Maamoul Food

MAAMOUL: STUFFED DATE-ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• Dough: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• To make the filling: Puree the filling ingredients in a food processor until evenly combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Clean the processor bowl.
• Put the flour, baking powder, the 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, and salt in the bowl of food processor and pulse 3 to 4 times to mix. Add the butter, oil, and milk pulsing until the dough just comes together. Take care not to overwork the dough; it will be slightly wet.
• Remove dough from the processor, and roll into 20 equally sized balls. In the palm of your hand, press and pat each ball of dough into a 2 3/4-inch round. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of each round and draw the edges up and around the filling. Pinch the dough together to make a sealed ball, and then carefully roll the cookie between your palms to make a smooth round ball. Press gently to flatten the cookie slightly, then place them seamed side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Gently prick the cookies with a fork or a wooden skewer in a decorative pattern taking care not to pierce the dough to the filling.
• Bake the cookies until firm and slightly puffed, and the tops are pale but the bottoms are just beginning to turn slightly golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Dust generously with confectioners' sugar, cool and dust again.
• Apricot Golden Raisin Nut Filling:
• Puree in a food processor until evenly combined.
• Quince-Walnut Filling:
• Puree in a food processor until evenly combined.

MAAMOUL (ARABIAN DATE FILLED COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the milk and yeast. Set aside until the yeast has softened and is foamy, 3-5 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour and sugar.
• Rub the oil and melted butter into the flour with your fingertips, until the mixture is an even, sandy texture.
• Add the yeast and milk mixture and vanilla. Mix gently with your fingers.
• Add water, a little at a time, mixing gently after each addition, until the dough comes together in a soft and shaggy dough.
• Cover the dough and set aside to rest for 10 minutes, while you prepare the filling.
• Place the chopped dates in a small saucepan along with the other filling ingredients.
• Cover the saucepan and heat over medium heat, 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the dates soften and become jam-like.
• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Separate the dough into 1 Tbsp sections. Roll each section into a ball.
• Flatten one ball of dough into a disc and place 1 tsp of filling on the center. Fold the edges of the dough around the filling, pressing them together to seal in the filling.
• Roll the filled cookie gently between your hands to bring it back to a nice ball shape. Then, flatten the cookie slightly.
• Decorate, if desired, using a fork or press the filled cookie into a floured mold and tap it out.
• Place the filled and shaped cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, 1 inch apart.
• Bake the cookies for 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once during cooking. Remove the cookies when they are lightly golden brown.
• Let the maamoul cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar.
• Store the maamoul in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 weeks.

LEBANON TRAVELER'S DATE COOKIES (MAMOUL)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Stir in the orange flower water, egg, and melted butter. Add the semolina and stir in, then sprinkle on the sugar and salt and stir. Add the flour and stir and turn to combine until crumbly but holds together when squeezed. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process to a paste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside, covered.
• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F Set out an 18 by 12 inch baking sheet near your work surface.
• To shape the mamoul, use a tablespoon to scoop up a full level tablespoon of dough. Place it in the palm of one hand and use the thumb and fingers of the other hand to flatten it into a nearly 3-inch-diameter round. Scoop up 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling and place it on the center of the round. Pull the edges up to cover the filling, then roll the cookie lightly between your palms to make a ball. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, placing the cookies about 1/2 inch apart. Prick each cookie decoratively with a fork. Brush the tops with a little milk.
• Bake until touched at the edges with golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer immediately to a wire rack to cool. Makes 2 dozen rich cookies, either round mounds or high decorated ovals, filled with aromatic date paste.
• NOTE: This recipe the instructions for round mamoul decorated only by pricking with a fork. In Syria and Lebanon, and in some specialty grocery stores in North America, you can find elaborately carved mamoul molds. If you have a mold, oil it with olive oil and then oil again lightly every 3 or 4 mamoul. Fill the mold almost full of dough and use your thumb to press down in the center. This will make a hollow in the center and will also give you thin walls of dough around the edges. You may need less filling, say 1 teaspoon each. Place the filling in the center, then fold the thin walls over and pinch off any excess dough. Pull the shaped mamoul up gently from the mold and transfer to the baking sheet, decorative side up. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• Semolina, a coarse grind of durum wheat with small, irregular yellow granules, is used to make pasta. It is also used as bread flour in Puglia, and in Tunisia and Morocco.
• Semolina flour, also known as durum flour, is finely ground. It is very high in gluten. It can, like semolina, be used to make bread, but because it is so high in gluten, the bread dough will be stiff and the bread fairly tough.
• Home Baking.

MAAMOUL

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together or separate all the dried fruits and mix each of them with date paste.
• In a large container, place the extra fine semolina, the flour, icing sugar, softened butter, baking powder. Mix well until reaching a dough that feels like sand.
• Add the milk and then the required amount of orange blossom water and/or rose water. Form a ball of dough. It should be smooth, not sticky.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour at room temperature.
• Form balls of about ½ oz (15 g).
• Stuff each ball of dough with the date and nuts. Roll the ball so the filling is fully coated with dough.
• Shape the balls using a maamoul mold. Put the dough inside the maamoul mold and pack well, turn the mold over and give a quick tap to unmold.
• Place the maamoul on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook in a preheated oven at 350 F (180°C) for 15-20 minutes. Pastries must remain very white.
• As you take them out of the oven, sprinkle with icing sugar.
• Maamoul can be kept for eight days in an airtight container.

MA'AMOUL (LEBANESE DATE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Mix semolina flour, all-purpose flour, mahlab, and salt together in a large bowl. Work clarified butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until thoroughly incorporated. Cover bowl and let dough rest at room temperature, 8 hours to overnight.
• Pour milk into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until just warm, about 15 seconds. Stir in sugar and yeast until dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Pour yeast mixture and orange blossom water over the dough and mix until evenly moistened. Pinch off a piece of dough and roll into a ball; it should hold its shape without cracking. Add more milk or orange blossom water if needed. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Sprinkle some flour over the ma'amoul molds and tap out the excess. Pinch off a walnut-sized piece of dough and roll into a ball. Press your thumb into the ball to create space for the filling. Work the edges with your fingers so the sides are even and fairly thin. Drop in a piece of date paste and pinch dough over it to seal.
• Place cookie into the mold cavity seam-side up. Press down so that the top is flush with edges of the mold. Trim off any excess dough. Invert the mold and tap it against your work surface to release the cookie. Repeat with remaining dough and date paste, arranging cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven, 1 baking sheet at a time, until edges and bottoms are golden but tops are still mostly pale, about 15 minutes.
• Sift powdered sugar over the cookies while still slightly warm. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

MAAMOUL (DATE FILLED COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.

MAMOOL OR MA'AMOUL

Steps:

• Place the semolina flour into a medium bowl, and cut in shortening using a pastry blender or a fork. Pour in boiling water, and mix to form a solid dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for a minute or two to be sure the dough is well blended. Cover dough and let stand for at least one hour, or as long as overnight.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, ground nuts, and rose water so that the mixture is uniform. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment paper. Knead dough again briefly, and form into walnut sized balls. Make a hole in the center using your finger. Fill the hole with the nut mixture, and seal the dough up over it. Gently form into balls or crescents, or make designs into the dough using a fork. Place cookies at least 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Dust with confectioners sugar while still warm if desired.

MA'AMOUL (LEBANESE DATE STUFFED PASTRIES)

Steps:

• Combine the dates and 1/4 cup water in a jsmall pan over a gentle heat and cook until softened, then set aside to cool.
• Sift the flour into a bowl, and add the diced, chilled butter and rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Combine the orange-blossom water or rose water with the 2 tablespoons of water and sprinkle over the flour; then mix into the flour using a round-bladed knife. Cover the dough and rest for approximately 30 minutes.
• Take a spoonful of dough and shape into a round, make a hollow with your finger and spoon a little of the date stuffing into the hollow, then seal the opening and reshape into a round.
• Continue until the dough runs out.
• Place the pastries on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover loosely with foil and bake in a pre-heated moderate oven (180°C; 350°F) for 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil about halfway through the cooking, but keep an eye on them to ensure that they do not brown.
• Remove and cool on wire racks until firm.
• When thoroughly cooled, roll in sifted icing sugar.

QUICK AND EASY MAAMOUL RECIPE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the dates, water, and salt. Cook the dates, mashing and stirring until they have broken down into a paste (about 3 minutes). Let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl or in a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder, then pulse or cut the butter in.
• Combine the milk and rosewater and then stir into the dough until it comes together.
• Gather the dough together, and then divide the dough into 20 equally-sized balls.
• Take one ball of dough, flatten it in the palm of your hand and pinch it into a bowl shape.
• Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough and bring up the sides and pinch together to seal the filling in.
• Roll and flatten slightly, and then place the cookie seam side down on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• Prick the top of the cookies with a fork or toothpick in a decorative pattern, and then bake until the cookies are just beginning to turn golden, about 25-30 minutes. Dust generously with powdered sugar while the cookies are still warm.
• Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

MA'AMOUL

Steps:

• For the dough: Put the semolina, flour, granulated sugar and baking powder in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. (It's important not to use your hands to make the dough because the natural heat of your hands will make the dough release oil, resulting in dry dough.) Mix in the ghee. The mixture will feel and look like crumbs. Add the milk slowly (2 tablespoons at a time) and mix to combine until you have a soft dough that you can make into small balls. It's best to add the milk slowly so the dough doesn't come together before all the milk is added.
• For the date filling: Put the baking dates, ghee, cinnamon and cardamom in a medium bowl and mix with a spoon until the ghee and spices are combined well with the dates. Rub some ghee or vegetable oil on your palms to avoid sticking and shape the date filling into 40 to 45 small balls for a small ma'amoul mold. If using a larger mold, shape the balls accordingly.
• Preheat the oven 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll the semolina dough into 40 to 45 balls as well.
• Flatten a semolina dough ball and place a date ball in the middle of it. Bring the dough together to cover the date ball and roll in your hands to smooth the cracks. Place the ball in the ma'amoul mold and gently press it so the pattern prints on it. Bang the mold against a cutting board to release the cookie and place it smooth-side down on the prepared baking sheet. If you don't own a mold, simply flatten the stuffed dough ball into a 1/2-inch-thick disk and make a simple pattern by pressing a fork gently on the dough to make a crisscross. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. You can place the cookies quite close to each other since they won't spread.
• Bake until the cookies are slightly golden brown around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Let them cool completely, then dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.