LinsFood | by Azlin Bloor

In-Depth Recipes, Food Culture, Drinks, Ingredients & More!

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Type of Recipes
      • Amuse-Bouches, Canapés and Starters
      • Birthday and Occasion Cakes and Cupcakes
      • Cheese (Types and Recipes)
      • Cookies
      • Desserts
      • Dips, Sauces and Gravy Recipes
      • Eggless Recipes (Desserts & Baking)
      • Gluten Free
      • Healthy Recipes
      • Meat
      • Noodle Recipes
      • Poultry and Game
      • Rice Recipes from All over the World
      • Salad Recipes
      • Soups and Stews from around the World
      • Seafood
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Seasonal Recipes
      • Autumn (Fall) Recipes
      • Winter Recipes
      • Spring Recipes
      • Summer Recipes
      • What's in Season Now?
    • Festive Recipes
      • Christmas Recipes from around the World
      • Chinese New Year Recipes
      • Valentine's Day Recipes
      • Nowruz Recipes (Persian New Year)
      • Easter Recipes
      • Ramadan Recipes from around the World
      • Eid Recipes from around the World
      • Thanksgiving Recipes
    • Collections
      • Alcohol Free Drinks
      • Alcoholic Drinks
      • Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
      • Cake Decorating 101
      • Gin Recipes
      • Fine Dining
      • Persian Recipes
      • Reader Requested Recipes
      • Risotto Masterclass
      • Tagine Masterclass
      • The Chilli Pepper Page
      • Top 12 Chicken Recipes
  • World Cuisines
    • American
    • British Recipes
    • Burmese Recipes
    • Chinese Recipes
    • East and West African Recipes
    • Eastern and Central European
    • French
    • Indian, Pakistani & Sri Lankan
    • Indonesian
    • Italian Recipes
    • Japanese Recipes
    • Latin American
    • Middle Eastern and North African Recipes
    • What is Singapore and Malaysian Food?
    • Spanish Recipes
    • Thai Recipes
    • Turkish Recipes
    • Vietnamese Recipes
  • Reference
    • Ingredients

      Ingredients
    • The Edible Garden

      The Edible Garden
    • What’s In Season?

      What's In Season?
    • Oven/Cooking Conversions

      Oven/Cooking Conversions
  • Travel
  • Media
  • About
    • About Me

      About Me
    • Online Cooking Courses

      How to cook noodles
    • My Cookbooks

      Singapore Recipes

Moroccan Almond Cookies (Ghriba)

Published 4 years ago and updated on 25th July 2019 15 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Moroccan Almond Cookies

We are currently in Morocco, one of my favourite countries to visit, with so many memories of travelling up and down the coast back when I had no kids to think about! One of the first things I did when we got here was to get my hands on some Ghriba, or Moroccan Almond Cookies, perfectly crumbly with just a touch of chewy and yes, perfect for dunking! But be warned, only dunk for a second or two or they’ll land at the bottom of your cup!

One of my favourite teatime treats, these Moroccan Almond Cookies remind me of so many other nut based cookies like the festive kuih kacang (peanut cookies) in Singapore and Malaysia and especially, sbrisolona, an Italian cookie made with ground almonds and cornmeal. My friend Lisa Watson, over at www.ItalianKiwi.com, has a great recipe for it. And of course, various polvorones come to mind, Spanish or Mexican, the latter ones commonly known as Mexican Wedding Cookies.

Now, mind you, as with any popular recipe, Ghriba has many variations, of course as they are almond cookies, the almond tends to stay constant but the biggest difference is the addition of flour, whether plain wheat or cornflour (cornstarch). I much prefer the pure almond ones as I absolutely love the crumbly nature of the cookie made without any starch, and of course, that makes it gluten free too. Our local patisserie here has a few variations too, with pistachios and/or walnuts as well as vanilla and rose scented ones. I did like the rose scented ones!

House on Salé seafront

This recipe is one I obtained ages ago here in Morocco from a little boulangerie and has been waiting forever to be published. I’m glad that not only am I finally doing it but I’m able to do it while sitting in our apartment here in Salé, a tiny town on the north west coast of Morocco, founded sometime in the 11th century. The house above is one of many along the seafront, very close to where we are. Salé is a little off the beaten track, most folks tend to hit the bigger towns of Marrakech, Fes and Tangier and if they get anywhere near here, it’s usually just in Rabat but en route to somewhere else. We ought to be heading down to Rabat sometime next week, did you know that it’s the capital of Morocco? That’s right, most people assume that Marrakech is.

So, here’s the recipe I’ve been using for well over a decade now to make Ghriba, I’ve not changed it much from the original apart from leaving out the lemon zest as I don’t like bits in my cookies and doing away with the icing/powdered sugar coating as I find it too sickly, even if it does create prettier cookies. I shall leave both up to you, I’ve included them as optional in this recipe, so you can experiment. As far as the icing sugar is concerned, coat half of them, you can then decide which you prefer. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Moroccan Almond Cookies, Ghriba

Print
Moroccan Almond Cookies, Ghriba

Moroccan Almond Cookies (Ghriba)


★★★★★

5 from 58 reviews

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: Makes 24 cookies 1x
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

These Moroccan almond cookies are deliciously crumbly and perfect served with traditional mint tea.


Scale

Ingredients

  • 250g (8 1/2 oz) ground raw almonds
  • 125g (4 2/5 oz) caster (superfine, not powdered) sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 70g (2 1/2) oz salted butter
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 + 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon (optional)
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water
  • a small bowl of icing sugar/powdered sugar – optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ËšC/350ËšF.
  2. Mix the ground almonds, the caster sugar, the salt and baking powder thoroughly in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
  3. In another bowl, mix the butter and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon for about a minute, you won’t get a smooth mixture, don’t worry about it.
  4. Add 1 tsp of the lemon juice, lemon zest if using and orange blossom water and mix again.
  5. Add the dry ingredients (almonds, etc) to the egg yolk and butter mixture and stir with the wooden spoon to mix as best as you can.
  6. Finish off with your hands, using only the tip of your fingers as we don’t want to knead the dough. Bring it all together, it will be a soft dough.
  7. In a small bowl, mix the other tsp of lemon juice with some water for forming the cookies.
  8. Wetting your fingers with the lemon water, form little dough balls, roll them in the icing sugar (if you like, optional) and place on a baking sheet, leaving some space between each cookie. Don’t flatten the cookie, it will naturally spread.
  9. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets. Every oven is different. You are aiming for a pale golden colour.
  10. Leave to cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.
  11. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can even freeze them, well covered for up to the usual 3 months.

  • Cuisine: Moroccan

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: Makes about 20 - 30 cookies, depending on size.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @azlinbloor on Instagram and hashtag it #linsfood

Comments

  1. Rania says

    13th June 2018 at 1:56 am

    Hi Azlin

    I hope your well, I have a question about the butter measurement, does the recipe require 70 oz? that is 2 kgs of butter for 1 cup of almond meal, is this correct or am I missing something.

    Thank your for your help 🙂

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      13th June 2018 at 10:42 am

      Hi Rania, I left out grams after 70! It should be 70g butter, which will be 2 1/2 oz. Have corrected it now. Thank you for spotting the error.

      Reply
  2. Teresa Brooks says

    8th February 2018 at 12:48 am

    Just found this recipe and am anxious to try it. Gluten free recipes are always welcomed! Thank you, Azlin!

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      8th February 2018 at 5:44 pm

      Wonderful, it’s a pleasure!

      Reply
  3. Khalila says

    8th October 2017 at 9:17 pm

    May I ask how many biscuits this recipe yields?

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      8th October 2017 at 10:15 pm

      Hi Khalila, I seem to have left that info out, sorry! This recipe will give you about 20 – 30 cookies, depending on their size. You can make them as small or as big as you like. If you make them really small, cut down the cooking time to about 10 – 12 minutes.

      Reply
  4. SharifahNM says

    21st July 2017 at 9:54 pm

    Thank you Azlin, I’m planning to make these over the weekend, wish me luck!

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      8th October 2017 at 10:16 pm

      How did it go?

      Reply
  5. Jennifer says

    22nd May 2017 at 7:25 pm

    My husbands family is from Fez and he always talks about a special cookie his grandma made for him. I’ve never had them, but from a recent trip to Morocco I discovered the Orange Blossom water and assumed it was the missing ingredient he couldn’t describe. I gave this a shot and surprised him. He LOVES them. Says they are perfect. Thanks. This time I will make another large batch and keep then fresh using Infinity Jars so that he can have a fresh one whenever he likes. https://infinityjars.com/collections/screw-top-jars

    Reply
  6. shubha says

    6th April 2017 at 7:48 pm

    Ahh.. love these cookies.. as always ur recipes are just too amazing.. I had one question though.. is there a substitute for orange blossom recipe in this recipe??

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      6th April 2017 at 8:09 pm

      Thank you Shubha! If you can’t get orange blossom water, rose water would be perfect, or even just plain old vanilla.

      Reply
  7. SN says

    4th April 2017 at 7:41 am

    Hello.
    I just wanted to say thanks for sharing! I’ve never heard of these before and I wish I had. They are delicious… subtle sweetness and interesting texture. They came out like a French macaroons. Are they supposed to be crumbly or chewy?

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      4th April 2017 at 9:39 am

      Hi, thanks for trying out the recipe and for letting me know. They tend to lean more towards crumbly, unlike the French macarons, which are definitely chewy. Glad you enjoyed them.

      Reply
  8. TONCHEVA says

    21st February 2016 at 8:29 pm

    very, very tasty recipes

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      19th March 2016 at 2:58 pm

      Thank you, much appreciated and thanks for stopping by. x

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Language

ArabicMalayFrenchSpanishHindiChinese (Simplified)ItalianRussianEnglishGerman

LinsFood | by Azlin Bloor

Hey folks, I’m Azlin Bloor, chef, culinary instructor, food writer and blogger.
Click here to read more about me!

Never miss one of my posts!


Recent posts

  • Christmas Cranberry and Ginger Tonic (a Christmas Mocktail)
    Christmas Cranberry and Ginger Tonic (a Christmas Mocktail)
  • Eggless Dorset Apple Cake (perfect with Custard or Ice Cream)
    Eggless Dorset Apple Cake (perfect with Custard or Ice Cream)
  • Devil Curry Recipe (Curry Debal) – a Spicy Eurasian Christmas Curry
    Devil Curry Recipe (Curry Debal) – a Spicy Eurasian Christmas Curry
  • Roasted Butternut Squash with Burrata and Spicy Basil Oil
    Roasted Butternut Squash with Burrata and Spicy Basil Oil
  • Gin and Tonic with Australian Finger Lime and Basil
    Gin and Tonic with Australian Finger Lime and Basil
my foodgawker gallery
Tasty Query - recipes search engine
Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs
Foodies100

Cook with me on Udemy!

Cook With Me

Useful Links

Home
World Cuisines
About Me

More Useful Links

Contact Me
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy

Copyright

Copyright Azlin Bloor
LinsFood.com 2011-2019
Heap | Mobile and Web Analytics

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.