It's been a busy week. I had my car serviced for it's 15K scheduled maintenance, only to be asked if I have a price for the "kaab el ghzal"- the gazelle horn dessert cookies that I made for a friend who is celebrating/observing Ramadan. Of course, I stumbled over my words, not knowing what that would be.
On the day that I first tried the recipe, the kitchen was hot as hell, the dough was so tender, that I could barely assemble 3 cookies and had to return the dough to the fridge to with every try. I think I got 32 cookies that day over hours of working with the dough, and the paste. They were delicious, tho- light, buttery, sweet with a taste of orange flower water. It reminded me of my times in Morocco with Moustapha Sebbeh and Barbara Eigen, so many years ago.
Anyhow, feeling up to a challenge. I went home to find that I did not have enough orange flower water to complete the recipe. Panicked, I started searching on line and racking my brain- on where did I find the stuff in the first place. I called around all the usual places, and finally found a plethora at The Fresh Market in Glen Mills. I bought 6 of A.Monteux brand and Nielsen-Massey. BTW- they are very different. The A.Monteux is flowery, perfumery and light. The NM is full of alcohol, then the notes of the bitter orange. Hmm, extracts/ flavorings is very much like perfumery...
The kitchen gods must have been with me on Thursday! I zipped thru the recipe, the dough worked like a charm ( with some tweeking) and produced 36 beautiful cookies. All the same shape, size, great consistency in design and presentation (if I say so, myself) AND of course, I forgot to take a picture! I had 2 anxious buyers for them as soon as I called my husband, and they were delivered right at the cusp of sundown.
