Egyptian Date Crescents #CreativeCookieExchange

These melt-in-your-mouth shortbread crescents are filled with sweet and sticky dates then covered in powdered sugar. 

My Creative Cookie Exchange group is celebrating spring around the world today, with recipes for Easter, Purim, Passover and more. Searching online for cookie recipes is often a rabbit hole of no return, but I managed come back this time with these Egyptian date crescents that the author said she and her mother always made for her father for Easter.  In fact, Easter is celebrated in a big way in Egypt, which surprised me when we lived in Cairo. The Coptic Christians are a minority, but they are a very vocal and visible influence in life there, where they live side by side, for the most part quite peaceably, with their Muslim neighbors.

Adapted from What She’s Having.

Ingredients - makes 2 dozen cookies
7 oz or 200g whole dates
2 cups or 250g flour
1 cup or 225g  butter at room temp, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup or 60ml cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup or 94g powdered sugar

Method
In a small bowl, cover the dates with hot but not boiling water and set aside.

Using a pastry blender to combine the butter and flour and salt until they form large crumbles and there are no large pieces of butter.

Add the vanilla to the milk. Then add the milk to the butter and flour.

Stir until well combined. The dough is going to be quite sticky. If you live in a warm climate, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes. Don’t leave it too long or the butter will stiffen up and the dough will no longer be pliable.

Drain the dates and remove the pits and any little stemmy bits on the one end.

Use a sharp knife to chop the dates finely. Use the edge of the knife to make a square out of the date paste and cut it into 24 pieces.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with baking parchment or silicone liners.

Cut the dough into 24 squares.

Taking one square at a time, form it into a ball.

Press the center of the ball down to create an indent and press it out into an oval. Place one piece of the dates into the middle.

Close the dough up over the dates.

Roll the dough gently between your hand to lengthen it. Bend into a crescent.

Place on your prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the bottom of the cookies are just golden. Let cool completely.

Roll in icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely spring cookies we are sharing today!

• Chocolate Candy Coconut Cookies from Magnolia Days
• Easter Biscuits from Baking in Pyjamas
• Easter Egg Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Egyptian Date Crescents from Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Hamantaschen from Spiceroots
• Lemon Meltaway Cookies from A Baker's House
• Ma'amoul – Date Stuffed Cookies from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Malt M&M's Easter Cookies from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Maltese Figolli Cookies from Upstate Rambling
• Peach and Pistachio Frangiapane Hamantaschen from Live Bake Love
• Persian Chickpea Cookies (Nan e Nokhodchi) from Flours and Frostings
• Taralli Dolci di Pasqua (Southern Italian Easter Cookies) from The Spiced Life
• Zesty Citrus Bar Cookies from 2 Cookin' Mamas

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life, this month with technical assistance from Anshie of Spiceroots. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life). We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Spicy Egg Biryani

Spicy egg biryani is the perfect balance of fragrant rice and mellow boiled eggs, great as a vegetarian main dish or as a side to be served with a meat-based curry.

Here in the United Arab Emirates, our weekend is Friday and Saturday, with Sunday being a normal working day. Most Fridays will find us out on the water in our Drascombe Longboat, a small single hull sailing vessel. It’s not fancy but is perfectly suited to day trips amongst the islands all around the bigger island of Abu Dhabi with a two-man (one dog) crew.

After a day in the sea, salt air and sun with friends, we return to shore and spend the evening sipping gin and tonic with those same friends and we almost invariably order curry for dinner. I am familiar with most of the dishes, typical Jalfreezis and Kormas and Vindaloos but egg biryani was a new one for me. Spicy rice with whole boiled eggs! Apparently it isn’t even on the menu so one just has to know to order it. And I’m so glad my friends did.

I wish my whole Sunday Supper family could join us out on the water someday but at least you can eat some egg biryani of a Friday evening. It’s got a lot of ingredients but don’t let that discourage you. It doesn’t take long to make and is so worth it.

Make sure you scroll on down to see all of the delicious egg recipes we are sharing today, along with our eggstraordinary host, Wendy of Wholistic Woman.

Recipe adapted from Swasthi's Recipes.

Serves 3-4 as a main course, 5-6 as a side dish
Ingredients
5-6 eggs (We are going to boil these so you could use leftover Easter eggs!)
1 1/2 cups or 300g basmati rice
1 large potato

For the tarka:
3 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
1 star anise
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 green cardamom pods
4 to 5 cloves
1 inch or 2.5cm cinnamon stick
1 strand mace

For the spice paste:
1 large onion
2 medium tomatoes
Generous handful mint and cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish, if desired
1 small knob fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons plain thick (Greek style) yogurt
Salt
2 green chili peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons biryani masala powder (premixed spices for biryani, any one will do)
2 1/2 cups or 590ml cold water

Method
Rinse your rice until the water runs clear and then soak it in cool water for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Drain water and set the rice aside in a colander or strainer.

Put your eggs to cook in a pot of cool water. When the water comes to the boil, cover the pot, turn the fire off and leave for 10 minutes. Drain and fill with more cool water. Peel the eggs when they are cool enough to handle. Prink them all over with a fork. Set aside.

Peel and cut your potato in small cubes. Thinly slice the onions and chop your tomatoes.

Roughly chop your herbs and reserve some for garnish.

Peel the ginger and garlic cloves and mash them into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Split your green chili peppers down the middle, just up to the stem.

In a pot with a tight fitting lid that will be big enough to hold all the biryani, heat your ghee and then fry the dried spices in it briefly, stirring constantly. Watch out for popping cardamom pods.

Add in the sliced onions and fry till golden brown, stirring frequently. Add in the ginger garlic paste and fry for just a few minutes again, stirring well.

Add in the tomatoes, chopped herbs, turmeric, cayenne, salt, split green chili peppers, yogurt and a good sprinkling of salt. Stir well and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy and you have a good thick paste.

Add the eggs and cubed potatoes. Stir gently to coat them with the seasonings.

Add in the drained rice and the biryani masala powder and stir again to coat the rice with the wet and dry seasonings, being careful not to break the eggs.

Pour in the cold water and one teaspoon of salt. Stir again. Over a medium heat, bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pot with its tight fitting lid.

Simmer for 20 minutes or until the water has been fully absorbed and the rice is cooked. Leave the lid on the pot until you are ready to serve as the rice will continue to steam inside.

To serve, fluff the rice with a fork. Sprinkle on some chopped herbs and make sure that everyone gets at least one egg.

Enjoy!

Looking for eggspirational recipes? We've got 'em for you today!

Appetizers & Sides

• Classic Deviled Eggs from Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Classic Deviled Eggs(-alad Sandwiches) from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Easter Deviled Egg Chicks from Pine Needles In My Salad
• Guacamole Deviled Eggs from Momma’s Meals
• Ham and Swiss Deviled Eggs from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
• Hrudka – Ukrainian Egg Cheese for Easter from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Jalapeño Popper Deviled Eggs from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Smoky Deviled Bacon And Eggs from Taste And See
• Spicy Sriracha Deviled Eggs from An Appealing Plan

Main Dishes (Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Brinner and Dinner!)

• Achiote Pulled Pork and Black Bean Huevos Rancheros from Cooking on The Ranch
• Asparagus Sausage Skillet with Egg from Wholistic Woman
• Avocado Egg Chilaquiles from Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Baked Eggs in Cream from Tramplingrose
• Baked Scotch Eggs from Curious Cuisiniere
• Chorizo, Dubliner, and Vegetable Quiche from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Classic Egg Salad Sandwich from My Imperfect Kitchen
• Classic Shirred Eggs with Gruyere and Ham from The Weekend Gourmet
• Egg Biryani from Food Lust People Love
• Fri-Tot-Ta from Feeding Big
• Hashbrown Egg Nests from The TipToe Fairy
• Italian Style Stuffed Bread from The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
• Jalapeño Popper Quiche from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Japanese Egg Crepes (Kinshi Tamago) from NinjaBaker.com
• Low Carb Breakfast Pizza from My Life Cookbook
• Make Ahead & Freeze Omelette Cups from Hardly A Goddess
• Mediterranean Frittata from A Mind “Full” Mom
• Mini Frittata with Asparagus and Six Italian Cheeses from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Papas con Huevos (Potato and Egg Tacos) from Kitchen Gidget
• Pasta Carbonara with Shrimp and Leeks from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Poached Eggs over Roasted Asparagus from Monica’s Table
• Potato, Egg and Cheese Scramble from And She Cooks
• Spaghetti with Fried Eggs from The Texan New Yorker
• Steak Benedict from Palatable Pastime
• Steak Omelette from From Gate to Plate
• Sun-dried Tomato and Spinach Quiche from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Sunny Side Up Burger from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Tex-Mex Migas from Caroline’s Cooking
• Toad in the Hole Breakfast Sandwiches from Daily Dish Recipes
• Tomato Asiago Frittata from Books n’ Cooks
• Yemeni Shakshouka (Yemeni Spiced Scrambled Eggs) from Tara’s Multicultural Table

Desserts

• Creamy Flan from The Freshman Cook
• Creme Anglaise from The Redhead Baker
• Croquembouche from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Dark Chocolate Mousse from The Chef Next Door
• Orange Coconut Bundt Cake from Desserts Required
• Pavlova with Strawberry Curd from Love and Confections
• Pistachio Chai Baked Alaska from The Crumby Cupcake
• White Chocolate Chip Cookies from Pies and Plots

Jade - our Drascombe Longboat. 

Our salty dog, Beso. He loves sailing! 

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Fennel Orange Cod en Papillote #FishFridayFoodies

A filet of cod atop sliced fennel and covered in slices of blood orange is cooked in a parchment parcel - en papillote - which makes the most delicate of broths, the perfect accompaniment to the tender fish. 

Here’s the thing about cod, like all white fish, it doesn’t have the oil of its darker brethren so there is a real danger of overcooking it and drying it out. Cooking any kind of fish or seafood en papillote, or wrapped in a foil or parchment pouch minimizes that risk, by essentially steaming the fish and keeping the juices locked in. This month our Fish Friday Foodie event is hosted by Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories and she’s got us all cooking en papillote. As you will see by the wonderful recipes at the bottom of this post, the variations are myriad, but they are all delicious.

Ingredients per person
1 piece cod – about 7 oz or 200g
Salt
Black pepper
2-3 slices fennel bulb plus a few fronds
Minced red chili pepper
2 slices orange – I used a variety of blood orange
2 teaspoons butter, plus more to grease parchment paper
1 tablespoon extra dry vermouth

Note: One fennel bulb and one orange, both sliced thinly, and one small red chili pepper are sufficient for three cod en papillote.

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C. Fold your parchment paper in half and cut it into the shape of a heart. Butter it on both sides of the fold on the inside.

Lay the fennel slices on one side of the fold, leaving a gap between the fold and the fennel.

Note: I have mine too close to the fold in these photos and had to scoot the whole thing over about half an inch or one centimeter to the right to close the parchment heart.

Lay the cod filet on top of the fennel and season liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle on a few bits of minced red chili pepper.

Top with two slices of orange. Add one teaspoon of butter to the top of each orange and then a sprinkle of fennel fronds.

Fold the heart over to close. Starting at the top of the heart, fold and crimp the parchment to seal it around the edges.

When you get to the very bottom, pour in the vermouth and twist the point of the heart. Tuck it under.

Place parchment packet on a baking pan and bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before opening.

Choose a plate with a rim or shallow bowl to serve because you don’t want to lose any of the lovely fragrant broth that is created by cooking the cod in parchment.

Garnish with a few more fennel fronds.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely seafood dishes cooked en papillote.

An InLinkz Link-up

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