This collection of Sweet and Savoury Bites for Turkish Tea Time is perfect for the slow part of the afternoon when a pot of tea deserves something alongside it. It brings together buttery flour cookies, warm fried dough, syrup-soaked tulumba and soft flour halva, ideal for a weekend spread or a quiet hour with visitors. Don't forget to save this list for the next time you put the kettle on.
Turkish Tea - Çay
Loose black tea is brewed in a stacked double teapot, then diluted to taste and poured into tulip glasses. Getting the strength right is the whole point, and this walks you through it.
To learn more: Turkish Tea - Çay
Sari Burma Baklava Rolls - Saragli
Filo is rolled around a nut filling, gathered into ruffled coils and baked before syrup goes over the top. The shape means more crisp edges per portion than a tray of classic baklava.
To learn more: Sari Burma Baklava Rolls - Saragli
Apple Cookies
Grated apples are cooked down with cinnamon and sugar, stirred through chopped walnuts, then rolled inside a soft buttery dough and baked until barely golden. Dust them with icing sugar while they are still warm, and they turn softer and better by the next day.
To learn more: Apple Cookies Recipe
Kandil Simidi - Turkish Savory Cookies
Small sesame-crusted rings are baked until crisp and lightly golden, with a snap rather than a crumb. They keep well in a tin, so a batch lasts through a week of tea breaks.
To learn more: Kandil Simidi - Turkish Savory Cookies
Un Kurabiyesi - Turkish Flour Cookies
Butter, flour and icing sugar come together into a cookie that dissolves the moment it hits your tongue. There are only a few ingredients, so use good butter.
To learn more: Un Kurabiyesi - Turkish Flour Cookies
PiÅŸi - Turkish Fried Dough
Pieces of soft yeasted dough puff up in hot oil into golden pillows, crisp outside and airy within. Eat them warm with cheese and jam, which is exactly how they are served at home.
To learn more: PiÅŸi - Turkish Fried Dough
Katmer Dessert Recipe
Paper-thin dough is folded around clotted cream and ground pistachios, then baked until the layers turn crisp and flaky. It comes from Gaziantep and it is worth the careful stretching.
To learn more: Katmer Dessert Recipe
Walnut Cookies
Ground and chopped walnuts give these cookies a short, nutty crumb that suits a strong cup of tea. They come together in one bowl and bake in under twenty minutes.
To learn more: Walnut Cookies
Lokma Dessert - Fried Sweet Dough Balls
Small rounds of dough are fried until deep golden, then dropped straight into cool syrup so they stay crisp on the outside. They are best eaten within an hour, which is rarely a problem.
To learn more: Lokma Dessert - Fried Sweet Dough Balls
Homemade Elderflower Turkish Delight (Lokum)
Sugar syrup is cooked slowly with cornflour and scented with elderflower, then set, cut and dusted with icing sugar. A small piece alongside tea or coffee is the traditional way to finish.
To learn more: Homemade Elderflower Turkish Delight (Lokum)
Un Helvası - Turkish Flour Halva
Flour is toasted patiently in butter until it turns nutty and golden, then brought together with hot syrup into a soft, fragrant halva. It is the sweet Turkish households make when guests appear unexpectedly.
To learn more: Un Helvası - Turkish Flour Halva
Sekerpare (Turkish Semolina Cookies)
Soft semolina and butter cookies are baked until golden with a hazelnut pressed into each one, then soaked in cooled syrup until they turn almost cake-like. They keep for five days and taste better on the second, so a batch lasts the week.
To learn more: Sekerpare (Turkish Semolina Cookies)
Leave a Reply