3 Ingredient Ghraybeh Cookies

Welcome to one of the easiest cookie recipes you'll ever try! Ghraybeh are buttery, delicate cookies from the Middle East that use only 3 ingredients. This post shows you exactly how to make them in about one hour, including the special technique for mixing the dough.

Why You'll Love These Ghraybeh Cookies

• Melt in Your Mouth Texture. These cookies are famous for a delicate, snowy texture that dissolves on your tongue.
• Only 3 Ingredients. You only need flour, powdered sugar, and ghee, no eggs, no leavening, no fuss.
• Authentic Flavor. Real ghee gives these a traditional, nutty richness that regular butter cannot match.
• No Special Equipment Needed. A mixing bowl and a baking sheet are all it takes, no stand mixer required, though one makes the process faster.
• Naturally Gluten Free Friendly. With the right substitution, these come together without eggs or leavening, which makes them easy to adapt.

Ingredeints for the Best Ghraybeh Cookies

• Flour provides the structure of the cookie, though there is very little of it relative to the fat, which is part of what gives ghraybeh its crumbly, delicate texture.
• Powdered sugar sweetens the dough while also helping give the finished cookie its pale, tender crumb, something granulated sugar cannot do in this recipe.
• Ghee, clarified butter with the milk solids removed, is what gives these cookies their traditional, nutty richness and their signature melt in your mouth texture, since regular butter will not produce the same result.

Making the Middle Eastern Ghraybeh Cookies

• Whisk together the flour and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.
• Add the ghee and blend until the mixture is whipped and smooth, about 7 to 10 minutes. The dough will move through three stages as it mixes, first sandy, then a dense wet dough, and finally soft, pale, and whipped, which is the sign it is ready.
• Wrap the dough and chill for at least 20 minutes.
• Roll the chilled dough into balls of about 11 grams, or roughly a large teaspoon each.
• Press a pistachio or almond into the top of each ball if using. This is optional, and candied fruit or sprinkles work well too.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 325 degrees F.
• Once baked, transfer to a cooling rack and let the cookies cool completely before handling, since they are fragile while warm.

Tips For Making the Ghraybeh Cookies

• If the dough feels dry or will not come together into that final whipped stage, keep mixing a bit longer before adding more of anything, since the transition to soft and whipped can take the full 10 minutes.
• For a faster way to shape a big batch, pipe the dough onto the baking sheet using a piping bag fitted with a round tip instead of rolling each ball by hand, then chill briefly before pressing on the nut.
• Let the cookies cool completely on the rack before moving them, since they are very delicate and can break apart while still warm.

Troubleshooting Your Ghraybeh

• Dough will not come together and stays crumbly. Keep mixing, since the dough genuinely does move through a dry, sandy stage before it becomes soft and whipped. If it still will not come together after a full 10 minutes, the ghee may have been too cold going in.
• Cookies spread out or lost their shape while baking. The dough or shaped balls were likely too warm going into the oven. Chill the shaped dough for a few minutes if your kitchen runs warm.
• Cookies fell apart while handling them warm. This is normal for ghraybeh. Let them cool completely on the rack before moving or stacking them.

For another holiday cookie, try my soft and chewy gingerbread cookie recipe or try my eggnog Snickerdoodle cookies.

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