A local specialty, these biscuits offer a taste of Somalia’s cuisine. They’re just one of the recipes from around the globe that can be found in Crumbs, a book compiled by food researcher Ben Mims.
These cookies — one of many styles collectively called buskut or biscuit”— are a popular treat in Somalia and often made to celebrate the holiday of Eid. Typically, they are piped into a wreath or ring shape using a cookie press. Another very popular variation is called buskut dha dheer or “long biscuit,” using the same dough piped through a ridged, flat disc, to create corrugated planks that bake up crisp and are often used to sandwich fruit preserves. Somalia’s colonisation by Italy and that country’s influence on its cuisine, is also likely an influence via the Italian paste di meliga.
Ground cardamom is also usually the chief spice in these cookies, showing the influence of Somalia’s position on the horn of Africa as an important point along the spice trade. While many recipes use neutral oil as the fat, some modern ones use butter, which contributes a better flavour to complement the fragrant cardamom.
PIPED CARDAMOM BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE
Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
Makes about 24 cookies
- Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 180C. Set out two large baking sheets and leave them unlined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir until a dough forms and there are no dry patches of flour remaining.
- Working in batches, scrape the dough into a cookie press/gun fitted with a wreath or flower disc and press shapes 2.5cm apart on the baking sheets. If making the “long biscuit” shape, use the ridged line disc, sometimes called the “biscuit” disc, to pipe 7.5cm lengths of dough, arranging them 2.5cm apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake until very lightly golden brown on the bottom and dry to the touch all over, 12–15 minutes, switching racks and rotating the baking sheets front to back halfway through.
- Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks. Let the cookies cool on the pans for 1 minute, then transfer them to the racks to cool completely.
Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World by Ben Mims, $80, published by Phaidon
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