Does anyone know the name of the cookies shown above?
Mother Humble bought--and ate--nearly a dozen of the soft, chewy coconut cookies while in Morocco. From what I saw, they are sold primarily by women and children who roam the djemaa el fna with boxes, filled with rows of these coconut sandwich cookies.
The're very possibly the best coconut cookie ever and I would love to know what they're called.
They look a LOT like snickerdoodles but those don't usually have coconut in them. They could just be snickerdoodles with coconut added though... maybe? Anyways. Hope that helps! Best of luck on your search.
ReplyDelete'm beginning to think that they might actually be a macaroon...or ghriba.
ReplyDeleteI just emailed my friend who's Hubby is from Morocco to see if he knows. "}
These have powdered sugar on them and are rounder, but look somewhat similar:
ReplyDeletehttp://moroccanfood.about.com/od/dessertsandcookies/r/Ghoriba_coconut.htm
I'll be baking so much more with coconut and almond after the resident nut allergic quits on Friday ... (I don't like excluding anyone when I bring baked goods to work.)
With all the French influence in Morocco they could be related to macarons. They are sandwiched and very light.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some photos of ghriba and I'm not sure if they are the same thing. They seem to be much thicker (the cookies above are very thin), have a dusting of powdered sugar and don't appear to be sandwiched.
That's what I was thinking about the ghriba, but I emailed my friend and she's checking with her hubs, so hopefully someone will come up with it or he'll know! "}
ReplyDeleteMaybe a ghriba-maker with a food blog got creative with the recipe? ;)
ReplyDeleteI second the Ghoribas proposal. I also saw these cookies while in Morocco and I believe they are a type of macaroon.
ReplyDeleteIf you share some of the cookies with us - we may (or may not) be able to tell you what they are. But we can devulge nothing until a taste test...
ReplyDeleteThey look a little like failed French macarons to me. When my boss and I were making some in her shop in the bakery's fan-forced oven, we found that using too much confectioners' sugar (scale was acting up) and cooking at a high temperature produced flat, caramelized and bubbly disks. However, they were far from soft... Hmm... I'm curious now. I'll be checking back here to see if you do find the recipe. They sound tasty :)
ReplyDeleteMs Humble,
ReplyDeletethey look very much like flat, slightly different versions of coconut macaroons (e.g. see Mr P's versions: http://deliciousdeliciousdelicious.blogspot.com/2010/03/coconut-macaroons.html). (esp. the texture looks like how my macaroons turn out...)
This is actually what I thought macaroons WERE until you introduced me to the French macarons. : P
I'll get my recipe from home and see if they're somewhat similar to Mr P's....
http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/dessertsandcookies/r/Ghoriba_coconut.htm
ReplyDeleteplease check out this link (above)...:)
I'm having a guess at coconut macaroons (spelled with 2 o's!). You can buy them in the UK drizzled with dark chocolate in pretty much any supermarket as they are made by Mr Kipling I think. I've not tried it, but most of Nigella's recipes are good: http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=225
ReplyDeleteOh how ironic if the cookie you're having trouble identifying turns out to be a macaron! After all the mac-blogging you've done!
ReplyDeleteHope you find it out soon! And the recipe! And post!
From what I can see, they probably are quite similar to macarons (almond ones) but with coconut. It looks like the coconut is thinly chopped rather than shredded, and the spread is probably caused by a very high sugar content, sort of like for craquelins. You'd probably have to play around with it, but I would try an italian or swiss meringue, with high sugar content, mixed with equal part vchopped coconut. I would then play around with the quantities. If that doesn't work out, I'd try taking the cigarette paste route, using flour and butter as well as egg whites. It doesn't look too complicated. It'll be one technique or the other for sure.
ReplyDeleteLike most of your replies here, I definitely think they are ghriba/ gohribas. That's my vote. I had them once a loooong time ago. They are superb, and I'm actually pretty glad I don't have a recipe for them, otherwise I'd weight 8,000 pounds.
ReplyDeleteI love love love those! I second the "relative of macaroon" suggestions - my recollection is that they're chewy and coconutty and moist and flat. Delicious! If you get recipe links, post? I haven't had these in years.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever figure out what these are, post a recipe and I will be all OVER making them; coconut is my obsession, and these look absolutely delicious XD
ReplyDeleteI'm still a bit confused by the differences between these and ghriba/gohribas.
ReplyDeleteAre those cookies ever sandwiched? And why are these so flat compared to most gohribas I've seen?
I should of asked those children what they're called in Arabic, that would of made the recipe so much easier to hunt down.
I didn't eat about a dozen. It was only about 11. Maybe 11 1/2.
ReplyDeleteYour hand moved to your mouth in such a blur it was hard to tell how many cookies were being devoured.
ReplyDeleteYou should be an expert though...
Coconut macaroons? What do you think?
make these:
ReplyDeletehttp://amesheures.canalblog.com/archives/2006/02/09/1340747.html
But with coconut. And it should be exactly the same.
Kloii,
ReplyDeleteThanks!
That recipe looks like an excellent starting point. I think modifying those and sandwiching them with a little Moroccan orange flower honey, I may have a similar cookie. Or at the very least, a very yummy cookie.
My gma made these. She never wrote the recipe down so search net and found an made this recipe. Has all the qualities mentioned. www.preparedpantry.com/. Go to Library-Recipes-Cookies-Meringues & Macaroons-Easy Coconut Macaroons. Oh so simple. WATCH OUT THEY ARE ADDICTIVE!!! I flatened mine down to 1/4 inch with spoon.
ReplyDeletehttp://tastyconfection.blogspot.com/2010/01/semolina-and-coconut-cookies.html
ReplyDeleteMay also be a good start? I think the semolina is key, and adding the coconut would soften them up.