Grape molasses sticks (Kaak)
Grape molasses is the most fascinating food to come out of Lebanon; I can tell you the exact moment when I became passionately interested in this food: It was when my mom’s old friend, an energetic and sprightly 84-year old gave me some to taste that she had made in her tiny kitchen in her house in the mountains.
It tasted like caramel and had the texture of creamy peanut butter.
I could not believe that this luscious cream was only grape juice boiled down. Mylady (that’s her name, really) told me that what is important is the variety of grape, they need to be very sweet; she also told me that it is important to boil their juice down with some limestone, as it absorbs any sour taste.
Grape molasses is sold in the US in Middle-Eastern stores and through Amazon; however, it is not the best quality; here in Lebanon, I found the best grape molasses in the villages in the Chouf mountains. It is called “whipped”, because in order to obtain that caramel color and sweetness they beat the molasses in the final stages. It is also available made commercially, but I am not sure if it gets exported. I am willing to bet that this food, once it becomes known in the US will catch on and become popular. It is a thousand times better than refined white sugar and can be used in hundreds of ways.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups farina or cream of wheat
- Dash salt
- 1/2 cup raw brown sugar
- 1/4 cup grape molasses (substitute other molasses)
- 5 ounces grapeseed oil or light olive oil
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tbsp. dry milk powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of mahlab (optional)
- 3/4 cup of water or orange juice
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tbsp orange rind
- 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup nigella seeds
METHOD:
- Mix flour, farina, dry milk powder, mahlab, salt and baking powder. Beat egg into water or juice. Add sugar and molasses; combine with dry ingredients until dough is moist but not sticky.
- Form 3 inch sticks and dip into the mixture of nigella and sesame seeds. Bake in a 350F oven for 15 minutes or until puffed up a bit and dry on the outside. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
Comments
24 Comments • Comments Feed
twbarritt says:
Grape molasses looks completely luscious! I’d love to try some.
On March 24, 2013 at 5:33 am
leaf says:
I need grape molasses in my life.
On March 24, 2013 at 5:49 am
Belinda @zomppa says:
I agree with leaf…
On March 24, 2013 at 6:32 am
Rosa says:
Delicious! Those Lebanese biscotti look and sound fantastic. A wonderful teatime treat.
Cheers,
Rosa
On March 24, 2013 at 6:54 am
ahu says:
This looks amazing! I’ve never heard of grape molasses – growing up I always saw my dad’s family (who are Iraqi) eating a lot of silan (date molasses), is it similar?
On March 24, 2013 at 7:12 am
Joumana says:
@ahu: It is similar in that it is used as a natural sweetener; although date molasses is definitely sweeter. Grape molasses has a tiny bit of tanginess to it.
On March 24, 2013 at 11:10 am
zerrin says:
Joumana, these make perfect snacks! Love the ingredients of these sticks, mahlab and orange rind must give them a wonderful flavor! I love grape molasses in Winter! It gives you a great energy! We combine it with tahini to balance its sweetness. We also use it when making simit(Turkish kind of bagel) to give it a nice color.
On March 24, 2013 at 7:24 am
deana@lostpast says:
I bought grape molasses because of you… time to use it. What a fun recipe!
On March 24, 2013 at 8:25 am
weavethousandflavors says:
I can see why you would drool over grape molasses – sounds just fantastic!
And what a great snack these would make – I just know my hubby would adore these!
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
On March 24, 2013 at 9:53 am
Sylvia says:
Even cookies get dressed for Easter, I will definitely make these, It will surely delight my guests Saturday night.
This is a classic taste of Lebanon.
On March 24, 2013 at 11:54 am
Nuts about food says:
I feel like I need to go out and find some limestone now…
On March 25, 2013 at 3:04 am
Nancy/SpicieFoodie says:
I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting grape molasses. But your description sounds incredible! We have a Lebanese shop near by that I can go see if they stock it. Thanks for sharing:)
On March 25, 2013 at 10:48 am
sippitysup says:
I tried pomegranate molasses and was hooked. Why not grape! GREG
On March 25, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Susan says:
The list of ingredients sound so delicious, Joumana. Add your beautiful photos and I would love to have a taste. The more seeds the better in my world 🙂
On March 26, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Elena says:
Joumana , what do you mean – farina or cream of wheat?
I’ve never heard of such products. Where to find them?
On March 28, 2013 at 9:23 pm
Joumana says:
@Elena: cream of wheat is sold in the US (and North America) as a breakfast cereal; it is semolina flour ground coarse. I can find out more by googling it if you mean more precision. Where are you located Elena?
On March 28, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Elena says:
God, how I’m stupid! I understand what is it. This is a fine ground semolina.
So , i can replace it with amaranth four , that I really like, or with coarsely grounded semolina.
I have a Turkish pekmez ( grape molasses) – so I can prepare this wonderful cookies.
On March 29, 2013 at 1:37 am
Elena says:
Joumana, thank you for inspiration! I prepared today this cookies. They smell and taste absolutely amazing. But I made more “healthy” version – 1/4 cup of agave syrup and 2 tbsp of erythritol ( sugar substitute) , grapeseeds oil, and as a farina source I used Semola Rimacinata. Since I haven’t found sesame seed in my stocks, I sprinkled them with the flax seeds .
On March 30, 2013 at 12:18 pm
Joumana says:
@Elena: thanks for updating me! I love it when I post recipe it is always with the idea to inspire and motivate rather than having someone do the exact recipe, so I am so glad you made your own version!
On March 30, 2013 at 1:24 pm
s says:
i would love to get my hands on this – love all these ingredients from your part of the world. x s
On April 1, 2013 at 3:05 pm
Hagit says:
They look great and healthier from those I see in the our local arabic pastry shop in my country. I can’t find farina/cream of wheat here (Israel) what is the best substitute ?
On April 5, 2013 at 7:19 am
Hagit says:
I just read it.. farina= coarse semolina flour.. tks anyway
On April 5, 2013 at 7:23 am
Anna says:
Hi Joumana, I live in Palestine and have homemade grape molasses from my mother in law. It is however not whipped and quite runny. Can I still use it for this recipe?
On January 27, 2015 at 9:17 am
Joumana says:
@Anna: Of course, homemade grape molasses is priceless!!! Now if it is too runny, watch the consistency of your dough, maybe adding a bit more flour to compensate. If it is like a thick honey, you should be fine.
On January 27, 2015 at 5:42 pm