ROCKS

The combination of butter and lard creates a tender, crispy cookie texture—butter provides flavor while lard (with larger fat crystals) promotes flakiness. Dissolving baking soda in boiling water activates it immediately, creating carbon dioxide that aerates the dense batter loaded with fruits and nuts. The high sugar-to-flour ratio and lack of moisture beyond the dissolved soda results in cookies that spread minimally and develop a characteristically rough, rock-like surface as the dates and walnuts interrupt gluten formation.