[caption id="attachment_1882" align="alignnone" width="900"] Kaak Khamis or Kaak Helo shaped with a special mold[/caption] According to the Arsali, “kaak khamis” or Thursday cookies also known as sweet cookies (kaak helo) are prepared on Thursday preceding Holy Friday. Although Arsal is Muslim-Sunnite town, the villagers have always celebrated this Holiday with their Christian neighbors in the surrounding villages. “Women gather to prepare kaak together, it is a beautiful social event” says Halima. [caption id="attachment_1883" align="aligncenter" width="486"] The traditional mold used to give kaak khamis its shape[/caption] Ingredients: 4 cups of flour 1 cup of powdered milk 2 eggs 1 ½ cup of sugar 200g of butter 1 cup of vegetable oil 1 tsp of vanilla 1 tsp of baking powder 1 tsp of anise, powdered 1 tsp of mahleb 1 tsp of yeast ½ cup of water [caption id="attachment_1884" align="alignnone" width="900"] Grease the mold and don't press hard on it to avoid the dough from sticking[/caption] Preparation Steps:

1. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, milk, butter, baking powder, vegetable oil, vanilla, mahleb and yeast
2. Add the water gradually while mixing with both hands
3. Add the flour when the mixture is homogeneous
4. When the dough becomes smooth and elastic, cover and set aside for 30 minutes
5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180⁰C (356⁰F)
6. Divide the dough into several pieces. To make the traditional cookies use the special molds to make imprints on dough disks. If the molds are not available, you can make different shapes such as circles or even braids. When using the mold, brush it with vegetable oil and make sure not to press hard to avoid the dough from sticking
7. Grease the baking tray with vegetable oil and place on it the cookies
8. Bake for 15 mns

[caption id="attachment_1885" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Arrange the cookies on the tray 2.5 cm apart[/caption]