It is no secret that I am always in pursuit of the best sweets from any part of the world, and always willing to try a new dessert out. I cannot remember the first time I learned about baklava, but I do remember how I learned about these amazing Middle Eastern cookies: ma’amouls. I was in a counter service Middle Eastern restaurant called Naf Naf in Evanston, Illinois (of all places), and I had just finished ordering and buying my plate of favorite spreads (think hummus, tabbouli, etc.). At some point after I had completed the transaction, I looked down and noticed there was a little basket of cookies conveniently located next to the register that said “mamool cookies” on them. I picked one up and studied it carefully, and asked the obvious “are these good?” The lady at the register goes “try one” – so I did. It was amazing. Very similar to the shortbread cookie I know and love, but it also had a date filling, which made it even better.
So a curiosity was formed, and I proceeded to pursue a ma’amoul recipe of my own to try. In the process I also learned a lot about the originals of these cookies. The incredible thing that stuck out to me was that ma’amouls were widely consumed across the Middle East – and what really struck me was that they are popular as holiday cookies for many religions. Literally every religion in the region has a special holiday that they make these cookies for. Muslims make them for the Eid holidays and during Ramadan, Christians make them for the Easter, and Jews make them for a number of holidays. Many people also smartly keep a stock of these cookies year-round (!!). I am going to unashamedly admit that I need no excuses to make cookies at any time of year.
I did a bit of research on the cookies and also asked around to my friends who grew up in the Levant region, and one of them pointed to a recipe found on a website called Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen (thank you to my friend who grew up in Beirut for sending it to me!!). I found a wooden ma’amoul mould that I liked online and ordered it (see the photo below). Once that came, I made the trek (a very short journey mind you) to the Arabic grocery store in downtown Houston called Phoenicia to get the special ingredients (like semolina, rose water, etc.).
Here is the recipe on the website Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen. When I made ma’amouls, I used the recipe on the website for the dough, and then I essentially created my own filling. I make a lot of food with dates in it (in addition to eating a lot of dates), so I knew the consistency I wanted for the filling. All the details are below!
Ingredients (for the dough)
- 16 ounces (1 pound) semolina
- 5 ounces farina
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/5 pound of butter, melted
- 4 ounces rose water
- 1 ounce orange blossom water
- 1/6 teaspoon of yeast, dissolved in 1/4 cup of warm water
- Ground mahlab to taste
Ingredients (for the filling)
- Dates (half pound)
- Sugar (to taste)
- Rose water (a splash)
Instructions
- Mix together the semolina, farina, and sugar in a bowl
- Melt the butter, then pour over the top of the mixture
- Pour the rose water and orange blossom water on top of the mixture
- Blend the mixture together and add the mahlab, then dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add to the dough, kneading it through the dough
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap, then let it sit for 7 to 10 hours at room temperature (it will rise)
- When ready to make the ma’amouls, you can then make the date paste that goes inside the cookies
- If the dates are a little tough, soak them in water for a few minutes, then when they soften drain them
- Use a food processor or a hand mixer to make a paste-like mixture of the dates, then add sugar and rose water to taste
- Take a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten it in your hand, then place it in the mould, pushing it into the shape
- Place a spoonful of date paste (enough to fill the center of the mould), then take a bit more dough to cover the top of it so it is flat
- Tap the ma’amoul mould so that the cookie comes out, then place it on a greased baking sheet about two inches apart from the other cookies (when you are almost done making the cookies, heat the oven – see below)
- Bake the cookies in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for around 20 minutes, or until the cookies are a little reddish-pink (keep checking the oven)
- Remove the cookies for the oven, and while they are still hot, use a sieve to sprinkle icing sugar on the top of the cookies, some of which will harden into a bit of a glaze
- Remove cookies from the cookie sheets, and transfer to a wire baking rack to cool – when they are completely cool, you can store them in an airtight container in a cool place (for summers in Texas, I store them in the fridge!)
The best part about making these cookies was sharing them with friends who were very familiar with these cookies (and therefore could offer feedback on my own experiment). As I mentioned in prior blog posts, the first go at baking sometimes can provide iffy results, but I always use it as a learning experiment! It was such fun baking with ingredients that were new to me, like rose water and different kinds of flours and spices.
HW
Sweet Notes and Tips 