Variation rules more than consistency after the sesame and anise, but every recipe includes a gentle touch of some aromatic extras to create roundness and nuance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nWhich “extras” work best? Sorry folks, but that is the sort of question that generates outright feuds among proud grandmas across the region. I’ve been married for long enough to keep my nose faaaaar away from that kind of debate! Besides, it doesn’t seem to really matter so long as they amount to just an evocative murmur in the background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our recipe includes 10 separate ideas for mixing-and-matching, but in the end it’s the sort of thing you should customize to taste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOTE FROM KATE: Don’t be afraid of “weird” spices. When I was making my test batch, I opted for a slightly savory take on this cookie: All the anise and lemon oil, but also black caraway (nigella) and cumin. The latter two gave the cookie an earthier, slightly savory vibe. It’s my favorite combination so far. Who knows what you will discover?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAny Shape Will Do<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn the end we liked the simpler shapes best. The sticks were amazingly snackable. The rings are just so classic. And others work too if you want to get fancy. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n
An early test with complicated shapes (and no nigella seed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe Testing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis recipe involved a huge amount of online research, but our initial recipe was almost dead on point. Testing provoked only one real change: my first effort split the leavening agent 50\/50 between hartshorn and baking powder. It was good – very good! – but Kate and I agreed that hartshorn alone worked even better because it creates a more pleasant and crispier texture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FWIW, the Extra Touch Flavors in that first effort were \u215b tsp. of orange oil, \u215b tsp. of lemon oil, and \u00bd tsp. each of almond and vanilla extract. Why those? I had no citrus on hand for zesting (hence the oils), and no mahlab on hand for roundness (hence the extracts). Native testers confirmed both authenticity and delectability… though Grandma’s were of course said to be better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kate went savory with our next batch by adding a 1 tablespoon of nigella seed and \u00bd tsp. of cumin. The cookies tasted good, but were far too<\/em> savory, and the main flavors got buried. The updated recipe reduces those amounts to 1 tsp. and \u215b tsp. respectively. Remember: background hints and murmurs<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Sugar Level<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nRead the recipe carefully and you will note a surprisingly low amount of sugar. It’s not a typo, and in fact it is typical of the region. Sweetness gradually increases as you travel from Lebanon up to Greece, increases more as you go west over to southern Italy, and then goes up yet again as you enter into the Italian mountains. It’s a matter of regional taste as much as anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there’s an added factor for Yansoon Cookies<\/span>. Think about it: doesn’t anise have a sweet note to go along with its aromatics? Just like citrus flavors, almond flavors, and vanilla? Lebanese bakers acknowledge this by cutting back on the sugar in favor of those more ephemeral equivalents. Trust me on this one. Lebanese Yansoon Cookies<\/span> are supposed<\/em> to have relatively little sugar compared to other treats. Don’t mess with this aspect until you have made them as intended. After that it’s baker’s choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown on top, or brown on the bottom, there must be brown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Crispy, toasty, anise & sesame goodness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBake Until Brown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe cookie crisps up nicely in 15 minutes, but we liked them better with a bit of browning on top. That meant 17-20, which left them a little too dark on the bottoms. We plan to bake future batches on a silicone mat instead of parchment, or with doubled sheet pans to provide some insulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spinning the trays halfway through helps to prevent distinctive differences between top and bottom, and from side to side. We don’t usually bother, but this time it makes a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTE FROM KATE: One rule of food photography is to never look for the faces. Once you see a face in your photo, you cannot unsee it, and this will force you to change your whole setup. It can add hours of work. However, once you get done shooting your cookies, and just a few are left, and there’s a round, wooden plate, sometimes the cookies just insist. How could I not use this golden opportunity to have some fun? If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nFUN FACT: Poor Scott expected me to AirDrop him a batch of cookbook-worthy Yansoon Cookie photos. I sent him a batch of cookie emojis first! (No worries, the more appropriate images soon followed.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nKate and I both like anise in general, but neither of us would qualify as special enthusiasts. I feel the same about sesame (Kate is a bigger fan). And yet we couldn’t be any happier with this new recipe despite the copious use of both. Yansoon Cookies<\/span> will feature prominently if we’re ever asked to cater a tea party, and won’t be rare in the household cookie jar at any time of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEnjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
A delightful, aromatic, not-too-sweet cookie adored across the entire Middle East<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,32,21,7,34,10],"tags":[33,364,358,54,357,362,360,361,56,39,359,76,363,356],"class_list":["post-2657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dairy-free","category-dunkers","category-greek-cookies","category-italian-cookies","category-middle-eastern-cookies","category-spice-cookies","tag-anise","tag-dunkers","tag-egypt","tag-heritage","tag-lebanon","tag-levantine-cookies","tag-mediterranean","tag-mediterranean-cookies","tag-middle-east","tag-middle-eastern-cookies","tag-sesame","tag-spice-cookies","tag-tea-cookies","tag-yansoon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Yansoon-cookies-edited-beautiful-1-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2657"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2939,"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657\/revisions\/2939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heritagecookies.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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