On special Holidays, we make Kaak al-Eid and Maamoul 🙂 Maamoul are cookies made with Semolina Flour and dulled with different flavors: Dates, Pistachios, Walnuts, and many other flavors… Today, I am making Walnuts Maamoul using my Grandma’s recipe. Tasting these Maamoul brings back all the joy and celebrations of special occasions with the family. So now, Let’s cook together and have some fun! 🙂
This recipe makes around 70 pieces (other molds may lead different quantities).
Ingredients
For the Maamoul Dough:
- 500 g Fine Semolina (Ferkha)
- 500 g Coarse Semolina (Smeed)
- 2 Cups Butter
- 3 tbsp Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 cup Rose Water
- 1/2 cup Orange Blossom Water
For the Filling:
- 250 g Walnuts
- 250 g Almonds
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tbsp softened Butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp Rose Water
- 1 1/2 tbsp Orange Blossom Water
- Powdered Sugar
Making our Maamoul
I started making my maamoul the previous night. I melted my butter, once melted I let it cool down. I then mixed my fine and course semolina with the powdered sugar, then poured in my melted butter. In order to make sure that the semolina did not clump up and all of it got to absorb some of the butter, I rubbed the dough between my palms. This removed any lumps and made sure the butter got absorbed by all the Semolina. I covered the dough and let it rest until the next morning at room temperature.
The next day, I warmed my rose water and orange blossom water in the microwave for 10 seconds then added them to my dough. I mixed them into the dough and mixed them by hand until combined.
Now that my dough is ready, I started making my filling. I processed my walnuts and almonds in a food processor until the pieces became 1 millimetre or 1/32 inch. I then added all the filling ingredients and mixed them together with a spoon.
This next step depends on your mold. I divided my dough and shaped it the dough into a 2.5 cm or 1 inch balls. I then pushed into the dough ball and shaped it into a small bowl. I made sure the dough is equally thin throughout. I added the filling into the bowl and closed the dough around it to form a ball again. My mold was oblong, so I elongated the dough ball to match the shape, then i placed it into the mold and pressed it in. Once it was pressed in, I tapped the mold on a hard surface and the beautifully shaped Maamoul fell out. I repeated this process with all my Maamoul and placed the finished ones on a parchment paper in a baking sheet. When the sheet was full, I placed it on the middle rack of an oven preheated to 350 degree Fahrenheit or 175 degree Celsius for 15 minutes. I then switched the oven to broil for 5 minutes or until the top and bottom are light golden brown. The moment they got out of the oven, I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top to give them the original Maamoul look and taste.
These are not going to last long. Half of them are reserved so that we can give them to loved ones, a quarter are for our consumption and a quarter have already been devoured by my husband.
Enjoy! 🙂
