BARAZIQ -- SESAME COOKIES (SYRIA -- MIDDLE EAST)

Steps:

• FOR THE COOKIES: In a mixing bowl, combine sugar & butter & stir together with a wooden spoon until completely blended.
• Add rest of the cookie ingredients & blend with your hands until there is a soft dough. (If too soft to work with immediately, refrigerate for 1 hour.).
• Divide dough into 18 pieces to make small baraziq.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F & line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Shape each ball of dough with your hands until you have a thin disk about 2 1/2 inches across, & place it on a large platter. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
• FOR THE GARNISH: Put the egg white in a saucer, the pistachio nuts in another saucer & the sesame seeds in a third saucer.
• Dip each of the shaped disks in the egg white, then in the pistachios ON ONE SIDE ONLY & then in the toasted sesame seeds on the other side, making sure you coat them well with the seeds.
• Arrange the coated disks, pistachio side down, on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake 25-35 minutes or until cookies are golden brown, then let cool before serving. Keep uneaten cookies up to 2 weeks in a tightly sealed container.