Halwa l'Makina (حلوة دالماكينة)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Manual meat grinder with cookie plate or sturdy cookie press
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Small heatproof bowl for melting chocolate

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the sesame

   Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring often, until they smell nutty and turn just a shade deeper. Tip them onto a plate to cool. Don't add them hot to the dough, or they soften the butter and change the texture.

2. 2

   Mix the base

   In a wide bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until the sugar begins to dissolve and the mixture looks lighter. Whisk in the oil, melted butter, orange zest, lemon zest, orange blossom water, and vanilla. It should smell like a tea table before the flour even arrives.

3. 3

   Make the dough

   Stir in the toasted sesame. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add them gradually with your hand or a sturdy spoon. Stop when the dough is smooth, soft, and no longer sticky. La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes: you may need a spoonful more flour, but don't make the dough dry.

   The right dough presses cleanly through the machine and keeps its ridges. That is the whole test.
4. 4

   Rest the dough

   Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes at room temperature. This short rest lets the flour drink and makes the dough easier to push through the makina without tearing.

5. 5

   Shape the ribbons

   Heat the oven to 180°C. Fit a manual grinder or cookie press with the ridged plate. Feed in handfuls of dough and turn the handle steadily, catching the ridged strip as it comes out. Cut into 7 to 8 cm fingers and lay them on lined baking sheets, leaving a little space between them.

6. 6

   Bake pale gold

   Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops stay pale with the ridges clear. These are tea biscuits, not dark cookies. Let them firm on the tray for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack.

7. 7

   Dip in chocolate

   Melt the chocolate gently with 1 teaspoon of oil until glossy. Dip one or both ends of each cooled biscuit, then set them on parchment until the chocolate firms. Serve with mint tea and make the plate fuller than you think you need. A table is a door you leave open.

Chef Tips

• •Use a real hand grinder with a biscuit plate if you have one. A cookie press can help, but the old makina gives the ridges their proper look.
• •Add the flour gradually. Too much flour makes the dough crack as it exits the machine, and cracked ridges bake unevenly.
• •Orange blossom water should perfume, not shout. Buy a bottle that smells clean and floral, not harsh.
• •Let the biscuits cool fully before dipping. Warm cookies make the chocolate dull and messy.
• •These keep well in a tin for a week, which is why they belong so naturally to Eid trays and visits.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the biscuits up to 5 days ahead and store them in an airtight tin.
• •Dip in chocolate the day before serving, then let the chocolate set fully before stacking with parchment between layers.
• •The dough can rest covered for up to 2 hours at cool room temperature. If it chills, let it soften before pressing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 25g)