Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 2 cups fine semolina
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mahlab
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (8 oz)
• 1/4 cup whole milk, warm
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
• 1 teaspoon rose water
• 1 1/2 cups pitted dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, for the filling
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Stir the semolina, flour, sugar, mahlab, and salt together in a large bowl. Pour in the melted butter and rub it in with your fingertips until every grain is coated and the mixture looks like wet sand.
2. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or overnight, so the semolina can absorb the butter.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling: put the chopped dates in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water and cook over low heat, mashing with a spoon, for 3 to 4 minutes until soft and paste-like. Stir in the walnuts, cinnamon, and softened butter, then cool completely and roll into 24 small balls about 1 teaspoon each.
4. Add the warm milk, orange blossom water, and rose water to the rested dough and knead briefly, just until it comes together into a soft, pliable dough. If it feels dry, add milk a teaspoon at a time.
5. Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Take a walnut-sized piece of dough (about 1 oz), flatten it into a small disc in your palm, place a date ball in the center, and fold the dough up and around it, pinching to seal.
7. Press the filled ball into a maamoul mold if you have one and tap it out sharply onto the sheet, or shape it into a small dome and press a pattern into the top with the tines of a fork.
8. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart.
9. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the bottoms are just barely golden; the tops should stay pale. Do not let them brown.
10. Cool completely on the sheets, then dust lightly with confectioners' sugar before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Total: 1 hr 45 mins

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data