These coconut Moroccan cookies are made with semolina flour. Covered in powder sugar and with a hint of orange.
Traveling the world through cooking and baking is the way to go. Of course, being there would be amazing, you can still travel and enjoy other cultures right in your kitchen.
With some bloggers friends, we are heading to Morocco.
Morocco is a country in North West Africa, and it overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
Moroccan cuisine is considered as one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. Moroccan cuisine is mainly a fusion of Moorish, European and Mediterranean cuisines.
And today I'm sharing with you one of the variations of Ghreyba.
Ghreyba or Gireba Cookies
Ghreyba cookies are Moroccan butter cookies made with different kinds of flour.
These cookies can be made with almond flour, ground sesame seeds, or ground walnuts, making them gluten-free.
The variation today is the one made with semolina flour and shredded coconut.
This recipe is one of the most easy recipes I've seen. Very hard to ruin them. All the ingredients are mixed in one bowl.
It's a sticky dough, but easy to handle. To form the balls, you wet your hands with a little bit of orange blossom water (I didn't have this and omitted this step) and then roll them in icing sugar.
As you can see, I rolled some cookies twice in icing sugar. Just because I like the contrast it makes after baking.
It only takes 15 minutes to bake and they are good to go. Crispy, with a soft crumb and full of coconut and orange flavor.
These cookies were a hit among our family and friends. Definitely will try the other versions.
Where to find semolina in Paraguay?
Casa Rica in Asunción usually has 1-kilo bags (Hildebrand brand). If you can't find it there, you can get it at Hildebrand distributor in 5-kilo bags.
If you know of other places, please let us know!
If you liked the recipe above, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below! and share your picture on Instagram with the hashtag #chipabythedozen
Recipe from Fatemahisokay
Try this Orange Semolina Cake (Ravani Greek Cake)
Ghreyba (Coconut Moroccan Cookies)
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil (236ml)
- 1 tablespoon orange peel
- 1-1/2 cup icing sugar (187.5g)
- 2 cups semolina flour (334g)
- 2-1/2 cups grated coconut (250g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 cup icing sugar (187.5g) (to roll before baking)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 365F / 185C and grease 2 baking trays.
- In a large bowl, mix eggs, oil, orange peel and 1-1/2 cup of icing sugar.
- Add semolina flour, grated coconut, and baking powder. Mix well.
- In a small bowl add the other 1-1/2 cup icing sugar.
- Make balls of about 1.5 inches in diameter. Roll them in icing sugar and place them on the greased trays.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and wait 3 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.
Notes
Nusrat
Can we not roll them in icing sugar prior to putting them in the oven? I don’t want it to be too sweet.
Lizet
You can try it and let us know how they turned out.
Starasia Starr
I followed the recipe exactly, and they came out great. I live in an area where it is easy to get orange blossom water, so I used it. My friend told me these were the best cookies she ever had.
Lizet
So happy to hear this! and they are super easy to make.
Lis
Do you use the sweetened coconut that generally comes in the store?
Lizet
I used unsweetened coconut for this recipe.
Lis
Thank you!
Anissa
Tried making them this morning... But I couldn't shape them into balls, so they became flat cookies. I ended up brushing orange blossom water on top before powdered sugar. Otherwise, I followed the recipe except for only using 1 1/2 cups of coconut shavings. Is this the reason why or any other ideas as to why I couldn't form them into balls?
Lizet
Anissa, I think you were missing too much of the coconut, so the cookie didn't have enough structure to keep the shape it should.
I hope you can try it again and have plenty of shredded coconut to make it work.
Muna
Hi Anissa
I made two batches and put powdered sugar in the first and a mix of powdered sugar and regular sugar in the second. The first batch came out fluffy and the second one came out flat. Just wondering, did you use any regular sugar?
Sarah
These literally saved me this Ramadan. We ran out of Chebekhia and considering we can't just run to the store anymore ... sadly... this recipe saved us! My Moroccan Husband was impressed which usually never happens typically everything is always ... "alright". I actually got "they are good" which is high praise in this house lol!
Lizet
I'm so glad your husband liked the cookies! they are so simple to make, one of those recipes you can make almost weekly 🙂
sarah
I literally have made them weekly since then, and passed this recipe onto 7 other American married to Moroccan house wives .... so this recipe will continue to travel plus my 13 year old daughter used it for her favorite recipe in the "Covid Cookbook" her school did. once its printed I will have to email you a copy it has it credited to you and includes your instagram!
Lizet
😅😁 I'm so glad you guys liked it that much!
Beth
These look so delicious! Coconut is one of my favorites in cookies! I can't wait to give these a try!
Lizet Flores de Bowen
I hope you like them Beth!
Susan
I wish I had one (or three) of these right now! Such an easy recipe and I'm pretty sure I have all of the ingredients. Guess I'm baking this weekend! Thanks for sharing
Lizet Flores de Bowen
I hope you like them 🙂
Patty
These cookies look so good I almost want to lick my screen, I love all the flavors in these cookies and they are so pretty, can't wait to try to make them!
Lizet Flores de Bowen
My favorite flavors 🙂 I hope you like them!
Claudia Canu
They look delicious! I'm in Morocco right now and I'll definitely try to find these deliciousness 🙂
Lizet Flores de Bowen
That would be awesome to try the real ones!
Brian Jones
Well don't they look dainty and lovely, I guess the dainty selling point disappears when you eat 47 of them though 😉 I love the flavours in these, I don't bake often but I must give these a go!
Lizet Flores de Bowen
I hope you try them Brian!