Maamoul: Date-filled cookies

Votes: 1

Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Complexity: easily
Quantity: 20 cookies

Nutritional value per serving:

Calories 235, total fat 10 G., saturated fats 3 G., proteins 3 G., carbohydrates 37 G., fiber 2 G., cholesterol 12 mg, sodium 56 mg, sugar 23 G.

Maamoul is a soft cookie popular in Arab countries filled with dates, dried fruit, or nuts. It's typically baked during major religious holidays, but it's so delicious that you don't need to wait for a special occasion. This recipe suggests baking maamoul with three fillings: date, apricot-nut, and quince-nut. To differentiate them, create a distinct pattern for each and prick it with a fork on the surface of the cookie.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Filling

220 g soft pitted Medjool dates
2 tablespoons of water
A pinch of fine salt
1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
0.5 tsp finely grated orange zest

Dough

2 cups premium flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tbsp powdered sugar + about 0.5-2 tbsp for sprinkling
A pinch of fine salt
110 g unsalted butter + 2 tbsp.
2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil, such as canola
1/4 cup milk

Apricot and nut filling

1/3 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts (or other nuts)
1/3 cup golden raisins
3 tbsp. l. apricot jam
A pinch of fine salt

Quince and walnut filling

0.5 cups toasted walnuts
1/3 cup quince jam
A pinch of fine salt

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Recipes with similar ingredients: premium flour, dates, walnuts, hazelnuts, Apricot jam, raisin, Orange zest, candied fruit

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Preparing the filling:

Combine the filling ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside. Clean the food processor bowl. Place the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt in the food processor bowl and pulse 3-4 times. Add the butter, vegetable oil, and milk, beating until the dough comes together. Be careful not to overprocess the dough; it will be slightly wet.

Apricot and nut filling: Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Quince and walnut filling: Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Remove the dough from the food processor and form it into 20 equal-sized balls. Place each dough ball in the palm of your hand and flatten into a 7-cm (3-inch) circle. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle and fold the edges of the dough up and around the filling. Pinch the dough to seal, then gently roll it between your palms to form a smooth, round ball. Press lightly to flatten the cookies slightly, then place them seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Gently prick the cookies with a fork or wooden skewer, creating a pattern of dots, being careful not to pierce the dough all the way through to the filling.
Bake until the cookies are firm and slightly puffed, 25 to 30 minutes. The tops should be pale and the bottoms should just begin to darken. Dust generously with powdered sugar, cool, and dust again.