🍪 Ghraybeh
Ghraybeh is a Levantine shortbread made from just flour, ghee and powdered sugar, pressed into small rounds or S-shapes and topped with a single pistachio. Baked pale rather than golden, it is so tender that it crumbles and melts on the tongue. It is served with coffee or tea, especially during Eid and other festive visits.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g ghee, softened
- 120 g powdered sugar
- 400 g plain flour
- 20 shelled pistachios
Method
- Beat the ghee until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes, then beat in the powdered sugar.
- Add the flour gradually and knead lightly until a smooth, soft dough forms; rest it 15 minutes.
- Roll into walnut-sized balls or thin ropes shaped into rings, place on a lined tray and press a pistachio into each.
- Bake at 150 °C for 15–20 minutes, until set but still pale on top.
- Cool completely on the tray before moving — warm ghraybeh breaks easily.
How to make it lighter
- Make the cookies smaller: a 20 g piece instead of 40 g halves the calories per cookie.
- Count them before serving yourself — ghee shortbread is dense, and 1 tbsp ghee ≈ 120 kcal.
- Pair one or two cookies with unsweetened coffee or tea rather than a sweet drink.
History
Ghraybeh and its close relatives are baked across the Levant, North Africa and the Gulf, and it is a fixture of Eid cookie trays in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.
Count it in one photo
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →