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Home » recipe

Maamoul (Date filled) cookies

Published: May 19, 2020 · Modified: Aug 12, 2020 by Amira · This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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Maamoul are date filled cookies very that is so popular in the Middle East. Here is an authentic recipe with different fillings to choose from.
Total time 1 hour
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Maamoul cookies are known as the Arabic cookies with dates. Ma'amoul is very famous in the Middle East during religious holidays for both Muslims and Christians. Along with other middle eastern cookies like Kahk, these cookies are made in huge quantities during festive days to celebrate and share with neighbors and guests.

Mamoul cookie can be made with semolina, farina, plain flour or a combination. It can be filled with dates or nuts, but the most famous filling is the dates. In this tutorial I will show you how to make authentic maamoul, various traditional fillings and which flour to use.

cookies on a black metal serving plate with one maamoul on the top and cut in half to show date filling.

Ingredients

Maamoul first stage ingredients.

Ma'amoul is done in two stages separated by 8 hours or up to 3 days. In the first stage you'll need semolina, flour, ghee, a dash of salt (not pictured above), and mahlab powder for flavoring. I will get into the differences between flours, where to find mahlab powder, and substitutions for mahlab at the tips section of the post.

Maamoul second stage ingredients with maamoul filling.

In the second stage you'll need milk, yeast, dry milk, and simple syrup. You can make maamoul without yeast but it is recommended to use it. For the filling, it is more common to use date filling and it is the tastier in my opinion but I am giving you the other options as well using pistachios and walnuts.

How to make maamoul

steps for making maamoul
  1. In a deep bowl add flour, semolina, mahlab, and a dash of salt.
  2. Mix everything well together.
  3. Add the melted ghee over and mix with a spoon.
  4. Then mix with the palms of your hands for a couple of minutes to ensure that semolina grains are covered with ghee. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.
  5. Mix in the dry milk and yeast. Pour the sugar syrup and mix well.
  6. Add the milk little by little and lightly mix until you get a soft dough. Take a ball of the dough, roll in your hands to check if it forms nicely and softly without cracks. If you feel it is dry add little more milk. Cover and let it rest for one hour.
  7. Make the filling(s) that you are using by mixing the ingredients together until you are able to shape it into balls. Divide the maamoul into equal balls.
  8. Take each maamoul balls, flatten a but and wrap it around a ball of filling.
  9. Press it against a maamoul tool if you have it or simply make some decorations on the top using a fork. Bake as directed below.
sugar dusted cookies on a baking sheets with one cut in halves showing date filling.

Tips

  • What flour to use semolina, farina or all-purpose flour? Using farina made maamoul too crumbly for my taste, the same thing happened when I used all semolina. So I've decided part semolina, part flour is what goes best with my taste. Making the whole thing with just flour resulted in cookies that were more like kahk and IMHO did not stand out as a maamoul. The all flour version is known as flour maamoul while this recipe makes what is known as semolina maamoul.
  • Where to get mahlab and what to substitute? I've found mahlab in the Asian store!! which was a real surprise for me. It should be there in your Middle East store if you have one nearby, but mine was out of mahlab. Make sure to get the ground one as it is sold as a whole as well. If you do not have mahlab, you can crush some mastic with a teaspoon of sugar and use it. Use rose water, orange blossom water, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, or leave it out. It is not a big deal.
  • Ghee or butter in maamoul? You can use either and you can use a mix. Some make it with oil but I prefer the intense nutty flavor of ghee.
  • Some people make a huge batch like 15 pounds of maamoul dough (first stage) and keep it in the fridge for months. I do not recommend this as the first stage really isn't that hard for you to make ahead and keep for months. I prefer it fresh.
  • As a rule of thumb for making maamoul, the ratio of flour: ghee: filling is 1: ½: 1. Meaning if you use 1 pound of (semolina+A.P.flour) you'll need to use ½ pound of ghee and you'll need 1 pound of filling.
  • Sugar syrup used for this recipe is 1 cup of sugar + 1 cup of water with ½ teaspon of lime juice. Add any flavors you like to the syrup.
  • Some people use water instead of milk in maamoul, I haven't tried that.
  • Also I've seen people adding sugar to the maamoul dough starting from a couple of tablespoons and up to ½ cup. I love my maamoul light in sugar and you can always dust with powdered sugar to sweeten it more.
  • This recipe makes 24 maamoul. If you are using a maamoul wooden tool, you might want to increase/decrease the size depending on the size of your tool.
mamoul cookies on a black metal plate with some cups of tea and milk in the back.

Lightly sweet, buttery with a little semolina crunch, these are my type of maamoul. My husband liked the nut filling more while I like it more with dates, the authentic way or at least this is how I was introduced to maamoul back in the 90s.

If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.

cookies on a black metal serving plate with one maamoul on the top and cut in half to show date filling.

Maamoul

Maamoul are date filled cookies very that is so popular in the Middle East. Here is an authentic recipe with different fillings to choose from.
4.75 from 51 votes
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Middle East
Diet: Halal
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Resting Time:: 8 hours
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 249.5kcal
Author: Amira

Ingredients

For the first stage:

  • 2 cups (350g) semolina.
  • 1 cup (125g) all purpose flour.
  • ½ Tablespoon ground mahleb. Note1
  • A dash of salt.
  • 1 cup (250g) ghee. Note2

For the second stage:

  • 1 Tablespoon dry milk.
  • ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast.
  • 3 Tablespoon simple syrup. Note3
  • ¼-1/3 cup warm milk.

Date filling:

  • 1 cup (150g) dates.
  • 1 teaspoon ghee.
  • 1 Tablespoons cinnamon or rose water or orange blossom water.
  • 1 Tablespoon roasted sesame seeds.

Pistachio filling:

  • 1 ¼ cup (150g) pistachios.
  • ½ Tablespoon powder sugar.
  • 2 Tablespoons simple syrup.
  • ½ teaspoon ghee.

Walnut filling:

  • 1 ½ cup (150g) walnuts.
  • ½ Tablespoon powder sugar.
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
  • 2 Tablespoons simple syrup.
  • ½ teaspoon ghee.

Instructions

First stage

  • Melt ghee in microwave or stovetop but do not let it get too hot or boiling.
  • In a deep semolina, flour mahleb, salt and mix.
  • Pour in the melted ghee and mix well.
  • Use the palms of your hands and rub the semolina mixture for a couple of minutes.
  • Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.

Second stage:

  • Take the dough out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature to soften as it might harden in the refrigerator.
  • Add dry milk, yeast and mix well.
  • Mix in the syrup then add the milk little by little until you feel the dough is soft and rolls nicely into a ball.
  • Cover and let it rest for 1 hour.
  • Divide the dough into 24 balls.
  • Preheat oven to 350F

Make the fillings:

  • In your food processor combine the ingredients of each filling and process to desired texture. Note4
  • Divide the filling(s) into 24 balls.

Shape and bake maamoul:

  • With your thumb make a dent in each dough and fill with any of the stuffing suggested.
  • Close and roll into a ball. Press into a maamoul mold or flatten a bit and make some marks with a fork in a decorative way.
  • Bake on the middle rack for 10. Minutes then move up for another 7-10 minutes until top is lightly golden.
  • Let it cool down on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Notes

Note1: Mahleb powder is used to flavor the maamoul. It is a tradition to use it, but you can use crushed mastic, cinnamon or skip it.
Note2: You can use ghee, butter, oil or a combination.
Note3: Simple syrup is made by boiling 1 cup sugar + 1 cup water and ½ teaspoon of lime/lemon juice, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add vanilla, rose water, orange blossom water for flavor if desired. Let it cool completely before using in maamoul.
Note4: for pistachio and walnut filling some people like to finely process ¾ of the nuts leaving the rest roughly chopped for a chunkier filling. You can make the whole batch with any of the fillings above by tripling the amount of the desired filling.
Nutrition facts are calculated for the date filled maamoul.
Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.

Nutrition

Calories: 249.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 32.3g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 2.6mg | Potassium: 167.3mg | Fiber: 2.4g | Sugar: 16.8g
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About Amira

I’m overjoyed that you have stopped by! My hope is to introduce you to new flavors, creative ways and fresh takes on favorites. To help you create food with style that will bring everyone around your kitchen table. From weeknight dinners for crazy busy days to desserts with the “wow” factor, and classic comforts from the Mediterranean. One thing in common, they are all recipes that have been tried and tested by family and friends.

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Comments

  1. Kay Brignall

    April 30, 2022 at 6:00 am

    Instructions, Stage 1 Step 2. 'In a deep semolina'. I'm guessing that is "In a deep bowl add the semolina ......
    Look forward to receiving your newsletters and the recipes.

    Reply
    • Amira

      May 01, 2022 at 1:15 am

      Oops, thanks for spotting that and you are right :).

      Reply
      • Natalie

        November 14, 2022 at 7:07 pm

        If you use cinnamon instead of mahleb, do you still use a 1/2tbs? Seems a lot of cinnamon to me.

        Reply
        • Amira

          November 21, 2022 at 6:35 am

          Natalie, use it to your taste or leave it out. Thanks

          Reply
        • Natalie

          November 21, 2022 at 4:52 pm

          5 stars
          Fyi, it wasn't too much, it was absolutely delicious

          Reply
    • Ayesha

      November 16, 2022 at 1:07 am

      Hello, I tried this recipe few days ago and absolutely loved it!! I’m making it again today but this time I’m out of dry milk, can I leave it out ??

      Lastly thank you for the amazing recipe!

      Reply
      • Amira

        November 21, 2022 at 6:36 am

        Ayesha, you can safely leave it out as it makes the dough richer.

        Reply
  2. Bee

    April 15, 2022 at 8:30 pm

    5 stars
    Thankyou so much Amira, for this beautiful recipe. I have never tried to make mammoul before, neither have my parents. Every Ramadan they place an order with a local woman who makes and sells them within the community. My parents were so impressed, and I am so proud with how they turned out. I'm so happy, thank you!

    I kept second guessing myself because throughout the first stage the measurements that were listed looked too little in comparison to what you were adding in the video (did you double the recipe in the video?)

    l also I felt like my dough wasn't moist enough, so I had to add more ghee to compensate. In the second stage, I think my dough was too moist. So I had to add a bit more flour then let it rest and hoped I hadn't ruined it. So I felt like there were some inconsistencies with the measurements, I feel like it would be helpful to also have the weight- mls/grams of each ingredients to be added, as there is some differences in measuring cups/spoons that are used.

    Thank you so much again! Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family 🙂

    Reply
    • Amira

      April 25, 2022 at 11:13 pm

      Thank you so much Bee, I am happy that it worked for you. No actually the video was done with the exact measurements as the recipes stated. You are right, putting everything in grams would help a lot and I am trying to get into that habit.

      Reply
    • Regina Akel

      June 05, 2022 at 10:08 am

      Dear Amira and Bee, excuse me for meddling. The measurements can never be the same, exactly, as there are other factors that have influence on the dough. For instance, whether you live in a dry or humid region. The rest is up to you: to your eye and sense of touch. Practice is the best teacher. Make another batch soon. And then another.

      Reply
  3. Evana

    April 06, 2022 at 2:10 pm

    5 stars
    Hello I was wondering if I use fine semolina or the regular one ? Thank you again

    Reply
    • Amira

      April 11, 2022 at 3:29 am

      Evana, here we use the fine one. Hope this helps.

      Reply
  4. Evana

    April 06, 2022 at 8:31 am

    Hi is this fine semolina ?

    Reply
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I send warm greetings from sunny Colorado. This blog combines weeknight dinners for crazy busy days to desserts with the “wow” factor, and classic comforts from the Mediterranean.
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