-HONEY SYRUP-
   1/2 c  Honey
   1/2 c  Sugar
     2 c  Water
PASTRIES
     1 tb Grated orange peel
     1 tb Grated lemon peel
   1/4 c  Cognac
 1 1/4 c  Oil
 1 1/4 c  Vegetable shortening or
          -margarine, at room
          -temperature
     1 c  Sugar
 1 1/2    Egg yolks, beaten
     2 tb Baking powder
   3/4 c  Strained freshly squeezed
          -orange juice
 1 1/2 tb Honey
   3/4 tb Cinnamon
   3/4 tb Cloves
 1 1/2 tb Rose water, optional
     8 c  Cake flour
          Oil
     1 c  Coarsely ground walnuts
 HONEY SYRUP: Combine honey, sugar and water in saucepan. Bring to boil,
 reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
 PASTRIES: Combine orange and lemon peels with Cognac and set aside to
 marinate few minutes. Place oil and shortening in large bowl. Add sugar and
 egg yolks and blend thoroughly. Blend baking powder with orange juice and
 add to bowl. Add honey, cinnamon, cloves, rose water and reserved
 Cognac-peels mixture. Work in flour gradually, mixing with hands, to make
 fairly stiff but flexible dough. Let dough rest 15 minutes.
 Oil 2 or 3 baking sheets. Take piece of dough size of golf ball and shape
 into cylinder about 3 inches long and 3/4-inch thick. Place edge of
 teaspoon against bottom to form slight indentation, which will help pastry
 absorb syrup evenly. Bake sample pastry first to test dough. Bake at 350
 degrees 30 to 40 minutes on oiled baking sheet. Pastry should rise, not
 spread. If it spreads, add more flour to dough. Adjust dough if necessary
 and bake all pastries as before. To serve immediately, soak in heated Honey
 Syrup 5 minutes and drain. Sprinkle lightly with walnuts. If planning to
 store cookies, do not add syrup.
                 
                 Yields       
                1 Servings