Ghraybeh (Lebanese Shortbread Cookies)

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Soft, crumbly ghraybeh made with just ghee, powdered sugar and flour. Powdery outside that melts on your tongue and a light crunch inside.

Prep Time25

Cook Time17

Chill Time45

Total Time1 27

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Lebanese, Levantine, Middle Eastern

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: cookies

Calories: 113kcal

230 g ghee at room temperature
150 g powdered sugar icing sugar, pure
340 g all-purpose flour plain flour
Pistachios pine nuts or almonds, for topping (optional) see notes below for adding nuts into cookies

Whip the ghee until it has lightened in color and becomes creamy, about 2½ minutes.
230 g ghee
Add the powdered sugar and whip until it has lightened further and is almost white, about 2½ minutes. If you are adding any flavorings, mix them in now.
150 g powdered sugar
Add the flour and lightly combine until a crumbly dough forms. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Make a dough ball in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
340 g all-purpose flour
Roll the dough into 20 to 21g balls, then flatten slightly into disks with no cracks. Place on a lined baking pan, leaving a gap between each to allow for expansion.
Gently press one nut or several nuts on top of each cookie, if using.
Pistachios
Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 160°C (320°F) for 17 minutes. The tops need to remain unchanged in color and the bottoms need to have just started turning golden.
Rest the cookies for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature. See notes below.

For pistachio ghraybeh, mix 30g (¼ cup) crushed pistachios in with the flour. You get pistachio through every bite, not just on top.

Ghee is the traditional fat. For unsalted butter, use equal amounts and bake 1 minute less, as butter browns faster and gives a less crumbly snap, or until desired coloring is achieved.
For a plant-based version, use vegetable ghee in equal amounts. The texture is very similar but the flavor changes.
Flavor variations, added after whipping (creaming) the ghee and sugar: 1 teaspoon orange blossom water, rose water or both combined, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon mastic powder or 1 teaspoon arak. Use only 1 teaspoon of any flavoring per batch.
Keep the dough cold. If it softens while you work, return it to the fridge.
Do not knead. Combine just until a crumbly dough forms that presses together.
For cooling - ghraybeh will come out of the oven extremely soft and then harden as they cool, the exterior is best not touched until cooled as it is very powdery.
If the cookies crack while baking, rest them for at least 10 minutes, then smooth the cracks gently with your finger.
Storage: keep in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 2 weeks.