Although the barazek is originally a Syrian pastry, the recipe has spread widely throughout the Middle East, including Lebanon and Jordan. Whatever it was, the pastry was definitely not cookie dough. Only a couple of pastry shops made these tahini cookies. It turned out that this “cookie” is considered to be a bread — not a pastry — because it’s made with yeast-risen dough. It happens to be a clever variation on Middle Eastern tahini bread (in Arabic, khubz tahini; in Armenian, tahinov hats), which is usually made as a pita-size flatbread.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 08, 2024 17:16 UTC