The Middle Eastern Food Kitchen (The home of delicious Middle Eastern Food Recipes) invites you to try Mamoul recipe. Enjoy Middle Eastern sweets and learn how to make Mamoul (Eid Cookies).
Also called maamoul, mamool (Lebanese Filled Cookies) are Middle Eastern cookies served typically for special holidays such as Eid and Pascha. The cookies have three traditional fillings including walnut, pistachio and date. Each is formed in a specific designed wooden mold. The design on the cookie lets you know what the filling is inside.
About Mamoul
To make the cookie the mold is floured, then round, filled, balls of dough are packed into the mold. The mold is rapped on the work surface to remove the cookie. Cookies are then baked, cooled and coated in powdered (confectioner's) sugar.
Ingredients
1/2 cup solid shortening
8 tablespoons or 4 ounces butter
1 cup flour, all purpose
2 cups semolina
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking power
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon rose flower water and
1 tablespoon orange flower water
7 tablespoons water
walnut, pistachio or date filling (recipe links this page)
confectioners sugar
Preparation
Do not expect the dough to be cohesive but it will be damp enough to form into balls to pack into the cookie molds. This recipe needs to be started a day ahead.
Melt shortening and butter together or use all butter if you wish a richer cookie. cool slightly. Mix flour, semolina, salt, baking powder and sugar together. Rub melted shortening into dough with fingertips until it is like fine soft meal.
Cover bowl and let it rest overnight. Combine flower waters with 7 tablespoons water and sprinkle over the dough. Toss lightly with a fork to distribute liquid evenly. Mix until just combined, like pie dough. (another person says to knead the dough well).
Dust maamoul molds well with flour. Invert and tap gently to remove excess flour. Estimate the amount of dough need to fill maamoul mold and make a ball of dough. Flatten it out slightly and place a good tablespoon of filling in center. Close dough around filling to cover it. Pack ball into mold. Level off cookie even with the lip of the mold. Be sure you have not revealed filling or it will stick to the pan as it bakes.
Tap cookies out onto the work area with a sharp firm hit to the top of the mold. Transfer cookies to baking sheet with a spatula. Bake at 300 to 325deg F about 12 minutes, until barely colored.
Cool.
Sprinkle with confectioners sugar before serving.
The Wooden Molds
Each mold is made of wood and hand-turned on a lathe so they tend to be "crude" and not overly refined. Each mold has a pattern which corresponds to the type of filling used.
walnut maamoul mold
date maamoul mold
pistachio maamoul mold
More Middle Eastern Food Recipes:
Baklava
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