Fekkas

Fekkas is the Moroccan biscotti, twice-baked for shelf life and crunch. The dough, studded with anise seeds, sesame and whole or chopped almonds, is baked once as a log, then sliced and baked again until dry and crisp. The twice-bake is a preservation technique older than Morocco itself: the Romans made it, and it spread across the Mediterranean. In Morocco, fekkas is dunked in coffee, tea or milk, and it keeps for weeks in a tin, which is why it is a Ramadan and travel staple. The anise seed is the defining flavor, and it links fekkas to the broader Moroccan tradition of anise-scented breads and sweets, including krachel and harsha.

Crunchy, dry and studded with anise and almond, the fekkas shatters when bitten and softens beautifully when dunked in hot coffee or tea. The anise is warm, the sesame nutty, the almond buttery.

The twice-bake is the entire technique, and each pass does something different. The first bake, as a log, sets the structure and cooks the dough through. The second bake, as thin slices, drives off the remaining moisture, hardening the crumb into a dry, shattering crisp. Without the second bake, the fekkas is just a soft almond log, not a biscotti. The slices must be cut thin and even, about 1 cm, so they dry uniformly. Anise seeds are distributed through the dough, not just on top, so every bite carries the warm, licorice-like flavor.