Syrian Sweets: Baklava, Halawet el-Jibn, Barazek and Ma'moul
A guide to Syrian sweets: baklava and its family, Hama's halawet el-jibn, Damascene barazek and ghraybeh, ma'moul, knafeh and Arabic ice cream — and what to take home.
In this article
Sweets hold a special place in Syria: you bring them when you visit, serve them at feasts and buy them as a gift for everyone back home. The old sweet shops of Damascus, Aleppo and Hama are family businesses handed down from father to son.
Baklava and its family
Paper-thin pastry in layer after layer, filled with Aleppo pistachio, walnut or cashew and soaked in syrup. It comes in many shapes:
- Classic baklava squares and triangles.
- Balloriyeh: fine knafeh strands pressed around pistachios.
- Bird's nests, fingers and asiyeh.
Good Syrian baklava is light and crisp, not drowning in syrup. Buy by weight and try a piece before you buy a box.
Halawet el-jibn: the pride of Hama and Homs
A soft dough of semolina and sweet cheese rolled around ashta clotted cream, sprinkled with pistachio and finished with syrup and rose water. Eaten cold; the best is in Hama and Homs.
Sweets of the Damascene home
- Barazek: thin crisp biscuits with sesame on one side and pistachio on the other — the classic gift from Damascus.
- Ghraybeh: soft shortbread of flour, ghee and sugar that melts in the mouth.
- Ma'moul: semolina cookies filled with dates, walnuts or pistachios, baked for the feasts in Muslim and Christian homes alike — for Eid al-Fitr and for Easter.
Knafeh
Knafeh nabulsieh with hot melting cheese, and knafeh mabrumeh, usually eaten warm in the morning or afternoon. In Ramadan come qatayef and ma'rouk — see Ramadan and Eid in Syria.
Arabic ice cream
Milk, sahlab and mastic, pounded and rolled in pistachios — most famously in Souq al-Hamidiyeh.
What to take home
Barazek and ghraybeh travel well, as does baklava in sealed boxes. Halawet el-jibn and knafeh are for eating the same day. Ask the shop to pack for travel.
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