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Secret Ingredient: Mahlab (St. Lucie cherry pit)
Mahlab tastes faintly like cherries and almonds. There is a tart/sour bottom note but it is mostly a a sweet taste with hint of tartness. The spice is sold as the whole pit, and ground fresh for cooking. It is used mostly for baking. Recipes from the greater Middle East use the spice, anything from Greek to Turkish to Iranian.
Mahlab at NutsOnline
Recipe Features: Sweet and Not Too Sweet
RECIPE: PERSIAN TEA SCONES
1. Go to your favorite recipe for Mexican Wedding Cakes. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and flour. Together with the flour, mix in the Persian ingredients:
2. Add fresh chopped pistachios, figs, and dried cranberries or cherries.
3. Add fresh ground mahlab.
4. Rather than rolling cake balls in sugar, roll them in flour to create miniature scones. (You could roll them in sugar to make a cookie-cake, on the other hand.)
5. Bake in over at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Makes 4 dozen tea biscuits.
Frequently Asked Recipe Question: Why aren't exact measurements given?
Answer: (1) To keep the cooking explanation simple. (2) To encourage your own modification. Every cook likes a different taste! However, feel free to comment to the blog post for guidance!
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Yum! These little morsels sound really good! Thanks for sharing with us and joining my Christmas Tea. Have a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Sandi
How fascinating! Love this idea! I'll have to see if I can find this intriguing spice! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with A Return to Loveliness,
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Kathy
Thanks Sandi and Kathy. You can buy it at Penzey's.
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