Syrian · dessert

Barazek (Sesame and Pistachio Wafers)

Name: Barazek (Sesame and Pistachio Wafers)
Prep time: 37 min
Total time: 1 h 27 min
Cuisine: Syrian
Ingredients: all-purpose flour — 280 g; unsalted butter — 150 g; caster sugar — 100 g; egg — 55 g; salt — 1 g; baking powder — 3 g; regular milk — 30 g; sesame seeds — 120 g; honey — 44 g; water — 15 g; pistachios — 80 g

Barazek (Sesame and Pistachio Wafers) reads sweetness 7.3, nutty 5.0 and richness 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Syrian dessert, about 1 hr 27 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 3.4 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 7.3 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.0 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.9 / 10
Rich & Fat — 6.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 7.3 · Nutty 5.0 · Richness 5.0 · Floral 4.6 · Salinity 3.1 · Umami 2.5 · Earthy 1.8 · Bitterness 1.2

What's in it (11)

all-purpose flour — 280 g
unsalted butter — 150 g
caster sugar — 100 g
egg — 55 g
salt — 1 g
baking powder — 3 g
regular milk — 30 g
sesame seeds — 120 g
honey — 44 g
water — 15 g
pistachios — 80 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 27 min (37 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 327.2 kcal, 9.8 g protein, 26 g fat, 47.8 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Cream the butter and sugar for 4 minutes until pale, then beat in the egg.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix to a soft dough, adding the milk if it is dry. Wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Put the sesame seeds in a shallow dish and the thinned honey in another. Scatter the chopped pistachios over a lined baking sheet in loose clusters about 5 cm apart — the biscuit is pressed onto them, so they end up embedded in the underside.
Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls. Dip the top of each in the honey, then press the honeyed side firmly into the sesame seeds so it takes a thick coat.
Set each ball sesame side up onto a cluster of pistachios and flatten with your palm to a disc about 6 cm across and 4 mm thick. Barazek are thin and snap; a thick one is a different biscuit.
Bake at 180°C for 12 to 14 minutes, until the sesame is toasted golden and the edges have coloured. The centres will still feel soft.
Cool completely on the tray — 20 minutes — before lifting them, or they will break. They keep a week in a tin and are served with coffee.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Pralines — Southern
Amlou (Argan Almond Dip) — Moroccan
Paprenjak (Honey and Black Pepper Biscuits) — Croatian
Bourbon Pecan Pie — Southern
Île Flottante — French

Keep reading: what sweetness, nutty, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.