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.
Ingredients you'll need
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.
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 tastier, in my opinion, but I am giving you the other options as well, using pistachios and walnuts.
Step by step: instructions
- In a deep bowl add flour, semolina, mahlab, and a dash of salt.
- Mix everything well together.
- Add the melted ghee over and mix with a spoon.
- 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.
- Mix in the dry milk and yeast. Pour the sugar syrup and mix well.
- 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.
- 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.
- Take each maamoul balls, flatten a but and wrap it around a ball of filling.
- 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.
Let's make the perfect recipe: Amira's 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.
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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.
Have you ever tried Maamoul cookies before, I would love to know which filling you liked more. Let me know in the comments below.
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating! Thank you.
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.
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Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 249.5kcal
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.
Video
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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Mark
They taste great. I made both the date and pistachio filling. The pistachio filling was very dry and crumbly and I could not form it into balls. Should I add more ghee or do you have another suggestion?
Amira
Hello Mark, if it is too crumbly I am thinking that you need to add more simple syrup or honey to make it stick together. Let me know if this worked for you. Thanks
Dan
Just like my family’s ones in Lebanon! 🙂
Amy J
Me and my MIL made these over the weekend and they came out beautiful. We all liked them even my Lebanese FIL who is very hard to please. You recipes always impress and easy to follow.
Christine Awad
These were so delicious. I liked the date filling while my husband's favorite was the walnut. Thank you so much for this recipe. Happy Eid
Faatwimah
Made this 2 years ago for Eid, the best maamouls I have ever had 🙂
Just a quick question, can the complete dough (first and second stages mixed together) be prepared say 3 days ahead and then baked all at once? How much dough (say measured by a tablespoon) do you have per ball? Also, for how long after this can I store them? As I plan on baking those 1 week before Eid.
Thank you 🙂
Amira
Faatwimah, thank you so much for your comment, I am glad you liked the recipe. For the complete dough, although I haven't tried that but I do not recommend making the whole dough and keeping it in the fridge for 3 days. I also think each ball is about 2-3 tablespoons. They can keep in an airtight container on your counter for up two weeks or you can refrigerate for longer. I hope this helps. Happy Eid.
MARTHA
I've done both but which do you prefer as far as raw pistachios or the roasted pistachios, I was a little concerned with the salt content in the latter...
Cindy
I just made these for the first time and they are delicious! I will definitely make these again!
Iman
Hi Amira, I’ve been wanting to make maamoul cookies for a very long time until recently I read your recipe and decided to give it a go. To my surprise, the cookies turned out gorgeous and so much better than those bought ones!! I used butter instead of ghee and made it accordingly as per recipe. The cookies were delicious, buttery and just the right sweetness. The date filled one is my favourite. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe Amira.
Alan
Could you let us know what brand of semolina that you use in this recipe? Or give us a Link.
Thank you.
Amira
Alan, you can use pretty much any brand, I usually use Mid East brand which I find at the ME grocery stores.
J
Excellent post and write up about making maamoul! I LOVED the date filling. I thought I would like the pistachio more, but the texture of the date filling went so well with the cookie! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
livro manual da mulher sabia
Thank you for providing these details. 98713009
Layla
I am preparing to make these! Do you use whole milk powder or skim milk powder?
I can't wait to try all of your recipes.
Amira
I used whole milk powder, this is what is most common in the Middle East.
Layla
Made these today. I ad low-fat milf powder so that's what I used. I ordered mahaleb and the other ingredients on Amazon through your links. The aroma and flavor are out of this world. I had two, right out of the oven. I want to eat them all! My only problem is they are very delicate and crumbly. Perhaps they will not fall apart once they cool? Did I make them too soft?
Layla
Oops! Sorry for typos!!!!
Layla
Amira, now that they are cooled they are not crumbly. They are perfect!!! Thank you for this recipe. I used to buy them in Brooklyn Heights at Sahadi's but these are much better!!!
Nancy
I do so enjoy your recipes..I have not as yet made this but copied it for my Christmas cookie bake-off this year-- I always try out a few new recipes!! I am fortunate to live near ( 20 miles) a store that carries many, many foods from all over the world. Happiest of fall/winter holidays to you and yours!!
Grace
When I clarify butter I make 10 lbs at a time. Can the milk solids be used for anything? How do you discard the solids?
Amira
Grace, in Egypt we usually add some salt to it and spread it on bread or use it in cooking or making eggs. Some people easy it with dates as well. I've found this blog post talking about other ways to use it. I hope this helps.
baklau
I followed this recipe step by step but I feel like i was mislead with the oven temperature. after 10 minutes at 350 F my mamouls didn't work and now I slightly burnt my mamouls. I hope the sugar coating can cover it. my partner is iraqi so I wanted to surprise him with this. I hope he likes it!
Amira
Baklau, I do not get it. So you're saying that the maamoul was burnt after 10 minutes in the oven?!
Domhnall Seaghdh
I first had ma’moul when I was living in Iran in the 1970s, I believe breaking fasts during Ramazan and at weddings. Thank you for your recipe. I had no idea how involved it is to produce these delighteful, tasty confections and i look forward to making them.
Fatima
What can I do if I have put too much ghee in my recipe of maamool plz
Amira
Try adding more semolina and see if this helps.
Silvia
Pretty good but next I will use less semolina
Shab
Thank you so much for the lovely and amazing recipe, unfortunately, mine came really dey could you please elaborate on what might have gone wrong?
Looking forward to hearing
Thanks
Chris
I made this and they were by far the best ones! Thank you for sharing, although I was a bit confused as if it’s fine semolina or coarse??? I used coarse coz that’s what I had at home and it came out perfect!!!!
Nancy
I tried your recipe and it turned out really well and looked professional. I will make them again for Easter.
Kay Brignall
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.
Amira
Oops, thanks for spotting that and you are right :).
Natalie
If you use cinnamon instead of mahleb, do you still use a 1/2tbs? Seems a lot of cinnamon to me.
Amira
Natalie, use it to your taste or leave it out. Thanks
Natalie
Fyi, it wasn't too much, it was absolutely delicious
Ayesha
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!
Amira
Ayesha, you can safely leave it out as it makes the dough richer.
Bee
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 🙂
Amira
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.
Regina Akel
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.
Rebecca
Thanks for this tip about the extra flour. My dough was sticky and didn't know how to correct till I saw your comment.
Evana
Hello I was wondering if I use fine semolina or the regular one ? Thank you again
Amira
Evana, here we use the fine one. Hope this helps.
Evana
Hi is this fine semolina ?
Halima
Assalamualykum,
The recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it :)))
I have a few questions though …
for the simple syrup, can it be refrigerated? - I’m planning to use half of this recipe on one day ,and the other half on another .
Amira
Yes you can make the simple syrup and refrigerate for sure.
Aliyah
Assalamoualaikum Amirah,your recipe is easy to follow thank you for showing us how to make mamoul biscuits,i just love Moroccan dishes.would love to learn other recipes too
Thank you
Aliyah
Maureen
Hi Amira,
Thanks for sharing your recipe with everyone, appreciate it.
Question please , I’ve heard that using yeast in maamoul can ruin the shape of the maamoul , what’s your opinion? I’ve seen recipes that don’t use yeast , what’s the difference? Thank you
Regards
Maureen
Amira
Maureen, I've used yeast in this recipe with no problems, so maybe it depends on the amount as I am using very little here. These kinds of cookies do not need yeast as we do not want it to proof like breads and such, but in my opinion the addition of this little amount gives it a special bakery smell. If you do not want to add the yeast then don't, it works both ways.
Bee
Hi Amira, Ramadan Mubarak! I hope to make these soon, for my first time making mammoul. I was wondering if the dry powderedmilk is necessary, or if actual liquid milk can be used in it's place? And if so, how much? Thank you
Amira
You can leave it out Bee.
Cynthia Olivier Malcon
Doesn't have sugar the cookies?
Amira
The sugar is in the filling and lightly in the dough, also it is dusted with powdered sugar. I hope this answers your questions Cynthis.
cy
Thanks for sharing! Can't the first stage dough sit outside at room temperature, instead of in the fridge? I mean ghee last for months at room temperature as are the other ingredients (of the first stage). Also, the dough doesn't contain any moisture so there shouldn't be any worries of spoilage. Back in the old days when there was no refrigeration, I'm thinking the 1st-stage dough was sitting for days outside....
Amira
If your kitchen is not too hot, I believe you can. Why not?!
Babsie
Would love to bake it in South Africa. It is delicious
Amira
Let me know how it went with you Babsie.
Patricia Lauterborn
I missed getting your weekly posts.. Hope you and your family are all well and got through the pandemic safely. Glad you are back posting. I make almost all of your recipes, as my roommate is from Egypt. thanks again, Patricia Lauterborn
Amira
Thank you so much Patricia for checking in, actually I haven;t stopped sending emails! I wonder what went wrong?
Gigi
Came out amazing and soft! Great recipe!
Amira
Thank you Gigi for your feedback, glad you liked it.
Ayesha
I made these cookies and they are absolutely delicious! Definitely a cookie I will make many more times. They are time consuming to make but well worth the effort! Thanks for sharing this recipe Amira’s Pastries!
Amira
Thank you Ayesha for your feedback, happy you liked it.
Yusra
Hi, when can I add rose water and orange blossom water in this recipe?
Susan Boutilier
Precise and very helpful!!
Amira
Thank you Susan, glad you liked it.
Helen
From were can I buy the mammoul mould?Helen
Amira
Helen, if you have a nearby Middle Eastern store it might be there or else you can find it on amazon. IF all fails, just form it into a ball then use a fork to make a pattern like I did here in the kahk recipe.
AG
If you are not in a rush you can purchase from Aliexpress
Natalie Haileman
You can buy mamoul molds from this shop:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/163360030/wooden-maamoul-mamoulcookie-mould
it is amazing and reasonable price
Suzie
Happy Eid!
Amira
Thank you ❤️
Beck
I've made them all with dates as this is my fav. they turned out very good.
Amira
Oh Beck, thank you so much for your feedback. Glad you liked it.
John / Kitchen Riffs
I've had these, but never made them. Now that I have your recipe, I can. Thanks!
Amira
I hope you'll like it John, thanks.