Grayves (Deditos de Reina, Arab Cookies)

My Arab heritage goes back to the peculiarly romantic story of how my paternal grandparents met. Ironically, both of my grandparents were born in Palestine. However, destiny brought them all around the world to the small city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras where they met at a club night out. Falling in love at first sight, my grandparents were happily married and created a huge family of six children. I did not have the honor of meeting either of my grandparents since they both passed away before I even came into this world, but the stories I've heard of them make it seem like I have already met them. My grandfather, I've been told, was such a hard-working, wise, and extremely handsome guy. My grandmother was a loving, caring, beautiful woman with an exquisite skill for cooking. She would open up her house to anyone who was willing to stuff themselves up with hummus, backlava, sambouseks, etc. As a legacy my grandmother left behind for me, this recipe is only a small part of it.

Ever since I can remember, my aunt spoils me with these cookies whenever we travel to San Pedro Sula to visit her. These cookies literally dissolve in your mouth at every bite and make you keep eating one after another. They are extremely easy to make and literally have about five ingredients in total. These are one of my favorite cookies in the world and I honestly thank my grandmother in heaven for letting me continue her work. 

Grayves

This recipe makes approximately 100 finger cookies

Baking Time: About 15 min. at 300F

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of powdered sugar, plus more for powdering
• 1 bar of margarine, melted
• 1 cup of Crisco vegetable shortening
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 oz whiskey (optional)

Directions:

1. In an electric mixer bowl, add the powdered sugar and start blending in the Crisco butter with it.
2. Slowly, add the melted margarine, but ONLY THE YELLOW LIQUID, NOT THE MARGARINE'S WHEY
3. Keep mixing and slowly add the flour in. Then add the vanilla extract and the optional whiskey
4. Next knead the dough with your hands, being careful not to touch it too much because the butter makes the dough delicate to heat
5. Roll the dough up and cut the desired lengths of the finger cookies
6. Bake at 300 degrees farenheit for about 15 minutes. Do not let them get too brown because they will be harder than they should be. 
7. Lastly, let cool and add sifted powdered sugar on top.
8. Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee, milk, or tea.