These cheese-filled dough balls slathered in honey are called خلية نحل khaleyat alnahl (Translates to Bee's Hive). This treat can be enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It has the perfect balance of sweet and savory - and isn't all that bad for you.
This recipe uses a mix of white and wheat flour and barely any sugar. You can swap out the white flour and make it 100% wheat if you choose.
I will warn you however, that these are incredibly addicting. It will be difficult to stop eating them.
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water كباية ماء دافئة
1 tsp sugar ملعقة ص سكر
1 tbsp yeast ملعقة ك خميرة
3 cups all purpose flour ثلاثة كبايات دقيق أبيض
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour كباية ونص دقيق أسمر
1/2 tsp salt نص ملعقة ص ملح
1/2 cup milk نص كيابة حليب
1/2 cup warm water نص كباية ماء
1 whole egg بيضة
1/2 cup olive oil + 1 tbsp نص كباية و ملعقة زيت زيتون
Cream cheese for filling جبنة كيري للحشوة
1 egg بيضة للدهن
Black Nigella Seeds حبة سوداء للتزيين
2-3 cups Honey كبايتين او ثلاث عسل
Directions
In a bowl, mix one cup of warm water and 1 tsp of sugar until sugar dissolves. Add 1 tbsp of yeast, mix gently, then set aside for 5-10 minutes until it foams up.
In your stand mixer's bowl, mix the all purpose flour, wheat flour, and salt.
Attach the dough hook attachment and set to medium low speed. Gradually add the 1/2 cup of warm water, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of olive oil until well combined.
Add the whisked egg and allow it to combine with the dough.
Pause the stand mixer and use a spatula to scrape the dough down the sides. Turn the mixer back on and let it kneed the dough for 3-5 minutes. The dough should seem light. It will be sticky.
Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil against the edge of the bowl to start helping the dough release.
Detach the bowl from the stand mixer and use a spatula to scrape the dough down into a ball. Cover with a dish towel and set aside for 45 minutes.
Transfer the dough onto a floured surface. Sprinkle additional flour 9onto the dough and begin kneading until the dough comes together into a smooth ball. If it feels too sticky, just sprinkle an extra 1/2 tablespoon of flour at a time.
Begin creating small balls of dough. Drizzle some olive oil onto your hands if you are having a hard time handling the dough.
Fill each dough ball with at least a teaspoon of cream cheese, close it up and roll between your palms until it is fully sealed and smooth.
Arrange the filled dough balls onto a greased round baking dish. You don't need to leave a lot of room between them - you want them to expand against one another. 2 centimeters between each dough ball is sufficient.
Brush the dough balls with egg wash then garnish with the black nigella seeds.
Bake in a 350F degree oven until golden brown. The more you let it brown, the crunchier it will be.
Cover the baked dough balls in honey as soon as it comes out of the oven. Tilt the baking dish so that the honey gets into all the nooks and crannies.
Tips
You can change the flour ratio of wheat to while flour if you are looking for a denser dough-ball consistency.
If your honey is too thick and you are worried about it distributing evenly, put it in the microwave for 30 minutes or insert the honey bottle into a hot water bath.
To reheat, transfer a few dough-balls onto a parchment lined dish and bake or toast in your toaster oven for a few minutes. Drizzle some extra honey on top because the dough has probably absorbed all of it.