A Cookie MASTER, not a Cookie Monster

I have decide that this specific post deserves to be in 2 languages, English and Russian due to the effort I had put into making the actual reason for the post and the tastiness of the outcome. 

Ramadan is at the door (actually, it has already started in most countries) and I could not help cooking the most traditional Moroccan cookie - Shebakia. It's a sesame cookie, coated in honey, crunchy, chewy and very exotic! In two words - it's quite one of a kind. Here I must warn you in case you are rushing Google for the recipe (which by the way are ample out there) - it's NOT an easy and quick thing to make. Above all, it requires crafty hands and patience. 

Honestly, I have NO idea how I had managed the task successfully, given my natural lack of both mentioned virtues. But this is the good news for you - you CAN do it, too!

I will not bore you with a very detailed  step-by-step cooking process, so, I skip the dough mixing stage and jump straight to the fun part. 

This is what I started with (well, almost):

This is the minimum requirement, easily achievable: 

This is how you begin shaping the Shebakia:

Don't ask me to explain how exactly the cookie gains its lovely flower shape, but this is the result you are striving for:

And then again, and again, and many more times over again: 

A close-up: 

Then you fry the to-be cookies in oil: 

When they become lovely deep golden color - dip them in hot honey (yes, I know, A LOT of honey and A LOT of oil - but trust me - TOTALLY worth it!): 

Taram! Please welcome - Shebakia, 

the ultimate Moroccan sesame cookie! 

  

P.S. Recipes: the wonderful and WORKING (I tried) recipes are here: http://cookingwithalia.com/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=185&Itemid=110 
(yields about 35 cookies)
and here: http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ss/How_to_make_Chebakia.htm - please mind the amounts as this recipe yield about 4 pounds of cookies!