Paul Hollywoods Maamoul Recipes

QUICK AND EASY MAAMOUL RECIPE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the dates, water, and salt. Cook the dates, mashing and stirring until they have broken down into a paste (about 3 minutes). Let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl or in a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder, then pulse or cut the butter in.
• Combine the milk and rosewater and then stir into the dough until it comes together.
• Gather the dough together, and then divide the dough into 20 equally-sized balls.
• Take one ball of dough, flatten it in the palm of your hand and pinch it into a bowl shape.
• Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough and bring up the sides and pinch together to seal the filling in.
• Roll and flatten slightly, and then place the cookie seam side down on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• Prick the top of the cookies with a fork or toothpick in a decorative pattern, and then bake until the cookies are just beginning to turn golden, about 25-30 minutes. Dust generously with powdered sugar while the cookies are still warm.
• Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

PAUL HOLLYWOOD'S MA'AMOUL

Steps:

• Put the mastic in a mortar with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and grind to a powder. Tip into a bowl and add the remaining sugar, along with the semolina, flour and mahleb. Mix together.
• Add the ghee and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the orange blossom and rose waters and bring the dough together with your hands. Tip out onto a floured worktop. Knead for 5 minutes, until smooth, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes, to rest.
• For the date filling, place the dates in the bowl of a mini food processor with the rose water, cinnamon and mahleb and blitz to a paste. Divide the mixture into 6 and roll into balls (wet hands will prevent the paste sticking).
• For the walnut filling, place the walnuts in the bowl of a mini food processor with the raisins, honey and cardamom and blitz to a paste. Divide the mixture into 6 and roll into balls.
• Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, each of about 25g. Roll each piece into a ball and cover with a damp tea towel.
• With damp hands, flatten each ball of dough in the palm of one hand, turning it around as you go and lifting the edges to form a little cup. The cups should be about 3mm thick and the sides about 3cm high.
• Fill 6 of the pastry cups with a ball of date filling and the remaining 6 pastry cups with a ball of walnut filling. Pinch the dough over the filling to seal and roll each into a ball.
• Lightly flour the ma'amoul mould and press one of the walnut-filled balls into the mould. Turn it out onto the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 5 walnut-filled balls.
• With the 6 date-filled balls, use the ma'amoul tongs and pinch the pastry to create a decorative design. Place on the lined baking sheet.
• Bake all the ma'amoul for 12-14 minutes, until golden on the bottom, but pale or very lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven, leave to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust the walnut ma'amoul with icing sugar before serving.

MA'AMOUL

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: In a large bowl combine the butter and ghee and mix well with a spatula. In a separate bowl, combine the coarse and fine semolina, the sugar and mahlab and mix well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the butter-ghee mixture. Use your hands to massage the ingredients together, rubbing it between your fingers without kneading or over-working the dough. Add ¼ cup orange blossom water and thoroughly mix with your hands again. Cover and set aside to rest for at least two hours and up to 10 hours at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare the nut fillings: In a bowl, thoroughly mix the pistachios, sugar and orange blossom water; set aside. In a separate bowl thoroughly mix the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and orange blossom water; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons warm water until it dissolves. Add it to the dough and mix using your hands (but, again, don't knead). If the dough seems too dry to form into a ball, add cold milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. The dough shouldn't be wet, just moist enough to stick together when forming the cookies.
• Take a chunk of dough and roll it into a ball the size of a golf ball. Holding the dough ball in one hand, take the index finger of your other hand to indent the center and form a hollow area by continuing to press down while turning the ball with your other hand. Spoon one of the nut fillings into the hole and close it back up, pinching the dough together over the filling. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• In the Middle East, ma'amoul cookies have beautiful intricate designs after being pressed into special molds. You can find molds online or at a Middle Eastern supermarket. Otherwise you could use a muffin tin to shape the cookies. Press the stuffed dough ball into an oiled mold and then gently smack the mold onto your hand to get the cookie out. Arrange the molded cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 14 minutes.
• Dust the cookies with a layer of powdered sugar as soon as they come out of the oven (the sugar will melt into the dough), then dust again once cooled. Serve with a cup of tea or Turkish coffee.