Perfect Eid Maamoul

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 1½ kg coarse semolina
• 3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
• 4½ cups melted ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup orange blossom water
• ½ cup rose water
• 1 cup water for kneading
• 1 tablespoon yeast dissolved in ½ cup water
• Date filling:
• 500 g ground dates
• 4 tbsp ghee Walnut filling:
• 500 g walnuts (ground)
• ¼ cup rose water
• This maamoul recipe is from my friend and cook on Shou Tabkhin Al-Youm:
• Elissar Rajab
• Click Elissar’s name to visit her page and discover all her delicious recipes
• For more tasty sweets from Elissar, here is Grated Coconut Rounds

Method

1. Mix the coarse semolina with the fine semolina and the sugar until combined.
2. Add the ghee and rub until the semolina and ghee are well blended.
3. Add the rose water, orange blossom water, and the yeast mixture and mix with the fingertips without kneading.
4. Set them aside to rest for about 6 hours so the semolina absorbs the ghee well.
5. After that time, divide the dough into balls according to the size of the mold you will use.
6. Roll the balls and fill them as desired, then close the balls and place them in the mold and press slightly to take the desired shape.
7. Arrange the discs on a baking tray and bake them for 10 minutes on the middle rack at 180°C until they brown underneath and take a golden color.
8. Then turn on the oven's top heat to give them color on top only without letting them over-brown.
9. When the walnut and date maamoul cool to room temperature, dust powdered sugar over the walnut maamoul.
10. Alissar Rajab
11. For more of Alissar's delicious sweets, try these coconut macaroons.