Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

Ghouribi (Moroccan Sugar Cookies)

Reprinted with permission of Joan Nathan

On the morning of Purim, Moroccan Jews decorate the table with flowers and sweets. Marzipan-stuffed prunes with walnuts and such cookies as ghouribi are a few of the delicacies. Ghouribi are easily prepared walnut cookies, which children enjoy rolling with their hands.

Makes about 30 cookies

1 cup vegetable oil or butter
1 cup sugar
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup finely ground walnuts or almonds
Cinnamon for sprinkling

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour an ungreased cookie sheet.

2) Place oil and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Gradually add the flour, a cup at a time, and knead well. Blend in the nuts.

3) When the dough feels smooth, use the palm of your hand to roll it into balls the size of an egg. Pat into a round cookie about 2 inches in diameter. The cookie should not be flat.

4) Place on the cookie sheet and sprinkle the center of each cookie with cinnamon. Bake for 45 minutes. Do not let the cookies become even slightly brown; they must remain off-white.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.