“El Raif”- Moroccan Crackers

If your childhood memories include a box, always in the kitchen, with these semi-sweet, flat crackers, dotted with sesame and fennel seeds, then you must be Moroccan. Rain or shine, they were taken out of the box, every day, for the Moroccan version of the 5 o’clock tea: mint tea and El-Raif cookies.

• 3 eggs 

• ¼ cup sesame seeds

• ¼ cup fennel seeds

• 1 cup sugar 

• ½ cup water or orange o juice 

• 2.5 tbsp. baking powder 

• 5.5 cups-7 cups all-purpose flour 

• ¾ cup oil 

• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract 

1. Heat the oven (370°)

2. Mix all of the wet ingredients but the flour and baking powder. 

3. Add the seeds and then the flour and baking powder. I usually add about 6 cups. 

4. Divide the dough into 4 balls. 

5. On a floured surface roll out each dough to a square, ⅛ inch thick. 

6. Using a cookie roller, cut the dough into squares. 

7. Bake for 40 minutes.