Name: Coffee Pancakes with Rose Water Maple Syrup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 Tbsp sugar; 3/4 tsp salt; 3 tsp baking powder; 1 egg; 1 1/4 cups milk; 4 Tbsp melted butter; 1/3 cup maple syrup (pure if possible); 1-2 tsp rose water

Easter in the Middle East is a big deal, so we decided to fuse our modern style with age old traditions!

Jump to Recipe

Easter in the Middle East tablescapes are the best way to celebrate the coming of spring! That glorious time of year that brings us so much joy…and great weather! It also brings us Easter! During our parents youth in the Middle East, in this case, more specifically Syria, the Christians prepared by fully embracing Spring. They purchased pastel colored dresses, white shoes and beautiful spring hats to wear to church. They bought dozens of eggs, which they would dye using natural ingredients like onion skins and spinach to get this perfect light tan and pastel green colors. They would also buy dozens of chicks and give them out to the children to play with. Umm wow, now it all makes sense how eggs became such an Easter staple! It’s the chicks! They’re not only adorable, they signify new life.

Of course what is a holiday without friends and family! So on the Saturday before Easter, they would go visit one another and would even visit the resting place of those who passed. Later that night, they would walk to church to signify Jesus’ walk to the cross. When Easter Sunday rolled around the following morning, that is when the grand feast began!
As we know, most holidays come equipped with a huge celebratory meal, but this one comes after a hard earned 40 days of Lent. Trust me, after 40 days, that So trust me, that Easter feast is beyond exciting and well deserved!

So on to the best part, the food! Obviously, every family has their own particular traditions and dishes, but we learned that they always incorporate a “white dish.” The color white signifies new life. Some homes make a spiced yogurt dish called Shakreeyeh, which has chunks of meat and is eaten with rice. Others made Kibbeh Lebaneeyeh (one of my favs), which has a bulgur and meat outer shell stuffed with ground meat, onion and pine nuts, which is eaten in a yogurt sauce. Some families also made a turkey stuffed with rice and lamb. Some made a chicken dish with chestnuts, walnuts, almonds, and raisins, spiced to perfection. Others made a fish dish called Semkeh Harra, where walnuts, coriander, cumin, harissa, garlic, lemon and olive oil are ground together into a paste to cover the fish on the inside and bake.

Easter in the Middle East is a big deal, so we decided to use our modern style with age old traditions.

As for dessert, they would make brioche bread decorated with colored eggs and stuffed with one quarter. When the bread was cut up and served, whoever found the quarter in their piece would receive a gift…how fun!? They would also make roll log cakes and little cookies called Mamool. These cookies would have a delicate cookie crust stuffed with walnuts, cinnamon and sugar. They would then eat the cookies with a fluffy marshmallow topping that was infused with rose water.

For our Easter table, we created the classic dish Shakreeyeh. We updated the brioche by making individual servings instead of a loaf, and used black eggs and pastel sprinkles to have some fun. We even made some Arabic coffee infused pancakes with a rose water maple syrup featured below.

As far as decor is concerned, Nadia and I went crazy at Target! They have the greatest things, so it was our one-stop shop! We chose to go with a black, white and gold theme and pop some traditional Syrian pastel colors. We got great placemats and serveware too! Oh, and what beautiful table would be complete without flowers!? And please tell me, what is more Easter than tulips!
So now you know how we do Easter! How do you and your family do Easter?? What traditions do you have, foods you make, tables you set? We want to hear it all!