This Eid, Zaynab Issa will go to Sami’s Kabab House in Queens with 70 of her extended family members. They’ll order uzbeki kabuli pulao (braised lamb shank over brown rice),...
This Eid, Zaynab Issa will go to Sami’s Kabab House in Queens with 70 of her extended family members. They’ll order uzbeki kabuli pulao (braised lamb shank over brown rice), dumplings with yogurt and tomato sauce, and yes, all sorts of kababs. Then, Issa will bring some desserts to pass out. She hasn’t made a final decision yet…as of now, she’s thinking date and dark chocolate cookies.
Now, it’s not a traditional Eid dish—although it does have sweet similarities to ma’amoul, a fig or date butter filled cookie that’s often served during the springtime holiday. But Issa, a writer and recipe developer, is a strong believer in “fusion.”
She understands the jargon-y term might provoke some eye rolls. “There’s a lot of places doing fusion and it feels random,” she says. But it’s just how Issa cooks. She and her family come from a Khoja background, which is a minority-within-a-minority ethnic group of Indian Muslims that had a large diaspora from the Indian subcontinent to East Africa. Growing up in a small New Jersey town, Issa regularly ate meals that had a little bit of Indian, a little bit of Swahili, and a little bit of American all mixed together.
Third Culture is also the name of her debut cookbook, out April 1. It includes family recipes, like her grandmother’s Baklava or her sister in law’s Biryani. It includes recipes that are distinctly American, like her spin on TGI Friday’s artichoke dip, Baskin-Robbins-inspired almond fudge squares, or what she calls “Mall Cinnamon Rolls.” And then there are mash-ups of a whole bunch of influences: Tandoori tacos, French onion ramen, coronation chicken pastries. (Oh, and those date and dark chocolates cookies are in there too.) “It’s inspired cooking that has a cultural context,” Issa says.
The term “third culture kid” was first coined in the ’50s to describe children whose identities were both influenced by their parents’ culture and the culture in which they were raised. Issa knows she is one of millions of people who fit into this often confusing, uncheckable category. This cookbook is for them. “Third culture kids can struggle to find meaning in their identity. I can’t relate to one thing entirely ever, and that’s okay,” she says. It’s also just for anyone who likes exploring culture through cuisine.
Date and Dark Chocolate Cookies
Makes 22 cookies
1 hour, plus chill time
Like most people, my ideal cookie has crispy edges and a chewy center. Thanks to the tahini and olive oil–based dough, these deliver on that while also lending an exceptional sweet-savory balance, another quality I look for in a good dessert. To get the cookies just right, measure the ingredients by weight (tahini can be tricky to measure, so it really does help), use good quality chocolate bars, and keep the pieces pretty big for oozy pools of melty chocolate. Oh, and finishing with flaky sea salt is a must. For a softer, less crisp cookie, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for a few extra minutes.
Ingredients
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
9 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
8 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate,* roughly chopped
2 large eggs
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup well-mixed tahini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar*
Flaky sea salt
*Instead of. . .
Bittersweet chocolate, use semisweet chocolate
Light brown sugar, use dark brown sugar
Directions
1. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the dates and chocolate to evenly distribute. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, olive oil, tahini, and vanilla on medium speed until creamy and emulsified, about 2 minutes. Beat in the granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined, about 45 seconds.
2. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, just until combined, about 30 seconds. Using a 2-ounce (60 ml) cookie scoop or ¼-cup measuring cup, portion the dough onto a plate. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours and up to 72 hours.
3. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough balls between the prepared baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart.
4. Put one baking sheet in the oven and bake until golden brown around the edges, 11 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully but firmly bang the baking sheet against the counter to deflate the centers (to create a chewier cookie). Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake thesecond sheet of cookies in the same way. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before serving.
5. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 15 seconds. You can freeze unbaked dough balls for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator or bake from frozen for 3 to 5 minutes longer.