Maamoul with Marzipan (Marseban) Filling

Ingredients

• 2 cups coarse semolina
• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1½ cups ghee or butter
• 1 teaspoon mahleb powder
• 1 tablespoon powdered milk
• 1 tablespoon warm water, or more as needed depending on the semolina
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
• Dough preparation method:
• 1 cup pistachios (shelled)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
• Maamoul with Marseban filling recipe and method from a friend of the Sho Tabkhin Al-Youm community:
• Rana Sbeiti Bezi
• We recommend trying Rana’s recipe for the best egg-free orange cookies — click this link to read the full recipe: How to Make Egg-Free Orange Cookies
• To prepare Rana’s freekeh chicken soup, click this link: Easy and Delicious Freekeh Chicken Soup Recipe
• For more of Rana’s delightful desserts, here is her Mafrouka with cream
• To get a method for making lemon blossom substitute to decorate desserts, see this link: How to Make a Lemon Blossom Substitute to Decorate Arabic Sweets
• To make very tasty Turkish-style cookies, see this link: Turkish Cookies

Method

1. Pour the coarse semolina into a large bowl, add the plain flour and powdered sugar, and mix the ingredients well…
2. Melt the ghee in a small pan, then pour it over the semolina mixture.
3. Rub the semolina with the ghee thoroughly until all the melted ghee is absorbed and fully combined.
4. Cover the bowl with a cloth or plastic wrap and let the dough rest overnight.
5. After the dough has rested for a full night, add the mahleb and the powdered milk.
6. Gradually add the rose water and orange blossom water while continuing to knead until the dough is cohesive and no longer sticky.
7. Shape the dough into small balls, fill each ball with a little filling as desired, then place the disc or ball in the maamoul mold after closing it so it takes the mold’s shape.
8. Place the maamoul on a baking tray, put the tray into a preheated oven, and let the maamoul brown slightly on the top and then on the bottom to preserve the mold’s shape on the cookie.
9. Mix the pistachios with the powdered sugar.
10. Add the pistachio extract and continue mixing the ingredients.
11. Be careful not to add too much pistachio extract so it does not give a bitter taste to the recipe. Only 3 drops.
12. Also add a very few drops of orange blossom water and rose water.