Friday, August 7, 2009

Klaicha

Klaicha
3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
8oz unsalted butter (1 cup)
3 tsp orange flour water or rose water
1/4 cup water

250 g or 8 oz pitted dates
2 tbsp butter

1. Sift flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into pieces and rub flour with fingertips until distributed evenly.
2. Blend orange flour water or rose water with water and sprinkle onto flour mixture. Mix to a firm dough and knead lightly until smooth. Rest dough for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile chop dates. Place in a pan with the butter and heat gently until dates soften, stirring often. Remove from heat and keep aside.
4. Roll dough into balls the size of a large walnut (@ 1 tbsp )
5. Flatten a ball of dough in the palm of your hand and place a teaspoonfull of date filling in the center. Mould dough around filling and reshape into a ball.
6. Press ball into a carved mold similar to a tabi and place on an ungreased baking tray. Alternatively, place on a tray, flatten slightly and press tines of a fork obliquely around sides and accross top. giving pastry a slightly conical shape.
7. Bake in a preheated moderately slow oven ( 170 C or 325 F) for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.
8. Cool on tray -- pastries will become firm and crisp on cooling. Store in a sealed container when cool.

Alternative shaping--
Divide pastry into 3 equal portions and roll each portion into a rectangle 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and 10 cm (4 inches) wide. Put one-third of the date mixture, shaped in a long roll, along one edge of pastry and roll up to enclose filling. Press edges and ends to seal and place rolls, join side down, on ungreased baking sheet. Decorate top with pastry crimper or any other means to make a design. Bake as for Klaicha above, cool and slice at an angle to serve. Store in sealed container.

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