Sweet hawaij coffee cookies

Crisp delicious cookies flavoured with sweet Yemenite hawaij spices and real coffee. A taste of the Middle East and perfect dipped in your favourite brew.

Have you ever bought an exciting new ingredient and then wondered what on earth you were going to do with it? Welcome to my world…

At the end of 2016 we took a family trip to Israel, and as part of that we spent a few hours on a tasting tour of the Levinsky Market in Tel Aviv. Our last stop on the tour was an amazing spice shop, where I bought a number of different things including hawaij l’cafe or ‘hawaij for coffee’ spice mix.

What is hawaij spice blend?

Hawaij (sometimes spelled hawayej or hawayij) is a Yemenite spice blend that comes in two varieties – savoury hawaij l’marak or ‘hawaij for soup’ and sweet hawaij l’cafe or ‘hawaij for coffee’.

Savoury – hawaij l’marak – hawaij for soup

The savoury one, hawaij l’marak, contains turmeric, black pepper, cardamom, coriander and cumin. I use it a lot in soups (naturally) but it also goes really well with fish, and is a fabulous seasoning for rice. 

Sweet – hawaij l’cafe – hawaij for coffee

Sweet hawaij for coffee contains ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and fennel seeds or aniseed. Of course it is delicious in coffee! However this spice blend is also great in all kinds of baked goods and desserts.

Hawaij – local variations

Of course both types of hawaij can vary from spice-merchant to spice-merchant. Depending upon where you buy it, your  hawaij might have slightly different flavours. However it should never be too far away from the spice blends described above. 

Spicy and sweet

I hadn’t used the sweet hawaij for coffee spice blend before. But it smelled amazing so of course I had to get a bagful! It had a wonderful aroma of ginger and cardamom, with the other spices adding delicious layers of fragrance.

Having bought my hawaij spice mix and brought it home, I had to figure out what to do with it. After a number of discarded ideas I opted to keep it simple. I decided to explore the sweet hawaij flavour in a straightforward cookie/biscuit. 

Hawaij for coffee

Since this hawaij spice mix was designed to compliment the flavour of coffee, I decided to add some to the recipe. Caffeinated cookies. Blimey. (Don’t worry, they aren’t very caffeinated. My daughter Kipper ate some without incident.)

Coffee cookies – Excellent dunkers!

These delicious biscuits are super easy to make, and based on the recipe for cinnamon & vanilla cookies I made for Kipper’s party a while ago. The hawaij cookies are crisp yet slightly chewy, and are terrific dunked in coffee (or tea!). They soften nicely but don’t dissolve into a pile of mushy crumbs. Perfect.

As you can see, I also got carried away trying out my new camera lenses, including the ‘macro’ lens. Super-close-up photos of cookies, anyone?

How to use hawaij l’cafe in recipes

Hawaij for coffee is a versatile blend of spices. As well as in these delicious hawaij cookies, you can also substitute it in any recipe that calls for ‘mixed spice’, ‘apple pie spice’ or ‘pumpkin spice’ with great results.

For instance, try it in this spiced hazelnut loaf cake, these ginger spice cookies, or this gorgeous vegan carrot cake.

How to make your own hawaij for coffee blend

If you don’t have ready access to an amazing Tel Avivian spice vendor, you could try mixing up your own hawaij l’cafe.

To make your own hawaij for coffee spice mix, combine 2 tablespoon ground ginger, 2 tablespoon ground cardamom, and ½ tsp each of ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground cinnamon and ground fennel seeds/aniseed.

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📖 Recipe

Hawaij coffee cookies

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Crisp delicious cookies flavoured with sweet Yemenite hawaij spices and real coffee. A taste of the Middle East and perfect dipped in your favourite brew.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 12 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Cookie

Cuisine Israeli, Vegan

Servings 24 cookies

Calories 65 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 teaspoon hawaij for coffee spice mix (see notes)
• ½ teaspoon ground coffee
• 50 g margarine or butter
• 50 g caster sugar
• 200 g plain flour
• 85 g golden syrup
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• icing sugar for dusting optional

Instructions

 

• First, grind the hawaij and coffee in a pestle and mortar to give a fine powder.
• Cream the margarine (or butter) and sugar, then add the flour, syrup, bicarb, and spice-coffee powder, and mix to a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Line baking sheets with baking parchment or a silicone liner.
• Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking parchment, to a thickness of 4-5mm (approx. ¼ inch). Cut out cookies using a 6cm (2½ inch) diameter fluted round cutter.
• Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheets and bake in the oven at 190°C (375°F) for around 8 minutes, until just coloured.
• Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes to allow the cookies to firm up slightly. Transfer to wire racks and leave till cold. Dust with icing sugar if desired.
• Eat and enjoy! These biscuits will keep for at least a week in an airtight storage box.

Notes

To make your own hawaij for coffee spice mix, combine 2 tablespoon ground ginger, 2 tablespoon ground cardamom, and ½ tsp each of ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground cinnamon or ground fennel seeds/aniseed.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Hawaij coffee cookies

Serving Size

 

1 cookie

Amount per Serving

Calories

65

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

2

g

3

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

6

%

Trans Fat

 

0.1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.4

g

Cholesterol

 

4

mg

1

%

Sodium

 

36

mg

2

%

Potassium

 

10

mg

0

%

Carbohydrates

 

11

g

4

%

Fiber

 

0.3

g

1

%

Sugar

 

5

g

6

%

Protein

 

1

g

2

%

Vitamin A

 

52

IU

1

%

Vitamin C

 

0.003

mg

0

%

Calcium

 

3

mg

0

%

Iron

 

0.4

mg

2

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword coffee, spice

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More spicy cookies

You might also enjoy these delicious and crunchy seeded maple spice cookies, these soft and chewy spiced date cookies, or these irresistible orange cookies with melting chocolate truffle centres.