Maamoul Arabian Date Filled Cookies Food

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.

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.

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.