# Maamoul — Eid Cookies with Dates and Pistachio

> The secret to maamoul is **resting the dough overnight**. Semolina needs hours to absorb the ghee and milk fully — rush it and the dough turns sandy and cracks apart as you shape it.

**Palestinian Cuisine · 80 min · 10 servings · 145 kcal per serving**

Maamoul is the Eid sweet across the Levant: semolina, ghee and a filling, pressed into a carved wooden mould. It looks difficult and isn't — the only hard part is patience. The dough rests overnight, and the biscuits must come out of the oven before they colour.

## Ingredients


### Dough
- 3 cups — fine semolina
- 1 cup — coarse semolina
- 1 cup — ghee, melted (or butter)
- ¼ cup — icing sugar
- ½ cup — warm milk
- 1 tbsp — orange blossom water
- 1 tbsp — rose water
- 1 tsp — instant yeast
- ½ tsp — mahlab (optional)

### Date filling
- 400 g — date paste
- 2 tbsp — ghee
- ½ tsp — cinnamon

### Pistachio filling
- 200 g — pistachios, coarsely ground
- 3 tbsp — sugar
- 1 tbsp — orange blossom water

### To finish
- ¼ cup — icing sugar

## Method

1. **Rub the semolina with the ghee** — Mix the fine and coarse semolina with the warm melted ghee and rub it through with your hands for five minutes until every grain is coated. Cover the bowl.
2. **Rest — the step there's no way around** — Leave the mixture **overnight** somewhere warm (8 hours minimum). The semolina absorbs the fat slowly, and that's what produces the crumbly texture.
3. **The fillings** — Knead the date paste with the ghee and cinnamon until soft and pliable, and roll small balls. Mix the pistachios with the sugar and blossom water.
4. **Finish the dough** — In the morning, add the icing sugar, yeast and mahlab, then the warm milk and flower waters **gradually** until the dough just comes together. Don't knead it — gather it.
5. **Shape** — Take a walnut-sized piece, open it in your palm, add the filling, close it, press it into the maamoul mould, then invert and tap it out gently.
6. **Bake** — 180°C for 15-18 minutes. Maamoul must stay **pale** — only the base colours. If the tops brown, they're dry.
7. **Cool and finish** — Let them cool completely on the tray before moving them (they break while hot), then dust with icing sugar.

## Tips

- The overnight rest isn't a luxury. Without it the dough is sandy and crumbles as you shape.
- Don't knead after the milk goes in — maamoul wants gathering, not kneading.
- They must come out pale. Browned means dry, and they'll set hard as they cool.
- Cool them completely on the tray. Moving them hot breaks them.
- They keep two weeks in an airtight tin and freeze for three months.

## FAQ

### Why does my maamoul crack while shaping?
The dough hasn't rested long enough, or there isn't enough milk. The semolina needs a full night to absorb the ghee; if it still crumbles, add another spoon of warm milk.

### Can I make it without a maamoul mould?
Yes — roll balls and press them with a fork or maamoul tongs. The taste is identical.

### Why are mine dry the next day?
Over-baked. Maamoul carries on setting as it cools, so take them out while still pale and slightly soft to the touch.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/palestinian-cuisine/maamoul-eid-cookies
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-12