Assorted Eid Maamoul Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup ghee
• 1 cup soft butter
• 3 cups coarse semolina
• 4 cups fine semolina
• 1/2 cup powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon mahleb (ground cherry pit)
• 1 cup orange blossom water
• 1/2 cup rose water
• Fillings:
• 1 1/2 cups ground walnuts or pistachios + 1/3 cup sugar syrup (qatr) + a splash of rose water or orange blossom water
• or
• 1 cup ground dates + 1 tablespoon butter + a pinch of cinnamon + a few drops of rose water
• 500 g dried figs, finely chopped + 4 tablespoons honey + 1/4 cup chopped walnuts + a drizzle of oil or butter (optional)
• Apricot leather (qamar al-din) soaked in a little water and ground, mixed with pistachios
• Note: Using sugar syrup (qatr) in some fillings keeps them moist and soft.
• To make date maamoul with flour and butter by Nida, see the link: Date Maamoul with Flour and Butter

Method

1. Beat the butter with the ghee, then add the semolina and 'farkha' on top and rub/fold with your hands well so the ghee and butter are fully absorbed.
2. Add the flour, powdered sugar, powdered milk, yeast, and mahlab, and mix.
3. Then add rose water and orange blossom water and knead... you can add a little liquid milk if needed if the dough is dry.
4. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least one hour.
5. After that time the fillings will be ready. Begin shaping the maamoul balls using the special molds. If using apricot leather (qamar ad-din) filling, place a little pistachio first, then the ground apricot leather on top.
6. Bake the maamoul in a hot oven at 180°C until they turn golden.
7. Let them cool to room temperature and dust powdered sugar on top before serving.
8. Nada Hadraj
9. To make Nida's date maamoul with flour and butter, here is the link: Date Maamoul with Flour and Butter