Lebanese Kaak Anise Cookies: The Ones in Every Bakery Window

Name: Lebanese Kaak Anise Cookies
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for shaping; ½ cup granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon whole anise seeds, lightly toasted; 1 teaspoon ground anise; ½ teaspoon ground mahlab (optional); ½ teaspoon ground fennel (optional); ½ cup neutral oil or melted ghee; ½ cup milk or water; 1 teaspoon orange blossom water or rose water; ½ cup sesame seeds, for coating

Posted on July 2, 2026

Lebanese kaak anise cookies baked until golden, featuring a crisp texture and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Mediterranean & Middle East Recipes

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

⏱ Prep: 25 min + 30 min rest 🔥Bake: 20–25 min 👤Makes: 20–24 cookies 🍵Best with: Tea or coffee

Lebanese kaak anise cookies are the ones that fill every Lebanese bakery window, small golden rings or ropes of dough, crisp all the way through, fragrant with anise seeds and a touch of mahlab, rolled in sesame seeds before baking. They are not soft cookies. They are not meant to be. They are the cookie that cracks cleanly when you bite into it and tastes better the longer you let it sit with your tea. Simple dough, thirty minutes of resting, and a batch that keeps for weeks.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for shaping if the dough gets sticky
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon whole anise seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan brings out the flavor
1 teaspoon ground anise, using both whole and ground gives depth and texture
½ teaspoon ground mahlab, optional but traditional; adds a faintly floral, cherry-like note. Available at Middle Eastern grocery stores.
½ teaspoon ground fennel, optional, adds a gentle aromatic sweetness
½ cup neutral oil, or melted ghee for a richer, more traditional flavor
½ cup milk or water
1 teaspoon orange blossom water, or rose water
½ cup sesame seeds, for coating

Step by step

Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, whole anise seeds, ground anise, mahlab and fennel. Stir to distribute evenly. Add the oil, milk and orange blossom water. Mix until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms, it should hold together without crumbling but not be wet.
Rest the dough. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.The rest lets the flour absorb the liquids fully and makes the dough much easier to shape. It also improves the final texture, don’t skip it.
Shape the cookies. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment. Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a large marble. Roll each piece between your palms into a rope roughly 5–6 inches long, then pinch the ends together to form a ring. Alternatively, leave them as short ropes.
Coat in sesame seeds. Pour the sesame seeds into a shallow bowl. Press each ring or rope gently into the sesame seeds on both sides, making sure they adhere well. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about an inch apart.
Bake until fully golden. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the cookies are a deep golden color all over, not just on the bottom.Kaak should be fully firm and dry when they come out, not soft in the center. They look done before they actually are, keep them in until the color is genuinely golden. They crisp up further as they cool but won’t harden much more than they are in the oven.
Cool completely. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving or storing. They firm up fully only once completely cool.

Why they need to be fully baked

Kaak are a crispbread-style cookie, not a soft one, and pulling them too early is the most common mistake. They come out of the oven looking done while still slightly soft in the center, that softness firms up as they cool, but only if they were actually cooked through in the oven first. Underbaked kaak go stale and soft rather than staying crunchy. Bake until the color is genuinely golden, not pale.

Make it your own

Claire’s note
Adding a pinch of nigella seeds alongside the sesame gives an extra layer of depth that’s traditional in some Lebanese households. For a richer version, swap the oil for melted ghee, the cookies come out slightly more fragrant and crumbly. Kaak keep exceptionally well in an airtight container for up to three weeks, which makes them one of the better cookies to bake in large batches. They are also traditionally made during Easter and Eid, when trays of them appear on every family table alongside tea.

Serve with

Lebanese kaak anise cookies are made for dunking, best alongside a strong cup of tea or black coffee, the way they’re served in every Lebanese home. For more from the Lebanese collection the complete Lebanese recipes guide have it all.

Add Lebanese kaak anise cookies to your weekly meal planner, one batch lasts the whole week and beyond. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.