Date Bracelet Cookies (Ka'ak Asawer)

Name: Date Bracelet Cookies (Ka'ak Asawer)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour (see note 2); ½ cup olive oil; ½ cup warm water; 2 tsp aniseeds; 3 tbsp white sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 cup date paste (see ingredients below); 1 tsp ground cardamom; ½ tsp cinnamon; ¼ tsp salt; 1½ cups pitted dates (Medjool or safawy); 2 tbsp hot water; 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)

By Samara Alkhammach · Updated on Oct 30, 2025 · 24 Comments. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Date bracelet cookies, or ka'ak asawer (which translates to bracelet cookies because of their round shape), are definitely a Palestinian staple. This vegan cookie recipe uses date paste, flour, anise seeds, sugar, ground cinnamon, and olive oil.

Anise Seeds

These date cookies have a special flavor and aroma because of the aniseeds. Aniseeds are little seeds that kind of smell like licorice, and you'll usually find them used in lots of Palestinian dishes. You'll usually find them at any store that sells spices and herbs. Aniseeds or anise are called yansoon in Arabic, and my mom used to boil them to make tea. They're known to help with stomach aches and digestion.

Date Paste

Ready-made date paste may be available at your local supermarket, which is super easy to work with by hand because it has a firmer texture. Or you can make your own, as I did, by blending around 1 and ½ cups of pitted dates with around two tablespoons of hot water. This will give you a stickier date paste. The best type of dates to use for this method is softer varieties like Medjool or safawy dates, because they'll blend easily without you needing to add too much water.

How To Make Ka'ak Asawer

add the olive oil to the dry ingredients

Start by mixing the dry ingredients. Flour, aniseeds, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add in the olive oil and mix by hand until the flour mixture gets the texture of wet sand. Gradually add in the warm water and knead by hand until your dough is smooth and shiny (knead for at least 5 minutes).

balls of kaak cookie dough with aniseeds

Separate your dough into equal portions. This recipe will give you more or less around 20 cookies.

Blend around 1 and ½ cups of pitted dates with around 2 tablespoons of hot water to make your own date paste. You can also add a tablespoon of olive oil for a smoother texture.

Roll the ball into a log, then flatten it with your hand until you get a long oval shape. Make sure to leave around 1 cm of dough on each end, so you'll be able to seal the date cookies without the filling spilling out.

Pinch the edges well to seal them, then roll them into "bracelets", or the date cookie's round shape. After you roll them into the round shape, press down with your finger where both ends meet to make sure they won't unseal.

Repeat until all your dough is rolled into cookie bracelets. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 ℉ (180 ℃) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden.

Recipes Notes

The dough: When you make the dough, make sure you mix the dry ingredients really well before adding olive oil. And then when you do add the olive oil, you want to end up with a texture that's kind of like wet sand. This ensures the olive oil is evenly incorporated.
The water: Add the warm water gradually while you knead the date cookie dough. You might need slightly more or slightly less water, depending on the type of flour you use. You should end up with a super soft and easily workable dough. It shouldn't be too tough or sticky, or else it'll be hard to shape.
Allow the date cookie dough to rest. For the best ka'ak cookies, try to let your dough rest for at least an hour. You can work with it straight away, of course, but I found that resting the dough gives you a flakier date cookie.
The easiest way to blend the date paste is to use a hand immersion blender inside a flat-bottom jar.

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