Arabic Maamoul cookies with filling

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 14 hr

1. STEP 1

   

   Ingredients for the dough.

2. STEP 2

   

   Combine semolina, softened butter and vegetable oil.

3. STEP 3

   

   Grind everything until a viscous homogeneous mass, similar to crumbs, is obtained. Cover with film and leave until the next day. You can get by with a few hours, but it’s better overnight or a day.

4. STEP 4

   

   When time has passed, pour the yeast and sugar with lukewarm milk. Stir and leave for 10-15 minutes until a small “cap” forms.

5. STEP 5

   

   Separately mix flour, salt, baking powder, vanillin, powdered sugar, nutmeg and sift.

6. STEP 6

   

   Combine the mixture of dry ingredients with semolina crumbs and grind thoroughly.

7. STEP 7

   

   Pour in the dissolved yeast and stir.

8. STEP 8

   

   Knead soft, plastic dough. Cover the dough and leave at room temperature for 1 hour.

9. STEP 9

   

   Meanwhile, make the cookie filling.Ingredients for the nut filling.

10. STEP 10

    

    Grind the nuts in a blender until you feel small grains.

11. STEP 11

    

    Combine the chopped nuts with liquid honey and cinnamon and mix.

12. STEP 12

    

    The filling can be made to your taste. It must be flexible enough to be molded.

13. STEP 13

    

    Ingredients for date filling.

14. STEP 14

    

    Wash the dates, dry them, remove the seeds.

15. STEP 15

    

    Grind the dates in a blender, adding vegetable oil during the process. It is not necessary to achieve complete homogeneity of the mass, the main thing is that it can be molded.

16. STEP 16

    

    When the dough proofing time has passed, we begin to form the cookies. Roll out a small ball of dough and a slightly smaller ball of nut filling. Flatten the dough ball into a flat cake, put a ball of filling on it, seal it and roll it up.

17. STEP 17

    

    Then we flatten the ball with the filling again into a round cake about 1 cm thick. Using a regular knife and fork, we decorate the cookies on the sides and top at our discretion.

18. STEP 18

    

    Or you can use regular cookie cutters. Place the filled ball into the mold and press it into place.

19. STEP 19

    

    With date filling, you can form cookies this way. Roll out the sausage from the dough.

20. STEP 20

    

    Flatten it with your palm. Roll the date paste into a thinner sausage and place it on the dough.

21. STEP 21

    

    We pinch the sausage, roll it out, and press it again along the entire length with the palm of our hand. Cut diagonally into diamonds.

22. STEP 22

    

    You can make cuts on the top of the diamonds with a knife and squeeze them a little in the middle. You can form cookies with filling in any other way.

23. STEP 23

    

    Place the cookies on oiled parchment.

24. STEP 24

    

    Bake in the oven at 220 degrees. 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool the finished cookies.

25. STEP 25

    

    Traditionally, Maamul is sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving. We serve cookies with tea, coffee, milk. Enjoy your tea!

Comments on the recipe

BLUE-EYED

24.12.2023

5

Julia, hello! For me, cookies are very unusual and interesting. The process may seem labor-intensive, but in fact it is not, it will only take more time to wait for the semolina to swell. And of course, like any yeast baked goods, for proofing. I haven’t encountered such a lineup yet, and it’s understandable - it’s national. Julia, thank you for the detailed steps, it will be convenient to repeat!