Kritika Patouthia

makes 5 - 6 dozen

½ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons orange juice
juice of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar
orange juice (although tradition suggest using orange blossom water)
1 cup ground walnuts
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup honey

Combine olive oil, water, orange juice, lemon juice and sugar; set aside. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add olive oil mixture to flour mixture. On a floured surface, knead dough until smooth. Cover dough and let dough rest for an hour. Meanwhile, make the filling by combine ground walnuts, ground almonds, sesame seeds and honey. Mix until well coated. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll dough out on a board to ¼" thick. Cut into 3" squares. Place a heaping teaspoonful of filling in center of each square. Moisten edges with orange juice. Cover the filling by folding in the four corners toward the center and pressing them firmly together. Bake 20-25 minutes. While cookies are still warm, sprinkle lightly with orange juice. Dust heavily with powdered sugar.