“Food is always entwined with people’s celebrations and mourning. And we have that every other day,” Chef Iman Haggag, chef and owner of Egyptian eatery POTs said in an interview with Black Restaurant Week. She described one cookie in particular as one of the most popular celebratory foods.

“After the month of fasting, every house in Egypt had to have these,” she said. “It’s filled with a lot of cashews, pecans or pistachios, and dates.” The cookies are eaten at all manner of family events, but especially after Ramadan. “From the richest families to the poorest, all of them have their own version of these cookies,” she says. “So anytime, you can go to any house and knock on the door and ask for some of these cookies. And somebody will bring you some.”