~ Make your Holiday Baking Easier + Successful ~

The cookies, the pastries, the cakes, pies, candies . . . oh my! We SO love to carry on our legacy of baking traditions, Lebanese and otherwise, during the holiday season. We do it for the memories, we do it for the sharing. And the eating, of course.

And yet: the time, the ingredients, the methods. . . . double oh my! I know our baking days will be special no matter what, but scroll down for a few of my essential tips to help make our baking projects easier and deliciously successful this holiday season.

~ Clarify your butter now ~

Clarified butter is an essential ingredient in Lebanese baking. We need it for baklawa, ma'moul, ka'ik, graybeh, knafeh, and more.
I love to use cultured butter, referred to as "European Style," which is more deeply flavorful than standard American butter. Higher fat, yes, but when you consider that we're not eating these treats every day, and we're only eating a bit, I say yes.
It's easier to clarify larger amounts of butter, plus the more you have on hand to bake, the faster it is to get going on baking day.
Some versions of prepared ghee is clarified butter (some are not). There are times when we need our butter prepped and ready to go! To that end, I've sourced a phenomenal organic ghee for us, artisanal and perfect. Find it here.

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~ Gather ingredients and make your Simple Syrup ~

So many of our recipes call for simple syrup, which is simple (!) to make and store. This mix of sugar and water with flavorings is at home on the bar for cocktails too.
Lebanese recipes call for syrup flavored with flower waters, Rose and Orange Blossom. Some use a mix of the two. This recipe is so adaptable, you can personalize your flavors to your own preferences. I use orange blossom water almost exclusively for our pastries. This year I'm going to try a combo and see how we do.

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~ Sharpen Your Knives and Get Your Molds ~

Never was a baklawa baker, or cook of any sort, so happy as when her knives are sharpened. Purists go at it every six months. If it's been a while for you, take your main squeezes in for service. I took mine to Cut-Co (they're not even that brand) and the sharpening job is truly game-changing. Everything I do in the kitchen is easier with a sharp knife (and yes, be super careful handling!).

If you haven't taken a gander at the pride of my online shop, I invite you to head over and see the Custom Cookie Molds for ma'moul and ka'ik. Years in the sourcing of an artisan, designing, and producing . . . these molds are heritage-level. The cuts are pristine, the molding deep in solid cherry. They make beautiful cookies and are beautiful to behold. Shadow-box worthy! But then, they're for baking.