Kaak bil Agwa
Date Rolls
Portions:
50
Cook Time:
1 hour
Can I adapt this easily as a vegetarian or vegan?
Yes
These date-filled parcels of deliciousness can be shaped in many different ways.
Ingredients
500g plain flour
245g butter or margarine
110ml cold water
500g pitted dates
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Preparation
Step One
Combine the flour with 230g of butter by gently using the tips of your fingers to form bread-crumb like consistency
Step Two
Gradually add the water to form a pliable short-crust pastry dough
Step Three
Cover the dough with clingfilm and place in the fridge
Preheat the oven to 170°C
Step Four
Blend together the dates, remaining 15g of butter, cinnamon and orange blossom water together in a food processor to form a thick paste
Step Five
Shaping Option One: Balls
Roll out the dough until 2-3mm thick
Using a cookie cutter, cut circles of dough about 7cm in diametre
Using buttered hands, form a ball of date mixture about the size of a small walnut
Place the circle of dough on your palm, put the date ball on top of it and close your palm, encasing the date in the dough. Pinch the tips of the dough together to seal, and then roll in your hands to smooth it out
Place on a baking tray with the sealed side of the ball on the tray
Shaping Option Two: Fingers
Roll the dough into ovals, about 6cm wide and 10cm long
Using buttered hands, roll the date mixture into fingers
Place the date finger at the bottom of the oval, and roll away from your body, wrapping the dates in the dough
Place on a baking tray with the bottom of the roll on the tray
Shaping Option Three: Hamentaschen
Roll out the dough until 2-3mm thick
Using a cookie cutter, cut circles of dough about 7cm in diametre
Using buttered hands, form a ball of date mixture about the size of a small walnut, then press down with your palm to create a disk
Place the date disk on the circle of dough
Fold the dough in, over the date circle, to create a triangle
Step Six
Bake for 20-25 minutes, just until the bottom of the pastry has turned a light golden colour
Step Seven
Leave to cool on a cooling rack before eating
Optional: sprinkle with icing sugar
Notes
If you can't find orange blossom water, you may be able to find orange blossom extract in a supermarket. This is an essential oil, and so only 2 drops should be used, alongside a tablespoon of water.
In my family, we make the finger shaped Kaak bil Agwa on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. A sweet treat for a sweet new year.
These biscuits are similar to ma'amoul, which can be found all over the Middle East, but have a crunchier pastry encasing rather than the soft texture of ma'amoul.
Traditionally, the balls of Kaak bil Agwa would be decorated by pinching with a tool similar to a tweazer. Different patterns and decorations would be used for different occasions.
Hamentaschen are a triangular shaped biscuit filled with sweet poppy seeds and traditionally eaten at Purim in Ashkenazi Jewish communities. Forming the Kaak bil Agwa in this way is not at all traditional, but a fun way to merge Jewish traditions from around the world.