Suwari il Sitt, Lady’s Bracelets
Suwari iL Sitt
As a girl, I loved watching my grandmother make her seasonal sweets. Her kitchen in the days before Christmas, was filled with wonderful aromas as she went through her baking tasks. One of the best to watch was the making of Suwari il Sitt, Lady’s Bracelets, as we all called them.
As a youngster, watching her prepare these round phyllo bracelets seemed like magic to me. The phyllo sheet was wrapped around a dowel as I saw my grandmother quickly shirr the dough together. I couldn’t believe she could work so fast, making an incredible work of art out of that papery dough.
Once they were formed, the bracelets were filled with chopped nuts…green pistachios during the Christmas season were the favored filling. After baking, they were drizzled with Shirreh, our simple syrup flavored with aromatic Rose or Orange Blossom Water.
When they were served after Christmas dinner, I took a look at that sweet and crunchy creation on Sitto’s table and I knew that these pretty Syrian sweets were aptly named.