Basbousa

This lovely dessert is easy to make and totally irresistible! It is very common in Eastern Mediterranean cuisine and goes by many names (Basbousah, Hareesa, Revani, Ravani). I only came across it recently when the home economics teacher bought some into the teacher's room for everyone to try. I made sure I had more than my share on that day  :)( as I said, it is irresistible!)

Ingredients

My first attempt at Basbousa

2  1/2 dl semolina
1  1/4 dl coconut flakes 
1  1/4 dl sugar
3/4 dl plain flour
1 dl thick yoghurt
100g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla sugar
12-15 almonds
milk, if needed

Syrup

1  3/4 dl sugar
1  1/4 dl water
1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180C
Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave oven
Mix the semolina, coconut, sugar, flour, yoghurt, melted butter and vanilla sugar in a bowl. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little milk -but it should still be fairly stiff.
Spread the mixture in to a greased 15x12x5 cm or round baking tray. The surface should be smooth.
With a knife, cut the cake into diamond or square shapes, pressing hard. Place an almond onto each piece.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the syrup.

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes without stirring. Stir in the lemon juice and remove from the heat.Leave to cool.Pour the syrup over the cake while the cake is still hot. Cool to serve.

Cranberry Cookies

My cranberry cookies

Biscuits, cookies, call them what you will but these are fantastic! If you're not big on cranberries, you can use raisins, dried apricots or whatever you fancy really!

You'll need

135 g butter
80 g white sugar (about 3/4 dl)
80 g soft light brown sugar ( 3/4 dl)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
190g flour (3dl)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g of dried cranberries

You can also throw in a bit of desiccated coconut if you have some :)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 170 C.
Line 2-3 baking trays with baking paper.
Cream together the soft butter and two types of sugar with an electric whisker.
Add the egg and vanilla essence, mix further.
Add other ingredients.
Break off pieces of the dough, about 2 tablespoons per cookie, then roll into balls and place on the prepared baking tray. Allow 5-6 cookies per tray with gaps of about 7cm as they will spread.
Press the cookies slightly and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cookies make a lovely gift!