Walk into a Moroccan pastry shop and the sweets made with real almonds usually belong to a different level from the everyday cookies around them. They cost more because almonds themselves are expensive, but the difference is not only in the price. You feel it in the filling, the texture and the way the pastry behaves in your mouth.
Among the almond sweets I know best are Kaab el Ghazal, M’hancha, Briwat looz and Ghriba d’looz. They all begin with almonds, sugar and aromatic ingredients such as orange blossom water, but from there they go in completely different directions. One is wrapped in an almost transparent dough, another becomes a large spiral, another is fried into a crisp triangle, and another is baked just long enough to stay chewy inside.
That is why I prefer to think of them as one almond family rather than four unrelated desserts. The almond is the common thread, but the technique decides the character of each sweet.
Kaab el Ghazal: Where the Almond Filling Comes First
Kaab el Ghazal is one of the best examples of how little dough is needed when the almond filling is good. The almonds are first boiled, peeled and dried before being ground with sugar into a smooth paste. Orange blossom water, cinnamon and butter are then worked into that paste until it becomes soft enough to shape but firm enough to hold together.
The filling is rolled into thin logs while the outer dough is prepared separately from flour, butter, sugar, salt and orange blossom water. Water is added gradually until the dough becomes soft and cohesive, then it is kneaded well and left covered for about 30 minutes. That resting time makes it easier to roll without tearing.
The dough is then rolled very thinly. An almond log is placed close to the edge, the dough is folded tightly over it, and the pastry is shaped into the familiar crescent before the excess dough is trimmed away. The surface is pricked with a fine needle so it does not puff too much in the oven.
Kaab el Ghazal does not need aggressive baking. At around 160-170°C, the aim is to cook the pastry while keeping it only lightly golden. If you want a deeper almond flavour, the almonds can be toasted very lightly before grinding. A little orange blossom water brushed over the pastries when they leave the oven can also give them a subtle aromatic finish.
What makes this pastry elegant is the balance. The outside should remain thin enough that the almond filling stays at the centre of every bite.
M’hancha: Turning Almond Filling Into a Large Spiral
M’hancha uses almonds in a much richer way. For the large version I know, one kilogram of almonds is divided into two equal portions. Half is fried and ground with sugar, while the other half remains raw and is ground with sugar, mastic and orange blossom sugar.
Combining fried and raw almonds gives the filling more depth. The fried portion brings a stronger roasted flavour, while the raw almonds keep some of the softer, fresher almond character. The two mixtures are then brought together with orange blossom water, caramel, browned butter, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
Once the filling is smooth and moldable, it is shaped into long logs. These are wrapped tightly in sheets of warqa brushed with browned butter, and the edges are sealed with egg white. The filled lengths are then arranged into one large spiral, which is what gives M’hancha its distinctive appearance.
The pastry is baked at about 180°C. The moment it comes out of the oven, while it is still hot, it is drenched in honey so the sweetness reaches the crisp layers of warqa. Dried roses or flaked almonds can be added on top for the final presentation.
Compared with Kaab el Ghazal, M’hancha feels more generous. There is more pastry, more butter, more sweetness and a much larger visual presence on the table.
Briwat looz: Crisp Warqa, Almond Filling and Honey
Briwat looz takes the same almond idea in another direction. The filling I use combines 500 g of almonds, but not all of them are treated the same way. About 300 g are fried and ground, while 200 g are boiled, peeled and ground. They are mixed with sugar, soft butter, orange blossom water, cinnamon and mastic until the filling becomes soft and easy to shape.
That filling is divided into small equal balls. Good warqa is cut into long strips, one almond ball is placed near the end, and the strip is folded from side to side into a triangle. While folding, pressing gently helps push the filling into the corners instead of leaving empty spaces inside the briouat. The last edge is sealed with a simple flour-and-water paste.
Frying needs patience. Medium to medium-low heat gives the warqa enough time to become crisp throughout. If the oil is too hot, the outside can colour quickly while the layers inside remain soft or doughy.
As soon as the briouats reach an even golden colour, they go directly from the oil into heavy, cool honey. They can stay there for at least an hour, and even overnight if you want them to absorb more. After draining, crushed almonds or sesame seeds can be added on top.
Once completely cool, they keep best in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers. The aim is to preserve that contrast between a crisp shell, soft almond centre and sticky honey coating.
Ghriba d’looz: The Almond Cookie That Should Stay Chewy
Ghriba d’looz looks simpler than the other pastries, but the texture is easy to get wrong. A good almond ghriba should not come out of the oven dry and hard. The centre should remain soft and chewy.
The dough begins with 500 g of ground almonds and 250 g of sugar. Melted butter, orange blossom water, a little liquid apricot jam or glucose, lemon zest, ground mastic and a pinch of salt are mixed in. Eggs are then incorporated gradually together with baking powder until the mixture becomes sticky but still easy to shape.
After a short rest, the dough is rolled into medium-sized balls. The tops are dipped in egg white and finished with either flaked almonds or icing sugar, depending on the style you want.
The baking is what protects the texture. The cookies begin with heat from the top so the surface starts to crack gently. They are then finished briefly with heat from both the top and bottom. They should not stay in the oven longer than necessary, because overbaking quickly turns a chewy almond ghriba into a dry cookie.
That cracked surface and soft centre are what make Ghriba d’looz very different from the cheaper sablé versions of ghriba. The name may be similar, but the eating experience is not.
Why Real Almond Sweets Matter at the Moroccan Table
These pastries are normally bought by the kilogram in Moroccan pastry shops, and their price changes with the cost and quality of almonds. That is one reason the choice of sweets often changes with the budget of a wedding, family celebration or guest table.
Real almond sweets and sablé pastries can appear together perfectly well. They do not compete with each other because they belong to different styles. The important distinction comes when an almond pastry is replaced by a cheaper peanut-based filling made to imitate it. Experienced buyers can usually recognize the difference through taste and texture because the flavour of peanuts is difficult to hide completely.
For important guests, real almond sweets carry more weight. Kaab el Ghazal, M’hancha, Briwat looz and Ghriba d’looz all require good ingredients and careful handling, so serving them says something about the attention given to the table.
If you want to understand the difference between genuine almond pastries, peanut-based alternatives and sablé sweets in Moroccan shops, read my guide to Moroccan pastries and how Moroccans choose them .
Four Almond Sweets, Four Different Textures
What makes Moroccan almond desserts interesting is not simply that they all contain almonds. It is what happens to those almonds afterward.
In Kaab el Ghazal, the almond paste stays smooth and protected by an almost paper-thin dough. In M’hancha, raw and fried almonds are combined before being wrapped in buttery warqa and shaped into a large spiral. Briwat looz turns the filling into small crisp triangles soaked in honey, while Ghriba d’looz removes the pastry shell completely and lets the almond dough become the cookie itself.
Put them on the same tray and they belong together, but no two give you the same bite. That difference in texture, preparation and presentation is what makes the almond side of Moroccan pastry so varied.
For another side of Moroccan sweets, including Ghriba, Fekkas and Chebakia, continue with my guide to Moroccan cookies .
And if you are serving almond pastries at home, they pair naturally with traditional Moroccan mint tea .
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