Mamool Or Maamoul Food

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

MAMOOL WALNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the nuts with the butter, rose water, orange blossom water, sugar, cinnamon and cloves; stir to thoroughly coat the nuts. Set aside.
• Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the semolina, farina and flour. Sprinkle the mastic and mahlab over the dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the yeast and sugar to the well. Add 3 tablespoons warm water to the yeast mixture and let sit until it begins to foam, about 1 minute. Pour in the milk and, with a fork, gradually mix the wet and dry ingredients together until a dough forms.
• Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead until it is pillow soft and workable. If the dough becomes too stiff to work with, gradually sprinkle in water to bring it to a workable consistency. Return the dough to the bowl and set aside on the counter for 1 hour, covering the bowl with a clean kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying out as you shape the cookies.
• Preheat the oven to 370°F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place about 3 tablespoons dough in the palm of one hand and use the other palm to roll it into a ball. Make an indentation in the ball with your finger. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of the nut mixture into the indentation, then bring the edges of the dough up around the filling. Pinch the edges all around to seal in the filling. Flip the cookie over into the other hand, seam-side down, and gently press until the seam side is flattened. Place the cookie on a prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
• Bake until the cookies are pale blond, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. The cookies can be stored at room temperature for 2 days; they will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks or in the freezer up to 3 months. Before serving, dust liberally with confectioners' sugar.

MA'AMOUL

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: In a large bowl combine the butter and ghee and mix well with a spatula. In a separate bowl, combine the coarse and fine semolina, the sugar and mahlab and mix well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the butter-ghee mixture. Use your hands to massage the ingredients together, rubbing it between your fingers without kneading or over-working the dough. Add ¼ cup orange blossom water and thoroughly mix with your hands again. Cover and set aside to rest for at least two hours and up to 10 hours at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare the nut fillings: In a bowl, thoroughly mix the pistachios, sugar and orange blossom water; set aside. In a separate bowl thoroughly mix the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and orange blossom water; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons warm water until it dissolves. Add it to the dough and mix using your hands (but, again, don't knead). If the dough seems too dry to form into a ball, add cold milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. The dough shouldn't be wet, just moist enough to stick together when forming the cookies.
• Take a chunk of dough and roll it into a ball the size of a golf ball. Holding the dough ball in one hand, take the index finger of your other hand to indent the center and form a hollow area by continuing to press down while turning the ball with your other hand. Spoon one of the nut fillings into the hole and close it back up, pinching the dough together over the filling. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• In the Middle East, ma'amoul cookies have beautiful intricate designs after being pressed into special molds. You can find molds online or at a Middle Eastern supermarket. Otherwise you could use a muffin tin to shape the cookies. Press the stuffed dough ball into an oiled mold and then gently smack the mold onto your hand to get the cookie out. Arrange the molded cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 14 minutes.
• Dust the cookies with a layer of powdered sugar as soon as they come out of the oven (the sugar will melt into the dough), then dust again once cooled. Serve with a cup of tea or Turkish coffee.