Whenever you start smelling the beautiful aroma of anise spice baking in the oven, you know it's almost Eid. These holiday cookies are very popular among Palestinians and are a very traditional dessert made, whether you're celebrating Easter or Eid. Ma'amoul cookies have a semolina and anise spice-based dough which are stuffed with seasoned dates. They are baked to perfection and dusted in snow white powdered sugar. With every bite you take, the dough is crumbly yet it instantly melts in your mouth as you get that touch of sweetness from the date filling. These cookies are made in large quantities and take some time to make but they disappear so quick on the holidays because they're way too good! Send some to your friends, neighbors, and family members to wish them a Happy Eid!
Dusting the cookies after they bake is a subtle yet important touch! They add a powdery sweetness that is missed when left plain in my opinion.
Ma'amoul can also be made with pistachios or walnuts, but my family prefers dates - and we stuff them really well because we love the flavor it adds to the cookie!
I have always enjoyed walking through the kitchen and smelling the dozens of ma'amoul cookies baking. As a child it meant only one thing, Eid was just a few days away! I always saw families creating a tradition of gathering together to make these cookies before the holiday and I thought it was such a beautiful thing to do. This year, I told my mom I wanted to officially learn how she makes ma'amoul and that I would help her out. It was a fun process, and although there were some ups and downs when it came to finding the perfect design, it was a great experience.
The cookies are made in so many different ways. Throughout the years of trying different people's cookies that they would offer I never once liked any of them. I thought to myself I wasn't a ma'amoul kind of person. Then a few years ago, I tried a cookie from my mom's recipe and I couldn't believe how delicious it was! I instantly devoured so many of them! My mom stuffs them a bit extra with dates to keep the cookie more moist. It's one of the many reasons I enjoy eating them!
Prep Time: 60 minutes Yields: 4-5 Dozen
Set Time: Overnight
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 75 minutes, plus overnight setting
INGREDIENTS:
For the Cookie Dough:
6 cups Fine Semolina
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
2 cups Crisco All Vegetable Shortening Butter Flavor, melted
1 Package Active Original Yeast
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup Lukewarm Water
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tbsp. Anise Powder
1 cup Warm Milk
For the Filling:
2 Packs (26 oz.) Baking Dates
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, Melted
INSTRUCTIONS:
THE DAY BEFORE:
In a large bowl, mix the semolina, flour, and sugar together until combined.
Slowly pour in the melted butter, half a cup at a time. Each time you add the butter you need to combine it with the dry ingredients by rubbing it with your hands. Imagine trying to remove sand from your hands. This technique is called 'besbis' in Arabic. You don't want to knead the dough because you will lose the texture of the semolina.
Continue adding the butter, half a cup at a time until all of the dry ingredients are coated with butter. Continue rubbing the grains of dough together for about 5-7 minutes. The texture will be soft but crumbly.
Set aside the prepared dough in the bowl and cover it to sit for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight.
THE NEXT DAY:
Place the yeast, sugar, salt, and lukewarm water in a glass cup. Stir the ingredients and cover the glass for about 8-10 minutes until the yeast has activated and the mixture has doubled in size.
To the prepared dough, add the yeast mixture, baking powder, and anise powder. Combine all of the ingredients really well using the same 'besbis' technique.
Once all the ingredients are mixed well, begin adding your milk 1/4 cup at a time. You may or may not use the entire cup, it all depends on how the dough holds. Rub the dough with your hands each time you add milk.
Lightly knead the dough with your hands to fully incorporate the ingredients so they can begin holding together. What you are looking for is a soft and mold-able dough that doesn't crack when you roll it into a small ball of dough. We ended up using 3/4 cups of milk this day - it all depends on the weather that day, the hold of the semolina, etc. so keep that in mind.
Begin rolling out your cookie dough into mini sized balls of dough. Each dough is about a heaping tablespoon size. Place the rolled out dough balls on a pan and cover them with a towel so the semolina doesn't dry out. You should end up with about 50-60 balls of dough.
In a separate medium bowl, add the dates, nutmeg, cinnamon, and butter. Mix the ingredients really well. You might need to use your hands because the dates are pretty sticky and tough to mix.
Once all the ingredients combined, roll the date mixture into heaping teaspoon-sized balls. Place them on a tray and set aside.
To create the cookie, take a ball of the semolina dough and flatten it in the center with your thumb. Take a date ball and add it to the center of the semolina dough. Wrap the semolina dough over the date ball so it's completely covered and roll the cookie dough back into a ball.
Using whatever decorating method you choose, press the dough into the mold and gently remove and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Allow the cookies to rest for an hour before baking.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake each tray of cookies for 13-15 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown and you begin to smell the anise fragrance break through. These cookies will burn fast so keep an eye on them.
Sprinkle the ma'amoul cookies with powdered sugar and enjoy!
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