Nutty,  crunchy, slightly floral and not overly sweet. An irresistible combination that makes stopping at just one of these Babouches or blighate nearly impossible!

For the July Muslim food bloggers challenge, we were asked to make a recipe in which honey is one of the key players in terms of flavor. I have already missed the past 2 MFB challenges and was determined not to miss this one!
At first I was going to make a kale salad with a honey mustard dressing (my go to lunch lately in our 44 C summer) but the bag of sesame seeds that my mum sent me a few months ago to make karakeesh was never put to good use and we’re leaving for a vacation in three weeks, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use it up.

Babouches or blighate is dessert that is popular in Morocco and Algeria.It usually made to celebrate religious and social events like Ramadan , Eid, weddings,graduations..etc. The word Babouches actually means slippers! and it was used because these little crunchy sesame bites look like moroccan slippers. That being said, please don’t let the name put you off, these babouches are truly irresistible. As you may already know, I rarely fry anything but my Algerian friend always raves about these babouches and I have tried them on a number of occasions and I know they are truly worth the praise but  up until now, I have never worked up the courage to make them at home because having a plate full of these on my kitchen counter  was a temptation I did not want to face lol!

Honey and sesame babouches

2 cups sesame seeds
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons room temperature butter
2/3 cup orange blossom water (see notes)
1/3 to 1/2 cup cold milk
pinch salt
For frying: 
vegetable oil
For dunking the babouches:
1 cup honey
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Directions

1. Mix the flour, salt and the sesame seeds in a bowl
2. Add the butter and rub it into the flour and sesame mix with your fingertips
3. Add the orange blossom water and knead gently
4. Add the cold milk and knead till you get a firm dough
5. Dust your working surface with flour and roll out the dough till it is 0.5cm in thickness
6. Use a round cookie cutter to cut the dough into 5cm circles
7. Fold the circle in half gently and pinch the edges half way
   
8. Heat your vegetable oil in a pot (make sure the oil is at least 5-7 cm deep)
9. Fry the babouches until they are golden brown
10. Mix the honey with the orange blossom water
11. Take the babouches out of the oil, drain them and place them in the honey
    Note:If you want the babouches to obe crunchy and slightly sweet don’t leave them in the honey for more than 2-4 minutes. If, on the other hand you’d like them to be softer and sweeter, leave them in the honey for up to 10 minutes
12. Drain the babouches and serve warm or place in an airtight container

Notes:

• You can half or double the recipe
• You can store the dough in the fridge for a day or 2
• You can store the babouches in an airtight container for up to 1 week
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and cardamom can be used to add flavor to the dough
• The amount of milk that you will need for the dough may differ according to the brand of flour and the weather, just add enough milk till the dough comes together into a smooth mass
• Despite the amount of orange blossom water used in the recipe the taste is very subtle in the final product. If you don’t like orange blossom water you can use an equal amount of milk as a replacement

البليغه او البابوشات من الحلويات التي تشتهر في المغرب العربي و خصوصا في المغرب و الجزائر. تعتمد هذه الحلويات بشكل اساسي على السمسم و ماء الزهر و العسل لاعطائها نكهتها و ان كانت كل النكهات ناعمه و متجانسه دون ان يطغى اي منها على الاخر

البليغه بالعسل و السمسم

2 كوب بذور السمسم

2 كوب طحين لجميع الأغراض

2 ملعقه كبيرة من الزبدة بدرجة حرارة الغرفة

2/3 كوب ماء زهر البرتقال

1/3 إلى 1/2 كوب حليب بارد

رشة ملح

للقلي:

زيت نباتي

للتحلية:

1 كوب العسل

1 ملعقة كبيرة ماء زهر البرتقال

الطريقة:

نمزج الدقيق والملح وبذور السمسم في وعاء

نضيف الزبدة ونفركها بأطراف الاصابع

نضيف ماء الزهر وندلك بلطف

يضاف الحليب البارد ويعجن حتى تحصل على عجين متماسك

نرش سطح العمل بالطحين ونرق العجين حتى يصبح بسمك نصف سم

نقطع العجين الى دوائر بقطر 5 سم

نثني كل دائره من المنتصف و نستخدم اصابعنا لنغلق نصف الدائره

نسخن الزيت النباتي  في وعاء (يجب ان يكون الزيت بعمق 5-7 سم )

تقلى البليغات حتى تكون ذهبية اللون البني

نمزج العسل مع ماء زهر البرتقال

نصفي الاقماع من الزيت و نقلبها في مزيج العسل
اذا كنتم تحبون ان تكون الاقماع مقرمشه لاتتركوها في العسل اكثر من دقيقتين الى 4 و لكن ان احببتم ان تكون اكثر طراوه و حلاوه اتركوها حتى 10 دقائق
نصفي الاقماع من العسل و نقدمها او نخزنها في وعاء محكم

ملاحظات:

قد تختلف كمية الحليب التي ستحتاج إليها للعجين وفقا لنوع الطحين و حاله الطقس، المطلوب هو اضافه ما يكفي من الحليب حتى نحصل على عجين متماسك و ناعم