Maamoul Nut Filled Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• 1. For the dough, place the flour, semolina, margarine, and oil in a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Add the water gradually, pulsing until a soft dough is formed. Cover and set aside for 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator.
• 2. For the filling, combine the walnuts with the cinnamon and sugar.
• 3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 4. Either use the ma'amoul mold described above or take a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll it into a ball and hollow out the center. Inside, place a heaping teaspoon of walnut filling. With your hands, mold the dough closed.
• Continue with the rest of the dough.
• 5. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. With the tines of a fork or tweezers with a serrated edge, make designs on the top of each cookie, being sure not to penetrate the crust.
• 6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Do not brown; the cookies should look white. Cool. When hard, roll in confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• For the dough: Put the semolina, flour, granulated sugar and baking powder in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. (It's important not to use your hands to make the dough because the natural heat of your hands will make the dough release oil, resulting in dry dough.) Mix in the ghee. The mixture will feel and look like crumbs. Add the milk slowly (2 tablespoons at a time) and mix to combine until you have a soft dough that you can make into small balls. It's best to add the milk slowly so the dough doesn't come together before all the milk is added.
• For the date filling: Put the baking dates, ghee, cinnamon and cardamom in a medium bowl and mix with a spoon until the ghee and spices are combined well with the dates. Rub some ghee or vegetable oil on your palms to avoid sticking and shape the date filling into 40 to 45 small balls for a small ma'amoul mold. If using a larger mold, shape the balls accordingly.
• Preheat the oven 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll the semolina dough into 40 to 45 balls as well.
• Flatten a semolina dough ball and place a date ball in the middle of it. Bring the dough together to cover the date ball and roll in your hands to smooth the cracks. Place the ball in the ma'amoul mold and gently press it so the pattern prints on it. Bang the mold against a cutting board to release the cookie and place it smooth-side down on the prepared baking sheet. If you don't own a mold, simply flatten the stuffed dough ball into a 1/2-inch-thick disk and make a simple pattern by pressing a fork gently on the dough to make a crisscross. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. You can place the cookies quite close to each other since they won't spread.
• Bake until the cookies are slightly golden brown around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Let them cool completely, then dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Steps:

• Prepare each filling by mixing the ingredients in a bowl. For the date filling, knead the dates with the nutmeg and butter until soft. (You can warm the dates in the oven to make them easier to knead.) Break off a piece and roll into a log about 4 inches long. Bring the ends together to form a 1½-inch-diameter ring. Proceed until all are done and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the semolina, mahlab, and sugar and mix well. Pour in the melted butter and mix in with your fingertips, coating completely. Sprinkle on the yeast and sugar to incorporate. Gradually pour in the slightly warmed milk and mix until the mixture forms a dough. It should be soft and pliable, and not sticky. You may not end up using all of the milk.
• For the nut-filled maamoul, take a piece of dough of about the size of a walnut and cup it in one hand. With your thumb poke the center of the dough to make a well. Using your thumb on the inside and your index finger on the outside, work the dough upwards to thin it out gradually into a shell. Place a teaspoonful of the nut filling in the well. Bring the edges together to cover the filling completely. Smooth out and turn over the filled pastry. With a pincher proceed to decorate the shell. Make your pistachio-filled ones oval and your walnut-filled ones round. Place on a baking sheet.
• For the date-filled maamoul, take a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand. Place a prepared date ring in the center and fold the edges over to enclose completely toward the center. Follow the shape of the date ring and pinch the center to make a hole in the middle. It will look like a filled donut. Turn the seam side down. Grab hold of the pastry in one hand and proceed to use the pincher to decorate. Place on a baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. The maamoul should only be slightly colored. Remove and cool completely before dusting with icing sugar. Store cooled pastries in an airtight container without the icing sugar.

Steps:

• Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the nuts with the butter, rose water, orange blossom water, sugar, cinnamon and cloves; stir to thoroughly coat the nuts. Set aside.
• Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the semolina, farina and flour. Sprinkle the mastic and mahlab over the dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the yeast and sugar to the well. Add 3 tablespoons warm water to the yeast mixture and let sit until it begins to foam, about 1 minute. Pour in the milk and, with a fork, gradually mix the wet and dry ingredients together until a dough forms.
• Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead until it is pillow soft and workable. If the dough becomes too stiff to work with, gradually sprinkle in water to bring it to a workable consistency. Return the dough to the bowl and set aside on the counter for 1 hour, covering the bowl with a clean kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying out as you shape the cookies.
• Preheat the oven to 370°F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place about 3 tablespoons dough in the palm of one hand and use the other palm to roll it into a ball. Make an indentation in the ball with your finger. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of the nut mixture into the indentation, then bring the edges of the dough up around the filling. Pinch the edges all around to seal in the filling. Flip the cookie over into the other hand, seam-side down, and gently press until the seam side is flattened. Place the cookie on a prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
• Bake until the cookies are pale blond, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. The cookies can be stored at room temperature for 2 days; they will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks or in the freezer up to 3 months. Before serving, dust liberally with confectioners' sugar.