Maamoul (stuffed shortbread cookies)

Ingredients

  • 750 gm semolina powder coarse 

  • 250 gm flour

  • 400 gm ghee or clarified butter

  • 200 gm fine sugar

  • 30 gm milk powder

  • 5 gm baking soda

  • 1 tsp vanilla powder

  • 1 tsp mahleb (cherry kernel powder)

  • 1/2 tsp instant yeast

  • 120 gm water (room temp)

Directions

  1. Mix semolina, flour and ghee together well using your hands for about 10 minutes.

  2. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and leave in fridge overnight.

  3. Mix the rest of the ingredients well and add to the semolina mixure.

  4. the dough should be smooth and soft but can still hold its shape in a mold.

  5. Form the dough into small balls each fitted to the size of the mold at hand.

  6. Stuff each ball with either dates or walnut stuffing.

  7. Date stuffing : 500 gm dates mixed with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon aniseed powder. mix well and form into balls smaller than the cookie dough balls.

  8. Walnut stuffing: grind walnuts and mix with 3 tbsp sugar, 1/8 cup ater or sugar syrup and a tbsp of orange blossom water. mix them well and then add 1 tbsp of ghee and mix well again and form into balls

  9. stuff each cookie dough ball with either date or walnuts so that the stuffing is totally covered with dough.

  10. place in a mold and mold the cookies into the shape desired.

  11. Place each stuffed cookie on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper snd place in a preheated oven at 400F OR 200C for 8-10 minutes.

  12. take out of the oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheet before removing.

Rola Jordan