Ghriba (Cracked Almond Cookies)

Name: Ghriba (Cracked Almond Cookies)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 20 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 0.25 tsp salt; 2 g sesame seeds; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 ml orange blossom water; 400 g blanched almond flour; 200 g icing sugar; 3 egg whites

Ghriba are Morocco’s “smiling cookies”—chewy-centered, crackled-top rounds made from ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites with almost no flour in the classic version. As they bake, the tops split open like smiles. Variations use walnuts or coconut; orange blossom and a dusting of powdered sugar make them irresistible with tea.

Recipe byChef Youssef

Prep 20 min
Cook 22 min
Serves 20
★ 4 (1 reviews)

Pastry Baking Gluten-Free Vegetarian Halal

Ingredients

Servings

Scaled from 20 base servings — local only.

0.25 tspsalt
2 gsesame seeds
1 tspbaking powder
2 mlorange blossom water
400 gblanched almond flour
200 gicing sugar
3egg whites

View list

Instructions

Beat egg whites lightly with orange blossom. Fold in almond flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and sesame until a thick paste forms.
Chill 20 minutes. Roll walnut-sized balls; press slightly and roll tops in extra icing sugar.
Bake at 160°C (320°F) 20–22 minutes until cracked on top and pale gold underneath—centers should stay chewy.
Cool completely on the tray; they firm up as they set. Store airtight up to one week.