Maamoul Cookies Recipe
Maamoul is a delicious traditional Middle Eastern cookie that is typically made on religious holidays such as Easter or Eid. What makes maamoul distinct are the subtle flavorings used in the dough and in the filling, including “Mahlab” aka Mahlepi an aromatic spice, rose water, orange blossom water, mistika, and in some cases acacia incense. Here is the complete Maamoul Cookies Recipe.
How To Prepare Maamoul Recipe Walnut
Maamoul’s paste is prepared from semolina (aka “smeed” in Arabic) which is the coarse, purified wheat middling of durum wheat. Coarse semolina is typically a bit yellowish in color and is known as “smeed khishin” in Arabic, or coarse “smeed”. Fine semolina is another ingredient in Maamoul and can be known as “farina”, or in Arabic “smeed naaim” or fine “smeed.” Such ingredients are typically found in local Arabic grocery stores, or can also be found in Mama’s online store or on Amazon. Note that in our first batch of Maamoul we did not use Farina, but just coarse semolina, and the taste turned out fine. So if you’re not able to find Farina just stick to coarse semolina and don’t sweat it. We also heard of some chefs baking maamoul using only farina, with no semolina.
Mamoul bi Joz w Fustuk Fillings
Maamoul fillings can include dates, walnuts, pistachio, or a combination of both or other nuts. Traditionally, maamoul with dates (also called maamoul bi siwa) is made with a round-shaped mold, and maamoul with nuts with an elongated shape mold. Only nuts-filled maamoul gets sprinkled with powdered sugar. Dates-filled maamoul is baked slightly longer to get light brown cookies, whereas nuts-filled maamoul is removed from the oven at the slightest hint of browning.
Making Maamoul Using a Traditional Wooden Mold
Traditionally home-made Maamoul is molded using a wooden mold. In the US such molds can be purchased at Arabic grocery stores, or can also be found online for around $4-5. A piece of dough that is a bit smaller than a golf ball is placed in the palm of the hand, flattened, fillings is placed in its center and the dough is then closed by folding the edges over the fillings. It’s then placed inside the mold, flattened and the mold is slammed against a cutting board a couple of times until the dough falls nicely shaped to the mold.
Making Maamoul Using a Muffin Mold or Cookie Cutter
Since many people don’t have the traditional wooden mold, we tried making maamoul using regular cookie cutters or muffin molds and it worked nicely. Using a muffin mold, flatten a piece of dough inside it all along the edges to a thickness of about 1/3 inches or less, then about 1 teaspoon of fillings is added in the center and is then covered by another piece of dough that is made flat with the edges of the mold. The mold is than slammed against a cutting board a couple of times until the dough falls. You can also prime the mold with some butter to make the cookie fall easier.
Mama tried dozens of maamoul recipes over the years and settled on the one we’re featuring in this post. We followed her instructions and got the recipe right in the first shot, and gained a few pounds in the process. This recipe should yield about 25 to 30 maamoul cookies that are about 1.5 to 2 oz each.