It only took four years of being with my husband to finally try my hand at Lebanese cuisine in our kitchen. (It also took about 1.5 years to make these Lebanese cookies after being inspired by the book Middle Eastern Sweets at a gift shop in New York).
Ma'amoul are filled cookies that are pressed into a mold to create a decoratively patterned cookie. They are usually filled with nuts or dates and the shape of the mold determines the type of filling.
I opted to make a pistachio filling and used store bought date paste. The pistachio filled cookies are traditionally in an oval shaped mold while the date filled ones are in a circular, flat topped mold (I only had a circular domed mold).
The Recipe: Ma'amoul from The New York Times and also used this Youtube video from Emmy Made to help me assemble the cookies (I found it easier not to use plastic wrap inside the molds but rather oiled them).
The Results: These were a little labor intensive but an enjoyable new baking adventure. The flavor from the orange blossom made them a little on the perfumey side but not in a soapy way. I preferred the date filling, as did my friends.
On a side note: I had never used semolina, orange blossom water or mahlab but all were conveniently at a local Mediterranean Market. After scouring other Ma'amoul recipes online, it seems like the two different kinds of semolina and the yeast are fairly unnecessary---so I'm looking forward to an easier recipe in the future!
Post a Comment