Sekerpare or Turkish semolina cookies is a sweet, moist and soft dessert that is traditionally prepared for religious celebrations such as Seker Bayrami, marking the end of Ramadan. These are mainly cookies made with a mixture of flour and semolina. The syrup made from sugar, water and lemon juice for soaking, takes these simple looking cookies to another level. “Sekerpare” word translates "bits of sugar" into English and is a heavy dessert. Although it is a part of Turkish cuisine, the name sekerpare has Persian and Indian origin. These semolina cookies dipped in syrup are still popular in the Middle East, as well as in parts of Albania, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These moist Turkish semolina cookies are a much loved Turkish dessert made in Turkish homes. These cookies simply melts in your mouth.
Pre heat the oven for 20 minutes on 170 °C.
Add eggs in a mixing bowl along with sugar and vanilla essence. Beat it on medium power with stand mixer or hand beater.
Add ghee, oil and cardamom powder in it and mix again for 1-2 minutes.
Now add semolina, all purpose flour and baking powder and beat till forms a dough. You may knead the dough with hand on this stage. The dough should be soft in texture.
On a baking tray line the butter paper.
Roll the cookies with hand as per your desired shape and size and line on baking tray with a little distance in between.
Beat the egg yolk and brush the cookies with it.
Bake the cookies in pre-heated oven at 170 °C for 30 minutes.
When baked take the cookies out and place in a serving dish.
Now prepare the sugar syrup. Add all the ingredients in a pan and let the sugar dissolve on medium flame.
Boil the syrup for 5 minutes.
While syrup is still warm put it on the cookies so that the cookies should be completely soaked in this syrup.
Let the cookies soak in syrup for half an hour and after that take out and serve.
You may garnish these cookies with powdered pistachios or almond powder.
Moist and best turkish semolina cookies sekerpare are ready to enjoy.
