These apple maamoul are just about the most adorable treats I’ve ever had and remarkably, they are a cross between maamoul and apple pie cookie, they’re a perfect treat when you want something out of the box.
These maamoul cookies are all about apples; if you love maamoul and apples, you’re in for a real treat.
I’ve baked tons of maamoul recipes over years, here on our blog we have two classic popular recipes: One date maamoul and another pistachio maamoul that readers loved; but today we are taking the maamoul to another level, apple and cinnamon is a flavor combination that I love and I bet you agree with me, the warming flavors of cinnamon perfectly compliment the crisp tartness of the apples, and adding walnuts provide the combo with a favored nutty bite, the result with the maamoul dough exceeded my expectations.
Tips and tricks
- Apples: I think most apple types will work here in this recipe, you can change up the flavors a bit by combining sweet and tart apples.
- When you cook the apple filling, make sure the liquid in the skillet has dried out before removing from heat.
- Ghee should be at room temperature, don’t be tempted to melt it.
- Walnuts: preferably, use light walnuts as they are usually have a mild, buttery flavor with a subtle sweetness.
- When making the dough start with 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, that might be enough, Yes, some all-purpose flours require more water than others, due to the differences in protein content.
- Bake the apple maamoul sheet on the upper third rack, yes direct exposition to heat simply because we need to keep the beautiful decorative patterns of maamoul.
- Bake the maamoul in a preheated oven to 200°C / 400°F, yes the heat should be high to prevent them from getting hard after cooling, once the maamoul put on a light color remove them from heat.
Apple Filling:
Peel, core and shred the apples. Transfer to a skillet, add the sugar, cinnamon powder and nutmeg and stir over medium heat for about 12 minutes, allowing the apples to cook and considerably dry out. Remove from heat and set aside to completely cool down, add the chopped walnuts and stir well together.
Dough:
In a large bowl, combine together the oil and ghee, sugar, powdered milk, water, vanilla extract, orange blossom water, whisk well to homogenize until you obtain a creamy texture, add the mahlab, baking powder and farina, mix gently and add the all-purpose flour in a gradual fashion, gently mix everything together until you end up with a malleable and pliable dough. Cover and set aside for 1 hour.
To put together:
To shape the apple maamoul: Divide the dough into small balls roughly the size of an apricot, create a hole in the ball, using your finger and put a heaped teaspoon of the apple filling in each ball, seal the hole patching the dough together and roll it into a ball. Transfer the stuffed balls, one at a time, into the wooden mold, pressing it lightly in to level it up. Gently tap the mold on a countertop, converting it and the maamoul will come out. Transfer the maamoul onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake the apple maamoul:
Serve the apple maamoul
Can you freeze apple maamoul?
Absolutely yes, transfer them to an airtight container before dusting with powdered sugar and freeze for up to three months. Thaw them at room temperature and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
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Apple Maamoul
Description
Equipment
- A wooden maamoul mold
- Oven sheet
Instructions
For the dough:
- 1 cup sunflower oil
- 1 cup ghee, room temperature
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 cup full cream powdered milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup orange blossom water
- 1 teaspoon mahlab, optional
- 3 cups farina, called in Arabic theen farkha
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, start with 2 1/2 cups and add as needed
- 1 leveled tablespoon baking powder
For the apple filling:
- 1 kgs/ 2 lb 4 oz apples, any yellow apple variety
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Directions:
- For the apple filling: Peel, core and shredd the apples. Transfer to a skillet, add the sugar, cinnamon powder and nutmeg and stir over medium heat for about 12 minutes, allowing the apples to cook and considerably dry out. Remove from heat and set aside to completely cool down, add the chopped walnuts and stir well together.
- To make the maamoul dough: In a large bowl, combine together the oil and ghee, powdered sugar, powdered milk, water, vanilla extract, orange blossom water, whisk well to homogenize until you obtain a creamy texture, add the mahlab, baking powder and farina, mix gently and add the all-purpose flour in a gradual fashion, gently mix everything together until you end up with a malleable and pliable dough. Cover and set aside for 1 hour.
- To shape the apple maamoul: Divide the dough into small balls roughly the size of an apricot, create a hole in the ball, using your finger and put a heaped teaspoon of the apple filling in each ball, seal the hole patching the dough together and roll it into a ball. Transfer the stuffed balls, one at a time, into the wooden mold, pressing it lightly in to level it up. Gently tap the mold on a countertop, converting it and the maamoul will come out. Transfer the apple maamoul to an oven sheet lined with aparchment paper.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper,
- Preheat oven to 200°C/ 400 °F.
- Bake the apple maamoul sheet on the upper third rack, simply because we need to keep the beautiful patterns of maamoul, and beware the maamoul bakes quickly and needs slight browning, bake about 10 minutes, but keep a close eye on them to prevent them from burning due to the amount of heat at the top. You may need to bake the maamoul on the lower wrack for a few minutes if the back of the maamoul is still undercooked.
- Remove from the oven, leave them to cool down, dust with powdered sugar and serve with a cup of tea or coffee, how festive.
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