Nicknamed "Syrian Jewels", these cookies are a recipe pulled from a cookbook by chef Silvena Rowe called Purple Citrus & Sweet Perfume, which is filled with all sorts of delicious looking and sounding dishes! I highly suggest getting the book if you can find it, I know it is on Amazon. Anyways, these cookies are not your normal super sugary sweets, crisp and light in flavor, they'd be great to go alongside a hot cup of tea!

Sesame & Pistachio Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 5 tbsp light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup chopped or crushed pistachios, out of shell
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 6 tbsp clarified butter
• 3 tbsp warm water (105-115F)
• 1/4 tsp dry active yeast.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Place the sesame seeds and corn syrup into a shallow bowl, mix well, and make sure to spread it in an even, thick layer in said bowl. Spread pistachios in a second shallow bowl, setting both bowls to the side.
3. Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes to activate. In a medium bowl, place the flour and butter, mixing together with a fork until combined (flour should be like a wet sand feel). Add the yeast mixture to the flour and combine with the flour. Cover and let set for 10 minutes in the fridge.
4. Dust your work surface with a little flour and divide the chilled cookie dough into quarters. Using your hands, roll each quarter into a roughly 1inch diameter sausage. With a knife, cut the dough into ~1/2inch thick disks. Slightly flatten them (to about 1/4 inch thick) and each first into the sesame syrup, then into the pistachios, arranging on a sheet pan (Heads up, this is gonna get messy, wear gloves if you prefer! Also, if the syrup gets too thick, stick in the microwave for 10-15seconds to loosen it slightly).
5. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, until browned. When done, allow them to cool before enjoying or storing in an airtight container.

Made these back on my birthday in October since my boyfriend loves pistachios. The original recipe says it makes 20 cookies, but I ended up with waay more than that, probably made the cookies a bit smaller than they did, but hey, more bite-sized cookies to enjoy!