Apr     23

Mediterranean Stuffed Walnut Easter Cookie – Ma’amoul

Dessert, Recipe

Ma’amoul is another holiday treat! It is a VERY tasty shortbread pastry that is filled with walnuts, dates, almonds, pistachios or other fillings. I used walnuts because that is my favorite 🙂 These cookies are most popular in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and throughout the Levant.  They can be made by hand or in a special wood mould which helps give it different shapes. I made mine by hand, but I love using the mould to provide a more artistic shortbread cookie. 

Ma’amoul is kept in many homes throughout the year, but they are particularly popular during religious times. Arab-Christians eat them at Easter, Arab-Muslims eat them during Ramadan and Arab- Jews eat them during Purim, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah.
Makes: 12

Ingredients:

Dough

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup semolina
  • 2 sticks salted butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts (pistachios, walnuts, or almonds)
  • 1/2 cup milk

Filling

  • 1 cup ground walnuts
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Extra
  • vegetable oil
  • powdered sugar for dusting

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Combine flour, semolina, baking powder and allspice into a mixing bowl. Mix well.
 
 
 
 
3. Melt the butter and add to the flour/semolina mixture.
 
4. Add in milk and orange blossom water. Mix well.
 
5. Roll dough into 12 pieces. They should be the shape of balls a little smaller than a golf ball.  Place onto a non-stick baking sheet. You can use a little vegetable oil to help form the balls and make sure they are smooth. This will keep dough from drying also.
 
 
6. In a smaller bowl, combine the filling ingredients.  Crush walnuts until they are fine.
 
7. Push a circle into your dough or add it to the mould. 
 
 
8. Place about 1 teaspoon of filling mixture on top of dough.
 
9. Fold and press dough together to seal the filling.
 

10. Repeat. 

11. Bake for ~20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies and let them cool completely. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cookies.

 
12. Enjoy!

14 Responses to “Mediterranean Stuffed Walnut Easter Cookie – Ma’amoul”

  1. Mom Says:
    April 23rd, 2011 at 7:13 am

    Happy Easter to you and your loved ones! Those look beautiful and i am sure they are very tastey…sahtain and enjoy the holiday.

  2. Jill Colonna Says:
    April 23rd, 2011 at 8:42 am

    Enjoyed your post about ma’amoul and traditions. I’m sitting here tucking into a Hot Cross Bun and suddenly it’s not so glamorous as I thought! I’d love to try your ma’amoul since I adore nuts and orange blossom water/semolina sounds absolutely delicious!

  3. Crystal Says:
    April 23rd, 2011 at 8:57 am

    These look awesome! Did you use a cookie cutter to get the shape? Happy Easter Suzy!

  4. rebecca Says:
    April 23rd, 2011 at 10:47 am

    wow this looks great for my afternoon tea yum

  5. cakewhiz Says:
    April 23rd, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    omg suzy! i love these cookies though i didn’t know they were called maamouls. good to know their name now 🙂
    i have also had ones that are filed with crushed dates….are they also called maamouls?

    btw, happy easter 🙂

  6. Angela Says:
    April 24th, 2011 at 10:32 am

    Lovely. How fantastic to have a food tradition shared by so many religions.

  7. Tiffany Says:
    April 24th, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Just gorgeous!

  8. Wendy Irene Says:
    April 24th, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    I love the beautiful designs in those cookies!! Happy Easter 🙂

  9. Suzy Eats Says:
    April 24th, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    Thanks Summer!!! Hope you had a great day 🙂

  10. Suzy Eats Says:
    April 24th, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    Hi Crystal. Yes there is actually a ma’amoul mould that I used. Hope you had a great Easter!

  11. Suzy Eats Says:
    April 24th, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    hey abeer. yes the ones with dates are also called maamouls. they are very yummy too 🙂

  12. Mary Says:
    April 25th, 2011 at 7:30 am

    These look really wonderful. I’ve never made them but I have an adventurous soul. This is my first visit to your blog and I’ve spent some time browsing through your earlier entries. I’m so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you feature here and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary

  13. sarah Says:
    April 25th, 2011 at 9:34 pm

    Lovely! Looks like they turned out wonderfully!

  14. Claudie Says:
    April 26th, 2011 at 9:07 am

    Those look delicious and beautiful!! I really like the cuisine from this region, so I’ll try them this weekend 🙂 thanks for sharing!