Halawet El Jibn (Sweet Cheese)

Cheese for dessert anyone? Here's a recipe for Halawet El Jibn which translates to Sweet Cheese. Another name for this dish is Shebeshle. This is an old and traditional Lebanese dessert recipe with few ingredients and a lot of flavor! Preparing this dish is a lot of fun, you get to mix melted butter and mozzarella together and let it cool into its own mixture! Yum. This is a perfect dish for holiday parties and for anyone who has a sweet tooth!

Ingredients:​
For Cheese/Cream of Wheat mixture

• Mozzarella Cheese - Unsalted (16 oz) 
• Cream of wheat  (1/4 cup)
• Sweet butter  (1/4 stick)
• Rose water  (1 tablespoon)
• Ricotta Cheese *Optional*

For Atyr:​

• 1/2 a teaspoon rose water (found in most Middle Eastern stores)
• 2 cups of sugar 
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

​
Instructions:
​1. Put 2 cups of sugar in a small pot and add 1 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of rose water, on medium low heat, stir with wooden spoon and let it come to a boil (about 10 minutes)
2. After 10 minutes, at this point syrup has been boiling and thickening, turn stove off and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and let cool off in pot
3. In a medium sized pot, on medium heat, melt your butter
4. After butter has melted, add mozzarella cheese and move it around until it melts into the butter (be sure to keep an eye on it so cheese doesn’t stick to the pot)

5. Once the cheese has melted and has become stringy or folds over and with no clumps, add the cream of wheat and keep folding the cheese over cream of wheat until it’s blended together

6. Once it’s blended together, remove off the stove and add it to a flat and hard surface (Eva places it right on her countertop). If you have a wooden countertop you can place the mixture on a thick plastic table cloth.
7. *Quickly* Use your hands or a rolling pin to spread it out as thinly as possible (be sure to do while hot). Spread it out as quickly as possible to avoid clumps
8. Let it cool on counter top for about 15 minutes

9. Once it is cooled, break it apart into small pieces using your hands or a pizza cutter and add it to your serving plate
If you would like to add ricotta cheese, use a pizza cutter to cut it into even little pieces. Add about a teaspoon or more of ricotta to a piece and roll it up

10. Pour atyr over the pieces and serve ​

Sahtan! :)