Homemade Traditional Maamoul | Date and Nut Stuffed Arab cookies

Homemade Traditional Maamoul are cookies that are stuffed with Dates and nuts. They are popular all over the Middle East and are commonly served during religious festivals such as Eid, Easter and Hanukkah. Today I'll show you how to make the cookie dough as well as three delicious fillings Walnut, Pistachio and Date.

I'm Obi from Middle Eats and I'm on a mission to show you how to cook delicious food from across the Middle East. Leave a comment with any recipe requests you'd like to see me cook.

For 42 Cookies:

Dough ingredients:
500g (17.5 oz) fine semolina
250g (8.75 oz) clarified butter/ghee or about 300-350g (10.5-12.25oz) butter to make this
150ml (5 fl oz) orange blossom water
1 Tbsp mahlab
Pinch of salt

1. Add mahlab to semolina and mix until combined
2. Add clarified butter (must have let this cool completely) and massage into the semolina until incorporated and uniformly yellow. Cover and leave to rest overnight
3. Rework the mixture until it starts to come together
4. Add the orange blossom and salt then knead until fully absorbed, it forms a soft dough after about 5 mins.
5. Cover and let it rest for ~30 minutes before using

Syrup (for the fillings):
100g (3.5 oz) Sugar
50g (1.75 oz) Water
Squeeze of lemon juice

1. Add sugar, water and lemon juice to a pot on medium heat
2. Swirl the pot a couple of times and let it come to a boil
3. Once the sugar has dissolved turn the heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes

For the Walnut filling:
150g (5.25 oz) Walnuts
1 Tbsp caster sugar
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
3 Tbsp Syrup or you can use honey
Splash rose water/orange blossom (optional)
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tsp mahlab
1/8 Tsp cloves
1/8 Tsp mace
1/8 Tsp cardamom

You can toast your walnuts before hand for added flavor
1. Chop the walnuts into small chunks about the size of a grain of rice or two. Use a knife or food processor for this.
2. Add the walnuts to a bowl as well as the sugar and spices, mix to combine
3. Add the syrup (must have let this cool completely) and mix until it starts to clump together. Add more syrup if necessary

For the Pistachio Filling:
150g (5.25 oz) pistachios
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp honey/thick syrup
Splash rose water/orange blossom (optional)

You can toast your pistachios before hand for added flavor
1. Chop the pistachios into small chunks about the size of a grain of rice or two. Use a knife or food processor for this.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until it starts to clump together. Add more syrup if necessary

For the Date Filling
200g (7 oz) Date Paste or Pitted Dates
20g (0.7 oz) Clarified Butter
1. Add the ingredients to a mixing bowl and massage by hand until combined

Note: If you are using pitted dates, check out my Kahk video for directions on how to make the filling Egyptian Kahk Recipe - Eid Cookies- كحك العيد

To assemble the cookies:
1. Portion the dough out into 20g balls and roll each ball in your hands till smooth
2. To fill the Maamoul, make an indentation in your dough ball and add a teaspoon of filling into it
3. Use your fingers to press the dough around the filling and seal into a ball once more
4. Roll in your hands until smooth once more
5. Place the dough ball into a Maamoul mould and press down to imprint
6. Smack your Maamoul mould onto a surface at an angle to get the formed Maamoul to drop out

To cook:
1. Evenly space on a grease proof paper lined tray
2. Bake in an oven preheated to 200c or 392f for 12 minutes total, rotating it fully at the 6 minute mark
3. Remove and let them cool on the tray for 15-30 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar
4. Serve and enjoy

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