Changing it up a bit...

Week 5 

I am heading into the last week for meeting my goals to master the Makrout cookie. I thought I would have had the cookies down by now, and been moved on to other types of Moroccan sweets. But, I am putting those thoughts aside and focusing my efforts this week using a change of game plans.  I really want to be successful, because I have put a lot of time into learning this recipe, and I do not want to feel like I have little to show for it in week 5. I have spent the week researching and reflecting on how I can conquer these cookies. I have considered many ideas. First, I am taking teacher candidate George Porter’s advice to refrigerate the dough once I have cut the cookies into diamond shapes ( prior to deep frying.) I think this is a good idea, because the cold fridge may help bind the cookies together, so that they do not fall apart once in the fryer. I did some more googling to see if George’s suggestion had credibility. The funny thing is, that when you google search using the words “deep fried,”  it becomes very  easy to get sucked into the infinite land of a fried-food-photo double-clicking frenzy. I stumbled upon deep fried cookie dough, how to make the “perfect french fries,” how to make churros(yum!), and several more deep fried cookie dough recipes: chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar-they have it all. I figured I would keep these recipes in case my 20Time doesn’t work out, and I need some fried comfort-foods in my life from the disappointment of another failed attempt. I really think people are on to something with the whole deep-fried cookie dough. Think about it, raw cookie dough, with a deep fried crust...genius; I'd even  throw some vanilla ice cream in the mix.

​An hour passed of mouthwatering google-searching, when I realized I was halfway through the list of the 101 best comfort foods of the South.Ops! Way off topic...Focus...Focus...Anyways, I was able to refocus my goals and refine my search to re-align with my  20Time project, and I found a really interesting option to solve my issue with the deep fried Makrout. This round-a-bout search process was worth it in the end, because it led me to a “baked” Makrout recipe, or "Makrout au Four,” which directly translates to Makrout of the oven. I think because I have not been too successful thus far, I will try out this new recipe, since it does not involve deep frying, a simple oven bake instead. I know the taste will not be as decadent (theres no true substitute for deep fried anything), however; if I succeed with the baked Makrouts they should be similar in taste since the ingredients are the same-and more importantly edible!

Here is a link to her blog 

Here is a photo from the Sousou-Kitchen Blog. I hope to replicate this!

Once I further investigated the Blog page Sousous Kitchen, I found another great Youtube video! I loved the video, because the woman began by speaking all in French. I was shocked that I completely understood every word in the video. Sometimes I assume I have lost my French, since I never practice speaking as my relatives have all passed away. My dad and I do not speak French even though we could, but we just don’t out of habit. As well, when my dad watches the French channel, I often miss whole parts of the story leading me to believe I have forgotten a lot of the language. This video was a relief however. I probably really understood the woman’s French due to her French-Moroccan accent, an accent I have grown up hearing. Anyways, the video became even more helpful, as the woman switched off between French, English and Arabic. I loved hearing the Arabic, because today, I rarely hear this language in my household as my dad does not have many people to speak it with. I was surprised that I even recognized many Arabic words. This was a nostalgic moment of my research, because it made me realize just how often my grandmother and aunts used to cook when I was little; they cooked so much that I was able to pick up the arabic words for different food ingredients and cooking materials they would use while cooking.  

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The Youtube Video that guided my learning:
The last 10 seconds show a nice visual of the texture I am trying to create; rich and grainy with a coat of moist honey coating.

The beginning of the video is all in French, but the woman basically describes that she will be presenting the recipe and process of how to make the Makrouts, and she also shares a little background info that these cookies are in high demand everywhere during the month of Ramadan. 

Anyways, my plan for baking this afternoon will be to try out this baked version of the Makrout. I hope to be successful, and I hope that I will enjoy this baked version as much as the original Makrout. I will try the deep fried version using George's advice, sometime this week, but first I need to gain some confidence by cooking with a tool I am more familiar with: an oven! I am making minor tweeks; I will not be adding sesame seeds as shown in the video, and instead of dipping the cookies in honey like shown in the video, I will let these treats swim in honey as my relatives prepared Makrouts this way. I will be baking all afternoon and share my results after the process is complete! Wish me luck!