Batheeth, a traditional Emirati cuisine no-bake sweet snack, consists of toasted flour and dates flavoured with warm spices such as ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. Served best with nuts and Arabic coffee or tea. Batheeth represents the cultural heritage of the region and showcases the importance of dates in Emirati cuisine, offering a blend of sweetness and aromatic spices.
If you have access to date paste, then please do not hesitate to pick it up. There are so many Middle Eastern sweet recipes that you can make easily with premade date paste. You can start with this batheetha recipe or try my Algerian diamond cookies.
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What is Batheeth?
Batheeth, also known as Batheetha, originates from the UAE and consists of dates, ginger, and cardamom. People serve it with Arabic coffee. What makes Batheeth special is its delicious taste from dates and spices, and its chewy texture. People often enjoy it alone or with Arabic coffee, which is important for hospitality in the UAE and other Gulf countries.
Ingredients
- dates: I have used store-bought date paste. Refer the notes section to make your own date paste.
- flour: whole wheat flour. You may replace it with any other flour like spelt or buckwheat.
- butter: unsalted melted. I have not tried with salted butter.
- ground spices: a mix of cardamom, ginger powder and cinnamon. You can use just one or two of these.
- rose water: optional but recommended
- nuts or sesame seeds: optional but recommended
Instructions
Here is how I prefer to make batheeth at home:
Wheat flour toasted in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden brown. Approximately 10 minutes.
Store-bought date paste portioned and weighed.
Melting butter. You may add cardamom pods here to infuse the flavour if you do not have cardamom powder.
Toasted flour, ground spices, date paste and melted butter. Mixed thoroughly.
Back to the pan to warm up the entire mixture until evenly mixed and aromatic.
I received this mammoul mold as a gift, so I'm excited to use it. Use any mould to make different shapes. Shape while the mixture is still warm. You can leave them as crumbs too.
Which dates to use?
Mabroom or sukkary dates or any dates that are soft and sweet are best to make Batheeth. Getting a packet of date paste makes the process almost effortless!
How to store date paste?
As per the pack instructions. Ideally they can stay in your pantry until you open. Once opened, it is best to keep it in an airtight container or refrigerate.
Storage
Batheeth stays good for days in an airtight box at room temperature. I had mine last up to 4 days. If you live in a humid weather or have added a lot of nuts then it is always better to keep these refrigerated.
FAQ
Soak pitted dates in warm water for 15-30 minutes, then drain, reserving some water. Blend dates with reserved water until smooth. Transfer to a container for refrigeration (up to a week) or freeze for longer storage.
Refrigerate the date paste pack so that it hardens. Take out and use a knife to cut portions. Weigh and use in the recipe. Thank me later. 🙂
You can serve batheeth with a platter or nuts and Arabic coffee called gahwa.
Related
Looking for recipes using date paste? Try these:
📖 Recipe Card
Batheeth | Emirati Date Cookies
Ingredients
For the dates mix
- 350 grams date paste, see notes
- ½ cup whole wheat flour, atta
- 50 grams butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon rose water
- 1 pinch salt
- chopped nuts, optional
- sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Add the wheat flour to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and toast over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until golden brown. Approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and keep aside.½ cup whole wheat flour
- Stir the ground spices into the toasted flour.½ teaspoon cardamom powder½ teaspoon ground ginger¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- Add the date paste, melted butter and rose water. Using your clean hands, thoroughly mix without any traces of flour.350 grams date paste50 grams butter1 teaspoon rose water1 pinch salt
- Add back to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes to soften the mixture to warm. Use a wooden spatula to keep breaking the lumps.
- Remove from heat and add the chopped nuts, if using. Start shaping it while still warm to the touch.chopped nutssesame seeds
- Serve with black Arabic coffee and store the remaining in an airtight box for two days and refrigerate for longer.
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