Lebanese Date Mamoul

Mamoul (Ma'amoul) are small shortbread Middle Eastern cookies. They are filled with dates, nuts and much more. They may be in the shape of balls or domed or flattened cookies. They can either be decorated by hand or be made in special wooden moulds (like moon cake moulds - see picture alongside).

They are quite easy to prepare: You make a dough and a filling, then you form the dough into a ball around the filling and press the filled cookie into the floured mould before tapping it out. The mamouls are baked and then coated with confectioner's sugar.

The Kuwaitis are fond of them and particularly eat them during Ramadan. There is no shortage of them in bakeries, patisseries and supermarkets in Kuwait.

Overall, the dough is crumbly (shortbread). The dough isn't all that sweet, which is probably a good thing since the filling is extremely sweet on account of the dates.

Get the full recipe here...

Prep Time: 20 mins + Total Time: over 2 days Makes: 12 - 15 cookies Ingredients: Method of Preparation: For the Dough: 2 cups semolina 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup milk 1 cup butter 1/2 cup caster sugar 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsps orange water 2 tsps rose water Icing sugar for dusting For the Filling: 1 cup dates 2 tsps sesame seeds 3 tsps vegetable oil 1 tsp ground cardamom Finely chop the dates. Add the sesame seeds and oil and mix into a smooth paste. On low heat, warm the butter, milk and salt. Remove from the fire. Add semolina, flour and sugar and mix well. Allow to cool a bit. Add flavouring waters and fold into the dough. Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest overnight. Make dough into small balls. Flatten each ball as thinly without tearing the dough. Place filling in the middle and fold dough over, then, roll gently into a ball. Press the filled cookie into a floured mould or use a fork to make designs on top (cookie should not be flattened but have a dome shape). Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg for 25-35 minutes or until the tops become golden brown. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Personal Notes: Remember to wipe the mould and re-flour it between pressings to ensure easy removal of the cookie. Similar Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=mamoul Google Images: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=mamoul Google Book Search: http://books.google.com/books?q=mamoul Courtesy: CrazyaboutBaking.blogspot.com

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