Chania Sesame Biscuits, with Cinnamon, Orange, and Clove- Memory in the Mouth.

"Mmmm...Chania...," My daughter is munching on a cookie with her eyes closed, as far away from Crete as you can get and still be in Greece. We have these simple crunchy cookies all summer long when we are in Chania- with coffee, with wine, with milk for the little ones. Three batches of messing around with some flour and oil, and I got them just right. Memory in the mouth.

Our bakery in Chania has a huge wood-burning oven. By one in the afternoon, the dishes of the neighborhood start coming out, and people come and pick them up- Gemista (stuffed vegetables), Chicken and potatoes, this being Crete of course zesty minty Boureki. The food tastes better from the romantic heat of a true hearth with wood smoke, extra seasoning from the steam of your neighbors' dishes. They make a cookie like this, and a lady comes fro Rethymnon every week to the farmers' market to sell another one. They are all over in one shape or another. What they have in common is that they are all made with olive oil because it flows like water in Crete, they have no eggs(!), and almost always they have some raki (tsicoudia).

Some shape them into rings or fanciful twists, but the sesame makes them pretty enough. I think their virtue is that you can make lots and lots of them in no time at all, because they will disappear quickly- not too sweet, not too rich, just fragrant, beguiling. A simple trick keeps them crumbly rather than tough or hard. If you never bake, these area good start-mix with your hands, no tricky shapes, and makes a ton for your minimal effort. Perfect for making with kids.

We will need:

700 g/ 6 C flour

1 1/2 tsp/ baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp flaky sea salt

200 g/ 1 C sugar

Finely grated orange zest

3 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

240 ml/ 1 C good olive oil

200 ml/ 3/4 C fresh orange juice, plus a couple shots of raki (or vodka), more if you like. The raki burns off in the oven, evaporating, leaving the biscuits more airy and crisp.

Blend all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, rubbing the orange zest into the sugar a little as you do-

Add the oil only-

and mix with your hands until the oil is completely blended in- it will be crumbly This is the trick- the oil coats the flour grains, and keeps them from forming gluten strands when you add the liquid. 

The oil turns the flour this rich, green-tinged gold.

Now go ahead and mix in the juice and raki with your fingers, until it makes a dough that just holds together. 

Take large handfuls and shape them into flat logs. Dampen the outsides with water, and roll them to coat them completely in sesame seeds. The seeds stick easily to the damp log.

You will probably need 2 baking sheets for all the logs- I usually get about 12 logs. Now slice them on the diagonal like you are making biscotti, and give them a little space- they puff. Don't be very careful- they are a rustic shape.

Bake them at 170 C/350 f for almost a half an hour- they will have puffed, and may be a little soft still when you remove them form the oven but they will crisp as they cool.No need to use baking paper or even oil the baking sheet, but you may need to loosen a couple of them with a spatula.

Unlike most cookies, these are not better hot, and in fact are not even very god hot or freshly baked- give them an hour for the flavors to settle.