Holiday

Mamool

by:
July  5, 2016
4.5
2 Ratings
Mamool
Photo by Azhar Hashem
  • Makes many!
Author Notes

Growing up in the Levant, mamool—a semolina shortbread cookie filled with dates or nuts, like pistachios or walnuts—were always tied to religious festivals. What I love about mamool is that they're not specific to any religion: Around Easter or Lent, you'd visit with Christian friends and they'd serve them dusted with powdered sugar alongside coffee or tea. You may visit with Muslim friends for Eid and they'd have mamool to celebrate the end of Ramadan or pilgrimage months. And if you visit with Arab-Jewish friends, they'll serve them filled with nuts for Purim. —Azhar Hashem

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Mamool Dough
  • 3 cups fine semolina
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 250 to 300 grams butter or soft ghee; exact amount depends on the the how well the semolina absorbs it
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons mahlab (a spice that can be obtained from any Middle Eastern specialty shop)
  • 1/2 teaspoon mastic
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Filling
  • Date Filling
  • 1/2 cup pitted dates, puréed
  • 1 teaspoon mahlab
  • 2 teaspoons mamool specialty spices (1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground anise seeds, 1/2 tablespoon mahlab)
  • 50 grams butter
  • Pistachio or Walnut Filling
  • 1/2 cup pistachios or walnuts, well crushed
  • 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange or rose blossom water
Directions
  1. Make the filling first: For the date filling, combine all ingredients until a homogenous paste. For the nut filling, mix the nuts with sugar and blossom water until it forms a cohesive dough. Cover and set aside.
  2. In a bowl, place the semolina and the flour along with a pinch of salt, then add the warm butter or gee, and mix by running fingers through the semolina and making sure the butter is thoroughly mixed in. Avoid kneading. Cover and set aside for a few hours, allowing the butter to be absorbed by the flour.
  3. Add the mastic, the mahlab, milk, and sugar to the semolina mixture and mix thoroughly. Adjust sugar to taste.
  4. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water along with half a teaspoon of sugar and leave for 5 minutes, until bubbling.
  5. Gradually add the active yeast to the semolina mixture, ensuring gentle mixing with fingers, and not kneading. The dough should be cohesive. The semolina may not need the whole water amount, so add it gradually. Cover the dough and leave aside for 3 hours.
  6. To form the individual cookies, cut out a portion of the dough that is slightly smaller than the mamool mold. Spread the dough out in a thin layer in the palm of your hand and then place a small portion of the filling into the center of the dough. Wrap the dough around the filling and place in the mamool mold. Press the ball gently into the mold so that the dough fills it completely.
  7. Turn the mold upside down and gently tap it so that the dough loosens and drops into the palm of your hand. Place the cookie onto a baking sheet that can be covered while the other cookies are being formed to avoid drying. Make sure to leave an inch of space between the cookies to avoid having them stick to each other.
  8. Bake the cookies at 350° F and keep a close watch. As soon as the dough begins to turn reddish in color, then that’s an indication that they cookies are ready.
  9. Allow for it to cool down completely before removing from the pan to avoid crumbling. Serve by sprinkling powdered sugar on top.
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6 Reviews

Eva
Eva November 29, 2017
Mastic goes by many names...if you're searching online, try mastiha, masticha, xios or chios powder, arabic gum, Yemen gum, or tears of chios.It is sometimes sold in pharmacies as a health supplement. If you can only find it sold as chunks of resin or "tears," simply grind the chunks in a spice/coffee grinder, or smash it with a mortar and pestle. It helps to chill the resin chunks first in the fridge or freezer. Don't grind more than you need; the ground powder will clump up if you try to store it (if this happens it's not a disaster, simply re-grind or re-pulverize).
 
Taylor B.
Taylor B. November 13, 2016
Is the recipe calling for mastic powder? I can't seem to find this in the grocery store, so looking online, but I also see mastic gum.
 
Jeff P.
Jeff P. November 19, 2016
Hi Taylor,
I haven't made this myself, so I'm not sure of the answer. However, my favorite spice store, Kalustyans, does have "mastic" (in addition to mastic gum): http://kalustyans.com/?route=product/product&product_id=10423 ...let me know if you try it with that and how it works; this recipe looks interesting to try!

-Jeff
 
claudia
claudia September 22, 2016
Looks too complicated! I think I'll stick to purchasing a baker's dozen :)
 
Alicefive
Alicefive July 21, 2016
I have always bought these from bakeries but have to travel so far to get them. So happy to find a recipe. Now I can have a supply all the time! Maybe that's a bad thing☺️No, they have dates and dates are healthy. I am sticking to that story. Thanks so much.
 
S. M.
S. M. July 5, 2016
My grandmother makes these with dates. I love these cookies! Thanks for sharing.