In the Land of the Pharaohs, everyone loves dates. And this date-filled cookie is almost as popular. Ma’amoul is found everywhere. It’ll remind you of Grandma’s Date Squares – but with walnuts and pistachios, in yeasted pastry!
‘Swavoury’ date and nut cakes: Always lavishly embossed…
When Egyptian snackers crave a sweet treat, they never have far to look. Ma’amouls are everywhere. They’re one of the nation’s most beliverd and ubiquitous street foods!
Well worth the fuss…
They’re more than a little fussy – with dates, walnuts and/or pistachio fillings to prepare, and a yeast pastry shell. But they’re well worth the time and effort. Just make a big batch to emotionally repay the commitment – and provide enough Ma’amouls so everyone can have lots…
“Ma’amoul is very famous in the Middle East during religious holidays for both Muslims and Christ-ians,” says recipe contributor Amira. She should know. She grew up, married and started a family in Egypt before moving to Colorado in the early 2000s. “Along with other middle eastern cookies like Kahk, these cookies are made in huge quantities during festive days to celebrate and share with neighbors and guests.”
“Ma’amoul [pastry] can be made with semolina, farina, plain flour or a combination,” she adds. “It can be filled with dates or nuts, but the most famous filling is the dates.”
More an odyssey than a recipe…
“[The dough] is done in two stages, separated by 8 hours or up to 3 days,” Amira explains. In the first stage you’ll need semolina, flour, ghee, a dash of salt, and mahlab powder for flavoring.” Fear not! You can use melted butter in place of ghee, and Amira suggests a more conventional flavour subs-titute for mahlab in the ‘Tips’ section of her recipe…
In what was to me an unfamiliar procedure, Amira says to mix together the flour, semolina, mahlab and salt, then pour the ghee or butter over it. You then work the butter into the mix with your hands, as if you were rubbing fat into flour for short pastry. All grains of the flour and semolina should be coated with a little butter.
Then… You cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours – or up to 3 days. This ‘curing’ process is neces-sary to ensure the butter and salt are fully infused into the flour.
‘Finishing’ the dough
At that point, you add dry yeast, along with dry milk and sugar syrup, and once again blend well with your hands.
The dough is pretty stiff by this point, and that’s where milk comes in. Add a little at a time, kneading gently, until you achieve what Amira calls ‘a soft dough’. Let the finished dough rest covered for one hour before forming the cookies…
The fillings…
Are exotically rich, sweet and spicy, with cinnamon the leading flavour add. And they’re almost un-believably simple, as are many such components of dishes that have their origins in the kitchens of ‘the people’.
As Amira says, dates, pistachios and walnuts are common, But you could use any sticky, gooey filling that strikes your fancy.
Assembly…
Ma’amouls are traditionally made with a special wooden mould that applies a traditional decorative motif to the tops of the cookies. Amira says you can use a Madeleines mold (which you’re more likely to have, in your ‘little-used-gadgets’ drawer), or simply form the cookies by hand decorating with a fork (as pictured above).
However you decorate them, the Ma’amouls are made by first rolling a ball of dough in your hands, then making a hole with your thumb, and stuffing it with filling. Gently work the dough closed around the filling and flatten the ball – either into your mould, or with a cupped hand onto a regular baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool at least 5 to 7 minutes before attempting to remove the cookies from the moulds…
My take
Ma’amoul dough would be a great in many different applications that customarily call for a short or crumbly pastry shell or base layer. Have fun with it! And let me know how your experiments work out…
I’m planning to make Ma’amouls for the year-end holidays this year. I’m just going to put them on the cookie tray with all the other traditional baked nibbles, and let folks discover them for themselves. Then, when they ask me what the heck these scrumptious things are, I can let loose with the whole, fascinating story!
~ Maggie J.