Şekerpare (Turkish Semolina Cookies in Lemon Syrup)

Ingredients

• 250 g white sugar
• 2½ dl water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 120 g butter, softened
• 60 g powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 g semolina
• 150 g wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 40 g almonds, blanched and left whole

Method

1. 1.

   Make the syrup ahead — Make the syrup first, because it has to be stone cold. Bring the white sugar, water and lemon juice to a boil in a small pan, then simmer for 10 minutes until it thickens just enough to coat a spoon. Take it off the heat and leave it to cool completely — hot cookies meeting cold syrup is the whole trick of şekerpare.

2. 2.

   Cream the butter and sugar — Heat the oven to 170°C fan. Beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar for 3 minutes until pale and light, then beat in the egg and the vanilla extract until smooth.

3. 3.

   Fold in the semolina — Fold in the semolina, wheat flour, baking powder and salt with a spatula until you have a soft, slightly oily dough that just holds together — stop as soon as it comes together, since kneading turns şekerpare hard. Let it rest for 15 minutes so the semolina swells.

4. 4.

   Shape and top with almonds — With damp hands, roll the dough into 16 walnut-sized balls and set them well apart on a lined baking tray — they spread. Flatten each one lightly with two fingers and press a whole blanched almond into the centre.

5. 5.

   Bake to pale gold — Bake for 22-25 minutes, until an even light gold with slightly darker rims. They should still feel soft to a fingertip; if they brown properly they will refuse the syrup.

6. 6.

   Soak in cold syrup — The moment the tray comes out of the oven, ladle the cold syrup evenly over the hot cookies. They will look drowned and that is correct. Leave them for at least an hour, spooning the syrup from the tray back over them once or twice, until every one has drunk it up and turned spongy. Serve at room temperature.