I owe a great debt to my husband “Ramzi” who insisted that there should be a maamoul recipe that tastes just like the store-bought maamoul. The homemade maamoul tastes so good, but he loves the store-bought variety and believes that maamoul made from scratch has a different crumble texture!! Overtime, I had to make more than 20 maamoul recipes trying the right texture and flavor.
What is maamoul? A semolina shortbread Lebanese/ Middle Eastern cookie that is bound with clarified butter, orange blossom water and rose water and accented with mahlab (an aromatic white spice used in the Middle East for baked goods). The filling is usually either dates, pistachios or walnuts! The maamoul cookies are found in every Lebanese home during Eid and Easter holidays – they are rich, buttery and extremely indulgent!!
There are a number of possible ways to make maamoul! The ratio of the fine semolina to the coarse semolina identifies the end result. What changes did I make to achieve the desired flavor and consistency of a store-bought maamoul?
- 1-After much testing I had decided that the small amount of all-purpose flour makes a great addition to these cookies. It makes them crisper and sturdier without being tough
- 2-I had always used butter in making maamoul, but when maamoul was taste-tested with clarified butter, the result won hands down
- 3- I played with the ratio of fine and coarse semolina. I ended up with 1 kg./ 2 lb. 4 oz. fine semolina to 2/3 cup coarse semolina. This was a marked improvement.
- 4- Though clarified butter lends extra flavor to the maamoul, the small amount of oil used certainly provided a crispier texture. 5-The last issue was the sugar in the dough. After much testing, I found that adding sugar to the dough is not absolutely crucial.
- 5-The last issue was the sugar in the dough. After much testing, I found that adding sugar to the dough is not absolutely crucial.
You are going to love both the wonderful flavor and the crumbly texture of these cookies! Let me tell you that these taste even better than the store-bought stuff! Even my picky eater husband declared that these are a triumph!
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container! Consume them within 2-3 weeks!! Absolutely amazing!
Maamoul molds can be found at Middle Eastern specialty stores.
Here is the beautiful aromatic pistachio filling.
Divide the dough into equal balls, roughly the size of an apricot. Make a hole in the center of each ball, with your finger fill the hole with a teaspoon of the pistachio filling. Seal the hole patching the dough together and roll it into a ball.Transfer each stuffed ball into the mold, pressing it lightly in to level it up with the mold.Gently tap the mold on a countertop, converting it and the maamoul will come out. Place it on the cookie sheet, keep the maamoul 2cm/1 inch apart.
Dust with powdered sugar. Sublime!
Pistachio Maamoul/ Maamoul Bil Fistok
Description
Ingredients
- 1 kg/ 2 lb 4 oz. farina the very fine semolina
- 2/3 cup coarse semolina
- 11/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon mahlab
- 600 g. / 21 oz. butter to be clarified/ or alternatively use 500 grams/ 1 lb. 2 oz. of a quality ghee brand
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- ½ cup orange blossom water
- ½ cup rose water
For the filling:
- 11/2 cups raw pistachios
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons orange blossom water
- 1 cup powdered sugar to dust the maamoul after baking
Instructions
- Start by clarifying the butter: In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat; remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as it has melted. Set aside for 10 minutes. You will notice the milk solids fall to the bottom. Strain it through a wire sieve lined with several layers with cheesecloth. Pour the melted butter over the cheesecloth and get rid of the milk solids. Now you have the clarified butter. If you are using ghee, skip this step.
- Mix the farina and coarse semolina in a large bowl. Pour the clarified butter or ghee and knead with your hands to infuse all together. Cover with cling film and set aside (the semolina mix needs to rest for 6 hours)
- When 6 hours have passed on soaking the semolina mix, add the all-purpose flour, instant dry yeast, mahlab, canola oil, orange blossom water and rose water. Knead the sticky dough for a minute or until the dough is soft and silky. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave it to rest for 1 more hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling: place the raw pistachios in a food processor and pulse a few times to considerably grind them. Transfer to a bowl, add the sugar and orange blossom water, and mix well to fully incorporate. Set aside.
To put together:
- Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Place a rack in the center of the oven.
- After 1 hour, knead the dough again and divide it into equal balls, roughly the size of an apricot.
- Make a hole in the center of each ball.
- With your finger fill the hole with a teaspoon of the pistachio filling.
- Seal the hole patching the dough together and roll it into a ball.
- Transfer each stuffed ball into the mold, pressing it lightly in to level it up with the mold.
- Gently tap the mold on a countertop, converting it and the maamoul will come out.
- Place it on the cookie sheet, keep the maamoul 2cm/1 inch apart.
- Place the sheet in the middle rack of the oven and bake to a slight golden color, It takes about 12-15 minutes, you may need to rotate your maamoul sheet halfway through baking for even browning.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down, then dust with powdered sugar. How delicious!!
Video
Notes
If you make this recipe, share your pictures on Facebook! I would love to see your creations!Hashtag them #Hadia's Lebanese Cuisine
38 Comments
You have seriously outdone yourself here! The photos are sensational. Must try! Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you, Liindsay! I can`t wait to hear how they turned out! Have a lovely day!!
these look marvelous!
Wow! Looks fantastic! Oh,
Thank you Claudia! Xo xo!
Thank you Christine! Yes the mold yields good looking cookies, and they taste just as they look. Xo xo
Oh Hadia, what beautiful Maamoul! I can just imagine how wonderful they taste. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe, and for being a part of Hearth and Soul.
Thank you so much, April! These are insanely delicious!! Xo xo!!
These cookies look amazing! I love the beautiful cookie mold.
Thank you Ann! These are so scrumptious dear!! Xo xo!
Just baked these yesterday! They`re our new favorite cookies in our house. Fortunately, my Lebanese neighbor borrowed me her maamoul mold. Thank you for such an amazing recipe!
Jannet, that’s great to hear!
Delicious I have maaamoul mold, need to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Hadia, how can we do the maamoul with honey stuffing
Hi,
Do you weigh the butter after it’s melted? Can you use ghee? Do you weigh the ghee while it’s solid or liquid?
Thank you
Is that 1 1/2 cup pistachios with or without the shell?
Just wondering if you have a walnut filling recipe? I like to do both.
These look soooo good! WOW!
Des, the dough is ideal for both pistachios and walnuts! Leave the pistachios out and replace them with walnuts; use the same filling and technique to make walnut maamoul. Happy eating, Des!
What did I do wrong?
My dough is very crumbly and cracks anytime I try to shape it :/
I did see you used fine, and I have used coarse. Is that why? Must it be fine?
Hi
Can you help me with a recipe where I can try a smaller batch. Would love to try this but Im scared to use so many ingredients on the very first try. Thanks
Hi Hadia, this looks amazing. Can I start it the day before and let the dough rest overnight?
Hi Hadia,
How many maamoul does this receipe make?
Hi Nadia,
How does the semolina and butter mixture supposed to look and feel like? Grainy particles or a wet liquid mixed with the semolina? Is it supposed to feel like dough at this point?
Thank you for the recipe!
Don’t be intimidated by the “advanced” difficulty rating on this recipe. The hardest part was getting the cookie out of the mold! I read a tip to put saran wrap into the mold before putting the dough ball into the mold and it worked perfectly! The mold design was still visible and made for a much faster process.
I cut the recipe in half and it still made more than 2 dozen cookies. My husband said they are better than any he ever had in Syria or Lebanon! I made the walnut filling. Purchased my molds and all ingredients at my local Mediterranean foods market. I will definitely make these again!
I was looking for a maamoul recipe as I stumbled on this recipe. I made the filling with walnuts for Easter and came out crispy, my family devoured and loved them. Don’t waste your time searching the internet looking for best maamoul. I will never ho back to another recipe. Seriously heavenly. I was wondering if the recipe works for the date filling. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing! I have been searching online for the best maamoul recipe and this could be it! I have a question about the farina ingredient for the dough. I want to make sure that it is the same as the one below:
https://www.movehalal.com/products/ziyad-farina-16-ounce
Thank you again.
Hi Hadia! This is such a great recipe. I used it for date filling. Just curious why you didn’t put any salt in the batter. Have you tried this? Or is there a reason you didn’t add? So delicious either way and merci for sharing!