Şekerpare
The name means “a piece of sugar”, which captures these Turkish cookies well. They are soft butter cookies with semolina, an almond in the centre, soaked after baking in cold lemon syrup. The syrup soaks in over two hours, leaving the cookies moist, soft and sweet but not soggy. In Turkey they are served with tea and at festivals. There is one rule: hot cookies, cold syrup — then they absorb it evenly and do not go soggy.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Syrup 15 min
- Dough 15 min
- Shaping 15 min
- Baking 25 min
- Soaking 120 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the syrup
Bring the sugar and water to the boil and boil 10 minutes over medium heat. Add the lemon juice at the end. Pour the syrup into a wide bowl and leave to cool completely — it must be cold when the cookies come out of the oven.
Ingredients: 300 g sugar · 300 ml water · ½ pcs lemon, juice
Cream butter and sugar
Heat the oven to 180°C. Beat the soft butter with the icing sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, softened · 60 g icing sugar · 1 pcs egg · 50 g semolina · 200 g plain flour · 1 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 24 pcs blanched almonds
Add semolina and flour
Add the semolina, flour and baking powder and bring together by hand into a soft, smooth dough. Do not knead long — the cookies should be tender.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, softened · 60 g icing sugar · 1 pcs egg · 50 g semolina · 200 g plain flour · 1 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 24 pcs blanched almonds
A soft dough — worked briefly for tenderness.Shape the cookies
Divide the dough into 24 pieces of about 20 g, roll into balls and flatten slightly to about 4 cm. Arrange them in a greased baking dish about 25 × 30 cm in 4 rows of 6, about 1 cm apart, and press an almond into each. In the oven they spread a little and may touch — that is fine.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, softened · 60 g icing sugar · 1 pcs egg · 50 g semolina · 200 g plain flour · 1 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 24 pcs blanched almonds
An almond in the centre — the mark of şekerpare.Bake
Bake 20–25 minutes, until golden and lightly cracked.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, softened · 60 g icing sugar · 1 pcs egg · 50 g semolina · 200 g plain flour · 1 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 24 pcs blanched almonds
Pour over cold syrup
As soon as they come out of the oven, ladle the cold syrup over the hot cookies. They sizzle and drink it up.
Ingredients: 300 g sugar · 300 ml water · ½ pcs lemon, juice
Hot cookies, cold syrup.Leave to soak
Leave the cookies in the syrup 2 hours, until they absorb most of it. Halfway through, you can spoon over the syrup from the bottom of the dish.
Ingredients: 300 g sugar · 300 ml water · ½ pcs lemon, juice
Serve
Transfer the cookies to a plate. Serve at room temperature, with tea or Turkish coffee.
Ingredients: 300 g sugar · 300 ml water · ½ pcs lemon, juice
Before you start
Less sweet
There is already less syrup here than in many Turkish recipes. For less sweetness still, use only two thirds of it.
With nuts
Instead of an almond, press half a hazelnut or a pistachio into each cookie.
Storage
Şekerpare keep 4 days covered at room temperature. In the fridge they harden.
