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Maamoul

Maamoul

Maamoul (Ma'amoul, ma3moul) is a lebanese delicacy baked on Easter. It is a semolina based sweet filled with either pistachios, walnuts or dates. We show you here how to do them from scratch.
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Prep Time 15 hours
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 15 hours 12 minutes
Course Baking, Dessert
Cuisine Lebanese
Servings 1 kg
Calories 200 kcal

Equipment

  • 3 Maamoul Molds
  • 1 Blender
  • 4 Mixing Bowls
  • 1 Pair of Food Safe Gloves
  • 3 Baking Trays
  • 3 Cooking Sheets

Ingredients
  

Maamoul Dough (for 1 kilogram)

  • 650 grams Coarse Semolina Wheat
  • 350 grams Fine Semolina Wheat
  • 500 grams Butter
  • 250-300 mL Orange Blossom Water
  • 250-300 mL Rose Blossom Water
  • 1 tsp Mahleb Ground
  • 1 bag Mastic Crushed
  • 7 tbsp Sugar

Pistachios Filling (for a total of ⅓ of 1 kg)

  • 300 grams Pistachios Crushed
  • 3 tsp Orange Blossom Water
  • 3 tsp Rose Blossom Water
  • 2 tbsp Sugar

Walnuts Filling (for a total of ⅓ of 1 kg)

  • 300 grams Walnuts Crushed
  • 3 tsp Orange Blossom Water
  • 3 tsp Rose Blossom Water
  • 2 tbsp Sugar

Dates Filling (for a total of ⅓ of 1 kg)

  • 300 grams Dates
  • 3 tsp Orange Blossom Water
  • 3 tsp Rose Blossom Water
  • 20 grams Butter

Decoration

  • 1 cup Powdered Sugar

Instructions
 

Maamoul Dough

  • Start by placing all the butter in a bowl and melt it in the microwave and let it cool at room temperature.
    500 grams Butter
  • In a mixing bowl add the coarse and fine semolina together and using the food safe gloves, mix with your hand.
    650 grams Coarse Semolina, 350 grams Fine Semolina
  • Create a hole in the middle and pour the melted butter.
  • Mix everything together gently by bringing the semolina at the bottom, and mixing it with the butter in a wave like motion (bringing from bottom to top)
  • Once well blended, cover with a tissue and let it rest for 12 hours. There is no need to place it in the fridge
  • Now that the semolina-butter mixture has rested, add the sugar, crushed mastic and ground mahleb, followed by the orange and rose blossom water. Be careful to add the orange and rose blossom water PROGRESSIVELY.
    250-300 mL Orange Blossom Water, 250-300 mL Rose Blossom Water, 1 tsp Mahleb, 1 bag Mastic, 7 tbsp Sugar
  • Everytime you add a small quantity of orange and rose blossom water, mix everything together in a wave like motion.
  • The indicator that your dough does not require more orange and rose blossom water is the obtained texture. You should be able to form pieces of dough that remain sticked together.
    You might thus need less than 250 mL of orange and rose blossom water or more . This depends on the nature of the semolina you are using.
  • Let the maamoul dough rest for 30 mins.

Pistachios Filling

  • In a small mixing bowl, add the crushed pistachios, orange, rose blossom water and sugar. Using a spoon mix everything well together.
    300 grams Pistachios, 3 tsp Orange Blossom Water, 3 tsp Rose Blossom Water, 2 tbsp Sugar

Walnuts Filling

  • In a small mixing bowl, add the crushed walnuts, orange, rose blossom water and sugar. Using a spoon mix everything well together.
    300 grams Walnuts, 3 tsp Orange Blossom Water, 3 tsp Rose Blossom Water, 2 tbsp Sugar

Dates Filling

  • Using a blender, add the dates (without their kernel), the orange and rose blossom water, and the butter. Mix everything well together until well blended. Add the result mixture in a separate mixing bowl.
    300 grams Dates, 3 tsp Orange Blossom Water, 3 tsp Rose Blossom Water, 20 grams Butter

Maamoul Shaping

  • Using the food safe gloves, take a piece of maamoul dough with your fingers and form a small ball. It should be big enough for the mold to apply the shape but not bigger.
  • Once the ball is formed, start digging using your finger to create a cavity. If you want a maamoul with a lot of filling, you will have to dig as much as possible but be careful, if the external layer becomes too thin, it will not hold together during baking.
  • Add any of the filling in the cavity, and close it back on itself.
  • Use a separate mold for each filling to recognize them apart. Use the appropriate mold for the filling you are stuffing and apply it to the filled dough piece to give it a shape.
  • Place it on a baking sheet on a baking tray and repeat this process for all the remaining dough.
  • If while working you feel that the dough is crumbling and not holding together, add a little bit of orange and rose blossom water to the dough and give it a gentle mix with your hands.

Maamoul Baking and Decorating

  • Preheat your oven at 200℃ (392℉) with convection on for 10 minutes then lower to 180℃ (356℃) and bake each tray for about 8 to 10 mins, until prebaked maamoul the become lightly golden
  • Place them on a cooling grid and after a couple of minutes, add powdered sugar in a strainer and sprinkle the pistachios and walnuts maamouls.
    1 cup Powdered Sugar
  • Once baked the maamouls should cool for at least an hour before being tasted.

Notes

Our Cooking Hints

  • You can replace butter with animal ghee or do a half-half mixture
  • Maamoul taste even better the next day
  • They are best preserved in plastic like compartment, similar to cakes
  • You can freeze prebaked maamoul and bake them whenever you want after defrosting
Keyword ma3moul, maamoul