicha: Resembling tiny pinwheels, those date filled round -shaped kleicha are a staple treat in Iraqi households around Eid! They would go so well with coffee or tea and would round out a cookie assortment. They are a bit of a project to make but worth every minute of it.
• Chocolate Chip Crescent Cookies: these melt in your mouth buttery cookies are loaded with chocolate chips and a dash of banana extract, and are covered with powdered sugar. They are so unbelievably good that they do not last a day at my house.

Tamara/ Date Filled Ghrayebeh with Pistachios (Video)

I would prefer you use a scale in measuring the dough ingredients, specifically for this recipe, it is far more accurate than measuring with cups, which means you can be confident that you’ve followed the recipe exactly right.

• Author:Hadia Zebib Khanafer, 
• Prep Time: 1 hour including the rest time of the dough
• Baking time: 20 to 22 minutes
• Serving: Makes 40 pieces

Ingredients:

The dough:

• 500 grams / 1 lb 2 oz. / 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 1/2 cups
• 250 gram / 9 oz. / 1 1/2 cups ghee
• 200 gram /  7 oz. / 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Date filling:

• 500 g. / 1 lb 2 oz. dates, use a soft variety like medjool, or Omani dates.
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
• ½ teaspoon mastic gum crushed with a pinch of sugar, optional, but highly recommended
• 2 tablespoons ghee

2 cups raw shelled pistachios, roughly crushed

Directions:

1. Place the ghee and powdered sugar in a large bowl, mix with your hands to integrate together; add the flour a little at a time, and start mixing with the tips of your fingers. The mixture may first crumble, continue kneading until you have a dough of one texture, knead for more until it has a malleable smooth texture. Alternatively, you can use your stand mixer. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate just for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to150 ° C/ 350 °F with a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Meantime, prepare the date filling: Pull open the dates and remove the pits using a serrated knife.
4. Transfer the dates to a food processor and add the ghee, orange blossom water and mastic gum, if used, and blend to get a paste. If your food processor is having a hard time making the chunks smaller and smooth, add a couple of tablespoons of water into the mix. Roll the date into small balls roughly to 2 -inches bites, if the dates are sticking to your hands rub your hands with a little oil. Set aside.
5. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
6. Place the raw pistachios in a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly grind them. Transfer to a large plate and spread in a single layer.
7. To put together: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead well again. Take a bite sized dough a little bit bigger than the date balls. Make a hole in the center of each ball, with your finger fill the hole with a date ball. Seal the hole patching the dough together and roll it into a ball. With your hands, try to shape the date filled ball to miniature log, continuing to smooth and shape the dough by hand into a log, ensuring there are no cracks, then dip in the crushed pistachios, press well to help the pistachios stick to the date log on both sides. Roll it one more time on a countertop back and forth to ensure the pistachios are engraved. Carefully transfer the cookies to the parchment lined baking sheets and place them 1 inch apart.
8. Bake one sheet pan at a time, in the center of the oven, watch carefully while they are baking, respect the oven temperature and baking time, so you want to take them out the right moment, tamara should be kept snow white. In order to achieve this but still make sure the tamara is entirely cooked through, you need to bake it at a low temperature. Typically, it should be baked at 300F / 150°C for 20 to 22 minutes.
9. Tamara ghraybeh will be slightly soft once they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool down, so avoid touching or moving them while they are still hot so you don’t break them.
10. Don’t ruin your efforts by rushing the cooling process. Tamara cookies need to be completely cool to the touch before you store them. Hot cookies will release condensation into the air making your Tamara soggy, which is something we need to avoid.
11. A cookie this festive call for a good cup of coffee on the side. Divine!

Here is a plain ghraybeh recipe worth learning!

Plain and pistchio filled sanioura is another recipe that belongs to the ghraybeh family

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If you make "Tamara Ghraybeh", leave a comment below, or share your pictures on Facebook! I would love to see your creations!! Hashtag, #Hadia’s lebanese Cuisine