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!
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.
These Moroccan almond cookies are deliciously crumbly and perfect served with traditional mint tea.
Moroccan Almond Cookies (Ghriba)
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition information
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 🙂
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.
Just found this recipe and am anxious to try it. Gluten free recipes are always welcomed! Thank you, Azlin!
Wonderful, it’s a pleasure!
May I ask how many biscuits this recipe yields?
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.
Thank you Azlin, I’m planning to make these over the weekend, wish me luck!
How did it go?
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
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??
Thank you Shubha! If you can’t get orange blossom water, rose water would be perfect, or even just plain old vanilla.
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?
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.
very, very tasty recipes
Thank you, much appreciated and thanks for stopping by. x