Round Moroccan shortbread cookies with a crackled, sugar-dusted top and a tender, melt-in-the-mouth crumb. Made most classically with ground almonds, they appear at weddings, holidays, and every festive tea tray.
Ghriba is the round, crackle-topped shortbread cookie of the Maghreb and the wider Arab world, made from flour or semolina with sugar, oil and almonds. Crumbly and fragrant, it is a fixture of the tea tray and the feast.
Crisp and craggy outside, the cookie crumbles into a soft, sandy almond richness that melts on the tongue. The powdered-sugar shell is delicately sweet and the crackled top gives a satisfying first snap.
Ground almonds and a high fat content keep the crumb short and tender rather than chewy, while baking powder lifts the dough so the surface cracks. The powdered-sugar coating crystallizes lightly in the oven for the signature crackle.
Variations
almond ghriba, coconut ghriba, walnut ghriba, sesame ghriba (ghriba dyal zit), semolina versions
On the Palate
Where Ghriba sits in the Moroccan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 24
How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 14 min
Beat eggs with sugar until pale, then stir in oil or melted butter and a little vanilla.
- 23 min
Mix in ground almonds, flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt to form a soft dough.
Watch outStop mixing the moment it comes together into a soft dough — overworking almond dough makes the cookies tough instead of short and tender.
- 315 min
Let the dough rest briefly so it firms up enough to handle.
- 44 min
Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls between your palms.
- 53 min
Roll each ball generously in powdered sugar to coat.
Watch outCoat the balls so thickly the surface stays snowy white — a heavy sugar layer is what cracks into the signature crackle.
- 63 min
Place on a lined baking sheet, spacing them apart, and flatten slightly.
- 715 min
Bake in a moderate oven until set and lightly golden with cracked tops.
Watch outPull them when the tops have cracked and the edges are just barely golden — they still look pale but firm up as they cool; over-bake and the crumb dries out.
- 810 min
Cool on the tray so they firm up, then serve with mint tea.
