Chocolate Moon and Star Krispie Treats {Recipe}

June 1, 2019December 4, 2019 | acraftyarab

We have been invited to a second community Eid party and decided to try our hands at rice krispie treats in the shape of moon and stars to take with us.

Eid Al Fitr is the holiday celebrated at the end of Ramadan. We used moon and star cookie cutters since they are cultural symbols of Islam seen on many domes of mosques. They can also be found on the covers of the Quran and on many country flags.

Once we cut out the moon and star shapes, we covered them in chocolate and sprinkles, follow along in case you want to try some out.

Supplies

1/2 teaspoon cooking vanilla
1/4 cup butter
1 bag marshmallows
1 box crisp rice cereal
Red candy melts
Silver and gold sprinkles
Baking pan and cooking spray
Cookie sheet and parchment paper
Moon and star cookie cutters
Bamboo skewers (optional)

Melt the butter and stir in the marshmallows until combined with butter.

Take the pot off the stove and stir in the cereal and cooking vanilla

Place everything into a pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, trying to get the mixture to be as flat and even as possible.

Wait for about 15-30 minutes for it to cool, then use the cookie cutters to cut out the treats.

Once you have the amount you need, lay out an assembly line of the treats, the melted chocolate, and sprinkles.

Dip the treats into the melted chocolate, then lay then down on the parchment sheet. The last step is to add sprinkles. Do this right away so the sprinkles can sink into the chocolate and set.

We set them on the counter for the chocolate to fully set. For an extra bit of fun, we added a few bamboo sticks so the treats could be placed into a vase.

If you enjoyed making this special treat, be sure to stop by these others

6 Kid Approved Stuffed Dates {Recipe}

Ramadan Man’ousheh Mini Bites {Recipe}

Please visit A Crafty Arab on Pinterest to see other tutorials.

6 Kid Approved Stuffed Dates {Recipe}

May 29, 2019December 4, 2019 | acraftyarab

We tried different ways to stuff dates for our upcoming Eid al Fitr potluck party. Eid al Fitr is the celebration that is at the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Dates are used to break the daily fast during Ramadan because tradition holds that the prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) broke his fast with three dates and water. Because of this, there are a lot of them sold at the grocery stories this time of year.

It is very common to go to someone’s home this month with a box of dates as a gift. As a result, we have several in our kitchen.

We looked in our refrigerator to find various ingredients to try out stuffing flavors and came up with these six that we’ll be taking to the event next week. We tried much more, but these six were the top kid approved tastes.

To get started, we cut slits in the the dates and took out all the pits. Then we just stuffed and tasted!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Nuggets & Melted Chocolate Stuffed Dates

Let’s start with the most popular. These ranked the highest in thumbs up. The tart of the peanut butter & pretzel against the sweet dates & chocolate were the perfect combination.

Peanut Butter & Salted Caramel Almonds plus Melted Chocolate Stuffed Dates

These were also a huge hit with the kids. We tried the salted caramel almonds to start but also made some with regular (unsalted) almonds. The kids went fifty on them, but after they dipped them in the left over melted chocolate from the dates above, they didn’t care which ones they were tasting.

Almond & Brie Stuffed Dates

Everyone loved the almonds when they were also combined with brie cheese. Once the kids realized how much they loved the cheese flavor with the dates, we started to try different cheeses.

Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Dates

This honey goat cheese is one of our favorites and a staple in our kitchen, so we paired it with sun dried tomatoes to add a bit of tart. I also added a dash of basil on top. The adults like this more than that kids, but I’m sure the sun dried tomatoes had a big role in that decision. I wish we had cherry tomatoes as I’d be curious what fresh would do to the taste.

Fontina & Basil Stuffed Dates

These dates also got a “they’re okay” from the kids but the adults really loved the taste. We decided to try fontina cheese since we didn’t have any mozzarella to pair with basil leaf. Next time, I might also thrown in a slice of cherry tomato on top to see what that does.

Pistachio & Almond with Rose Water Stuffed Dates

The kids like these but they were probably the least favorite of the six due to the rose water. We made a few with only the pistachios & almonds and those were a hit. But the adults like the rose water, so I’d recommend making both and letting everyone decide on their own.

These were our top six ways to eat stuffed dates and can’t wait to share them with our friends to see what they think.

If you enjoyed learning how to make these stuffed dates, stop by these other treats we tried

Eid Party Fruit Snack {Recipe}

Ramadan Man’ousheh Mini Bites {Recipe}

Visit A Crafty Arab on Pinterest to see more fun food recipes.

Moroccan Harira Soup {Recipe}

May 22, 2019December 4, 2019 | acraftyarab

Harira is a Moroccan soup that is mostly eaten during Ramadan by residents but often made year round for visitors who want a local taste.

The name harira, derived from the Arabic word meaning silk, takes it’s name from the texture of the soup after it’s been thickened with the egg at the end.

While I was visiting Morocco, I was surprised at the different ways it was made. From the hotel in Rabat to the riad in Tétouan, they each had their own spin.

I wanted to try out my version tonight that I thought my family would like and they loved it. I used beef and my youngest said she would like to try it with chicken next time, while my husband wanted a version with no meat. We’ll keep playing around with it and if you do make it for your family, make sure to let us know!

Ingredients

1 pound beef
2 TB Olive oil
1 Onion
3 Celery stalks
3 Carrots
1 cup Lentils
1 can drained Chickpeas
Parsley bunch
Cilantro bunch
1 can Tomato sauce
8 cups beef bouillon/broth
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup rice
1 Egg
2 TB Flour
2 TB Lemon juice
2 cups water

I started by browning the meat in the olive oil.

Once it was done, I set it aside in my cooking pot and used the meat juices to cook the chopped onion. After five minutes of medium heat, I added the celery and carrots.

I also added all the spices and cooked everything for an additional five minutes.

Now that the celery and carrots had softened just a little, I added the meat mixture on top so I could use the pot to get the water mixture started. I boiled the eight cups of beef broth and added the chickpeas, lentils and tomato sauce. Once everything started to boil, I added the meat and other vegetables back in to simmer for one hour.

My timer told me after an hour that it was time to add the finally chopped parsley and cilantro and let that cook for an additional ten minutes.

While that was on the stove, I whisked together the water, egg, flour and lemon juice and slowly added it in for an additional five minutes.

The soup is wonderful with bread to help soak up the last few drops. Be sure to leave leftovers for the next day. One of my favorite foods for breakfast at the Rabat hotel was their harira and many Moroccans swear their favorite soup is best eaten as a leftover.