Post by Amani on Oct 8, 2014 13:12:12 GMT -5
Ma'amoul bil Tamer (Lebanese Date Shortbread)
from Saveur, September 2014
These Lebanese shortbread cookies feature a buttery pastry scented with rose and orange blossom waters wrapped around a cinnamon and nutmeg–spiced date filling. Though they’re easy to shape by hand, it’s worth seeking out a traditional ma'amoul mold to make them. The beautiful long-handled tools, known as taabehs, are intricately carved with designs that correspond to their fillings, with distinct patterns for ma’amoul filled with dates, pistachio, or walnut. This recipe first appeared in our October 2014 issue with the story Home for the Harvest.
FOR THE CRUST:
3 cups fine semolina
½ cup flour
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt
⅓ cup whole milk
2½ tbsp. rose water
2 tsp. orange blossom water
FOR THE FILLING:
5 cups pitted dates
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1½ tbsp. grated nutmeg
1. Make the crust: Pulse semolina, flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor into pea-size crumbles. Add milk and rose and orange blossom waters; pulse until dough forms. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; chill 2 hours.
2. Make the filling: Purée dates, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a food processor until smooth. Divide into 25 balls; chill 30 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 400°. Divide dough into 25 balls. Working with 1 ball at a time, press finger into dough, creating a pocket. Place 1 ball of filling into pocket; pinch sides to encase filling and roll into a ball. Press balls into ma'amoul mold, or flatten slightly using your palm; transfer to a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 20–25 minutes; let cool before serving.
Makes 25.
from Saveur, September 2014
These Lebanese shortbread cookies feature a buttery pastry scented with rose and orange blossom waters wrapped around a cinnamon and nutmeg–spiced date filling. Though they’re easy to shape by hand, it’s worth seeking out a traditional ma'amoul mold to make them. The beautiful long-handled tools, known as taabehs, are intricately carved with designs that correspond to their fillings, with distinct patterns for ma’amoul filled with dates, pistachio, or walnut. This recipe first appeared in our October 2014 issue with the story Home for the Harvest.
FOR THE CRUST:
3 cups fine semolina
½ cup flour
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt
⅓ cup whole milk
2½ tbsp. rose water
2 tsp. orange blossom water
FOR THE FILLING:
5 cups pitted dates
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1½ tbsp. grated nutmeg
1. Make the crust: Pulse semolina, flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor into pea-size crumbles. Add milk and rose and orange blossom waters; pulse until dough forms. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; chill 2 hours.
2. Make the filling: Purée dates, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a food processor until smooth. Divide into 25 balls; chill 30 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 400°. Divide dough into 25 balls. Working with 1 ball at a time, press finger into dough, creating a pocket. Place 1 ball of filling into pocket; pinch sides to encase filling and roll into a ball. Press balls into ma'amoul mold, or flatten slightly using your palm; transfer to a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 20–25 minutes; let cool before serving.
Makes 25.