By the time Ramadan comes to an end, Egyptians most important priority now is making/buying, getting the ‘Kahk’, the sugary Eid cookies which marks this occasion.
During the last ten days of Ramadan, odors of baking Kahk start coming out of homes, bakeries and sweet shops across streets, spreading happy vibes to all Egyptians.
“Kahk” decorates Egyptian dining tables to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month. After performing Eid prayers early in the morning, Egyptians come back home to take a sip of tea with those delicious cookies.
Older generations are used to the scenes of mothers and grandmothers surrounded by their children to delicately decorate each biscuit before putting it in large trays to enter the oven.
The cookies are usually filled with “Agameya” (special honey filling), walnuts, pistachios, or left plain to be coated with powdered sugar.
While many Egyptians still carry on with the tradition of home-made Eid cookies, various shops today offer a wide range of delicious Kahk.
It is worth mentioning that Eid al-Fitr is referred to at times as “Eid al-Kahk,”.
But just like adding various twists and tweaks to traditional desserts in Ramadan, some bakeries decided to introduce new Kahk fillings, by adding Hazelnut chocolate paste Nutella and Red velvets.
It is said that these cookies have ancient origin as there are drawings in some of the Pharaonic temples illustrating the making of kahk. Images of the sun goddess were carved on the cookies , and we still do carve the top of these cookies. The word ” kahk” means cookies or biscuit in Arabic language. This ritual extended to other Middle eastern countries but often made with semolina like ” Ma’amoul” and stuffed with dates.
