These bisuits are delicious & not too sweet. They have a lovely lemon flavour from the zest & are easy to make.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg plain flour
6 large eggs
4 lemons, zest of, finely grated
200g-220g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 litre sunflower oil / vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs & the oil.

2. Add the baking powder & lemon zest if using & slowly add the flour, mixing the ingredients with your hands until a dough forms. You will probably not need all of the flour.

3. Once you have a firm dough, you can shape your helouwa.

4. To shape, you have 2 choices: you can roll out to 5mm thickness & cut out with your favourite cookie cutters OR you can roll into a 1cm thick ‘sausage’ & make rings & straight lengths them decorate with a ‘Nakkach’ (this is a special tool used in North African cooking – see Tips below)

5. Place on a tray lined with aluminium foil (shiny side up) & bake for 25-28 minutes. The cookies should be pale but hard when tapped. (Unless you want them soft on the inside, in which case you should take them out after 20 minutes).

6. Allow to cool.

TIPS:

1. If you do not have a Nakkach, you can use tweezers, scissors or even a small fork to make similar patterns.

2. If you would like a little extra sweetness, lightly dust the sablés with a little icing sugar.

3. For a different flavour, try using the zest of 3 oranges instead of the lemon.

4. These biscuits freeze very well in an airtight container for upto 6 months. Alternatively, you can store them in an airtight container for upto 2 weeks.

Tags: Biscuits, Lemon, Sable, sablés