Arabic sweets consist of a large number of different desserts that can be classified into many different categories. Pastries and cookies are two of the main categories. Most of these sweet desserts are made from dough and nuts, but each one is different on its own. The pastries category is relatively much larger than the cookie category as it contains a much wider variety. Each type usually exists in different versions as it can be filled with alternative types of nuts.

The pastries can be subdivided into two major classes as well. The first is filled with nuts, whereas the second is filled with cheese or cream. The cream used in a special Middle Eastern type called Kashta. It is extracted from milk. The nuts filled pastries can also be divided into two categories. The first uses phyllo dough while the second uses Knafeh dough. Both types are made from flour and water, but have very different shapes and tastes.

The cookies are mostly made from semolina. They include such types as Mamoul and Karabij as well as Ghraybeh. Ghraybeh is an exception however as it is made from sugar instead of semolina. These cookies exist in different shapes, forms, and sizes, and well as different fillings. Except for Ghraybeh, the rest of the Arabic cookies are filled with dates or nuts. The most used nuts filling are pistachios and walnuts. Dates filling is however more popular across the Middle East.

The nuts filled pastries are called assorted Baklava. This is the most well known category of Arabic sweets and the one usually people refer to when talking about these desserts in general. Among its items, the original Baklava is the most widespread worldwide. This piece is the mother of all other Arabic pastries. Most of them are derived from it, and it is the one that existed first. It exists many centuries ago, but details about its origin are not very clear as its history is not very well documented.

The cheese and cream filled pastries are seasonal in nature and more difficult to make. For these reasons, their popularity has been confined to few countries in the Middle East. They are particularly in high demand in Lebanon, where most of there were invented. In fact, most Arabic sweets have been invented in Lebanon. These desserts have a very short shelf life because of the cheese and cream fillings, and thus are not as widely sold as the nuts filled pastries and cookies. They are sold in specialty stores only. Moreover, not all different kinds of them are available at all time as many of them are seasonal.

Arabic sweets in all their different categories and varieties are icons to many Middle Eastern countries. Lebanon is one country whose people flatter about their sweets and desserts and consider them some of the best worldwide. This is enforced by the fact that people in many countries in the region prefer the Lebanese desserts over the local ones. Some order them online and have them shipped. Many Lebanese manufacturers however have opened facilities and retail stores in most Middle Eastern countries which has helped making Lebanese sweets more widely available and more reachable.

Author Bio: Arabic sweets are the everyday dessert in Middle Eastern countries. They have been a tradition for centuries past.

Category: Food and Drinks
Keywords: Arabic sweets, Baklava