Ghourabia is like an Armenian sugar cookie made with simple ingredients and a touch of Oghi (like Greek Ouzo). Typically you might see these in a form of a circle, but medz mama likes to make them in a shape of a "S". Every year she takes pride in making these for the Armenian Food Festival at St. Andrew Armenian Church.
Ingredients:
16oz container of Crisco
2 cups powdered sugar
4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon Oghi (Arak)
Preparing the Dough:
Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl and set aside for later
In a separate bowl, empty the entire 16oz Crisco container into a large mixing bowl and start mixing the crisco with your hands and smoothing it out against the inside of the bowl to create a smooth consistency
Add 1 tablespoon of Oghi and continue to mix in
Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time for a total of 2 cups and mix with your hands until incorporated
Add 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Add in 4 cups of flour one cup at a time to slowly incorporate. You will need to knead the dough until it all comes together. It will still feel a little sticky in the end but shouldn't feel too loose or overly sticky. The mixing process does take a while until it all comes together nicely. Make sure to clean the sides of the bowl with a spatula
Forming the Cookies:
Take a little piece of the dough and squeeze so that it forms together. Then roll it super delicately with your finger tips into a long strip. If you push too hard the dough will crack and crumble. If you you do it very softly the dough should almost feel like its melting into its form
Then shape the strip into an "S" shape and put it on a cookie pan to bake. You don't have to spray the pan because the cookie is naturally oily
Once you have formed all the cookies cook it in the oven for about 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven. The cookie SHOULD NOT brown. It should keep it's white color.
Typically when you hear Boureg you think of phyllo dough or puff pastry that has been filled with cheese. With this dish the dough has been stuffed with spinach, walnuts, onions, and spices! This is a healthy dish and it's a good one to keep in the fridge to snack on. I actually prefer to eat it at room temperature rather than heating it up. It's so good! This recipe does leave you with a lot of extra dough so you can fill the remaining dough with cheese and make cheese boureg if you'd like!
Ingredients:
2 bunches of fresh spinach
1/2 a yellow onion
1/4 of a cup finely chopped unsalted raw walnuts
Salt
Pepper
Ground Red Pepper (Garmeer Buber)
3 tablespoons Tahini
2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeeze lemon juice
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
6 tablespoons Mazola corn oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups water
Prepare the Filling:
Chop the spinach into small thin strips and put it in a strainer
Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt to the spinach and let it stand for 10 minutes. this will help break down the spinach a bit
Run water over the spinach to wash off some of the salt
Squeeze the water out of the spinach and pat it dry and put it in a large mixing bowl
Chop half a yellow onion into thin strips that are about 1 inch long and put in a strainer
Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the onions and let it sit for 10 minutes. this will help break down the onions similarly to the spinach
Run water over the onions to wash off some of the salt
Squeeze the water of the onions and then add the onion to the mixing bowl that has the spinach
Add 1/4 of a cup finely chopped raw walnuts to the bowl
Add 3 tablespoons of tahini to the bowl
Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the bowl
Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the bowl
Add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the bowl
Add 1 teaspoon of ground red pepper (garmeer beeber) to the bowl
Add 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper to the bowl
Mix all the ingredients together
Prepare the Dough:
Add 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour to a mixing bowl
Add 6 tablespoons of Mazola corn oil and mix with your hands
Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder
Add 1 1/2 cups of water slowly while continuing to mix to bring the dough together
Continue to knead the dough until it comes together and forms a ball
Cover the dough with saran wrap directly touching the dough in the bowl and let it rest for 20 minutes
Assembling the Bouregs:
Separate the dough into 5 pieces and form them into balls
Start with 1 piece while the others stay covered so they don't dry out
Add flour to your board and start rolling out the piece of dough using a rolling pin until the dough becomes very thin. Continue to add flour as needed as it will help open up the dough easier
Use a small plate or cookie cutter thats about 4.5 inches in diameter to cut out circles
Add a spoonful of the spinach filling into the center of each circle
Bring 3 sides of the circle and pinch together on the edges and center to form a triangle
Continue this process with all your dough pieces (Note: you will mostly likely have a lot of left over dough so feel free to add cheese or anything else you like if you run out of the spinach filling)
Cooking the Bouregs:
Align the bouregs on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray
Whisk 1 egg in a bowl and brush the tops of the boureg with the egg mixture. This will give it a nice shine after it cooks
Cook in the oven at 375 degrees until golden brown
