Lebanese Pistachio Maamoul Cookies

Name: Lebanese Pistachio Maamoul Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 20 cupcakes
Ingredients: 250 g semolina; 100 g plain flour; 150 g butter; 60 g powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 2 teaspoons rose water; 150 g pistachios; 50 g sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon rose water; 30 g powdered sugar

Eduard LáskaSweetLebanese Cuisine x se líbilo

Maamoul are festive cookies from across the Middle East, filled with dates, nuts or pistachios. The delicate semolina dough smells of rose water and melts on the tongue. A filling of ground pistachios with cinnamon hides inside, and the surface is stamped with a wooden mould pattern. They bake pale so they stay tender, then get rolled in powdered sugar. They are served with coffee or mint tea, especially on holidays.

Příprava: 30min

Vaření: 20min

CELKOVÝ ČAS: 50min

Step by step process

Making the Dough and Filling

1
Maamoul starts with a semolina dough. Mix the semolina with plain flour and powdered sugar in a bowl. Add softened butter cut into cubes and work with your hands until crumbly.
2
Add baking powder and rose water. Knead into a soft, pliable dough that does not stick to your hands. Wrap in cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
3
Meanwhile prepare the filling. Finely chop the pistachios with a knife or in a food processor and mix with sugar, cinnamon and rose water. The filling should be moist and hold together so it can be shaped.

Shaping and Baking the Cookies

4
Preheat the oven to 170 °C. Take a piece of dough, about 35 g, form a ball and press a deep hollow with your thumb. Add a teaspoon of filling and close the dough around it. Smooth the surface so the filling is hidden.
5
Arrange the cookies on a lined baking sheet. Decorate each one with a fork pattern or a wooden mould. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 170 °C, they should stay pale, only lightly golden underneath.
6
Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack, they are fragile when warm and break easily. Once cooled, roll them in powdered sugar sifted through a fine sieve.