Maamoul are Middle Eastern shortbread cookies stuffed with a date, ginger and orange paste, then buried under a heavy dusting of powdered sugar. That makes them a different cookie for a Christmas tray or a cookie exchange, since nobody else on the table brings them. Makes 20 cookies.
Pat each ball into a round about two and three quarter inches across before the filling goes in. Drop a rounded teaspoon in the middle, draw the edges up and pinch them shut. Roll the whole thing smooth again, because any gap splits open in the oven.
The page lists three fillings and never tells you to pick one. Date and orange, hazelnut and apricot, walnut and quince, each enough for the whole batch of 20. Choose one, or make a third of each and have three flavors.
Maamoul Stuffed Date Orange Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: Middle EasternDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA soft, barely sweet butter dough wrapped around a thick date and ginger paste, sealed into balls and baked pale. Each cookie is dusted with powdered sugar twice, once hot and once cold.
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, plus 1/2 cup more for dusting
Pinch fine salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), plus 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola
- Date and Orange Filling, pick one of the three:
1/2 pound pitted soft Medjool dates
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Pinch fine salt
- Or Hazelnut and Apricot Filling:
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons apricot jam
Pinch fine salt
- Or Walnut and Quince Filling:
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup quince jam
Pinch fine salt
Directions
- Make your filling: Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Puree the ingredients for whichever filling you chose in a food processor until evenly combined, 1 to 2 minutes, then set it aside and clean the bowl. Each of the three fillings makes enough for all 20 cookies, so you only need one.
- Make the dough: Pulse the flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar and the salt 3 or 4 times in the processor. Add the butter, milk and oil and pulse only until the dough just comes together. It will be slightly wet, and overworking it makes the cookies tough.
- Fill and seal: Roll the dough into 20 even balls. Press each one in your palm into a round about 2 3/4 inches across, put a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center, then draw the edges up and pinch them closed. Roll it smooth between your palms again and press it down slightly, seam side down, on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake pale: Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the cookies are firm and slightly puffed, the tops still pale and the bottoms only just turning gold. Pale is the point here, since they go under white sugar.
- Dust twice: Dust the cookies generously with confectioners sugar while they are still warm, let them cool completely, then dust them again. The first coat melts in and the second one stays white.
Notes
- The original lists three fillings without saying to choose one, and each makes enough for all 20 cookies. The 217 calorie figure on the original appears to count all three fillings, so one filling comes to about 175 a cookie. Half a cup of sugar covers both dustings.
FAQs
Which filling should I pick?
Date and orange is the traditional one and the one the title names, so start there. Hazelnut with apricot jam is the mildest and the easiest sell to children. Walnut and quince is the most old fashioned and the hardest to shop for.
Do I need a maamoul mold?
Traditional maamoul are pressed in a carved wooden mold that stamps a pattern on top, and this version skips it entirely. You roll balls and flatten them slightly instead. A mold is lovely if you own one, but nothing about the recipe needs it.
How much powdered sugar do I need for dusting?
The list says half a cup to two cups, which is an enormous range for twenty cookies. Half a cup covers both dustings with room to spare. You dust once while they are warm and again once cool, and that second coat is what stays white.
Where do I find quince jam?
Middle Eastern and Spanish grocers carry it, and quince paste sliced thin and warmed works the same way. Apricot or fig jam is the easiest substitute at a regular supermarket. The same thinking applies to the jam in these brown butter thumbprints.
How long do they keep?
Two weeks in an airtight tin, which is long for a Christmas cookie. The dough is low in sugar and the filling keeps it moist. Re-dust them before serving if the sugar has soaked in, the way you would these almond snowball cookies.
