Hi, Janet,Have you ever heard of rechikas? My grandmother (and later, my mother) made these little dry cookies, not very sweet at all, crunchy and absolutely DELICIOUS, especially when dunked in some Turkish coffee! OMG, I’m drooling. Please say you know what I’m talking about.Yael Eylat-Tanaka
Of course, Yael! Reshikas, or reshas, are exactly as you describe them. My first taste was a mesmerizing experience. I was very, very young – four, at most – and my mother brought home a bagful after a visit to my great grandma. My eyes popped, and I couldn’t stop eating them. Great grandma was already in her nineties, but she still made one mean cookie.
Reshikas are merely biscochos – shortbread cookies - that are twisted before shaping them into rings. Orange juice (not rind) blended into the dough is most likely the source of the subtle flavor you remember, and the crumbly texture comes from oil. Growing up in New York our oil of choice was Mazola corn oil – in the 1960′s we weren’t exactly spoiled for choice – but your grandmother surely used a mild-flavored olive oil. To jog your memory a little, here’s an old post with a photo.
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January 27, 2012 at 3:52 pm
This sounds very similar to my Nauna’s Taraleecos….usually twisted into a bracelet shape or braided, with an egg wash and sesame seeds baked on top. Always served with 3pm Turkish coffee and a real treat for the children. But the texture was more dense and cookie-like than crumbly shortbread. Perfect for dipping in coffee.
February 9, 2012 at 9:57 pm
You are right, Jackie. Exact same cookie, different name. I like your description of the dough, too. It is a shortbread (made with loads of oil), but the texture is on the dense side so the cookie doesn’t crumble easily.