Tasty Mediterraneo

Mediterranean Diet - Nutrition & Health

Vegan Maamoul

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The maamoul is a delicate Lebanese Easter cookie made with semolina and stuffed with dates and nuts.

I had been willing to share this recipe for quite some time, so that you could have had it accessible on the blog before Easter, but things have been busy on my side and it is only now that I find the time to share it.

As they say, better late than never!My mother in law shared with me her family recipe for maamoul, but I do a little change to the original recipe to make it vegan and dairy free. Actually, the change I make to the family recipe consists in replacing butter with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Those of you who are not vegan or do not have a lactose intolerance could try the original recipe, using butter, if you wish.

I have to admit that the result of the maamoul using EVOO is simply delicious, just as good or even better to my taste than when using butter.

Something you need to know when preparing maamoul, either using EVOO or butter, is that the dough is not easy to manipulate since it may crack/brake a bit and it takes a bit of patience to prepare them.

Most of the recipes I share on my blog are very easy to prepare although this recipe in particular requires more time and patience; patience that is rewarded with an exquisite delicatessen!

Plus, this is one of those recipes with tradition involved, and I am very fond of keeping the family traditions.

In Majorca Island (Spain) we would prepare “empanadas” for Easter. You can find my vegan version of the traditional Majorcan empanadas on the blog.

And in Lebanon they prepare “maamoul” for Easter, and this is why I am very glad to share my vegan maamoul recipe with you, to share my family recipes and keep the traditions.

If you try this tasty vegan Mediterranean diet recipe of “Vegan Maamoul“ please let me know, leave a comment and rate it. I would love to know what you come up with. Enjoy!

4.7 from 6 reviews
Vegan Maamoul
 
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Author:
Cuisine: Mediterranean Diet
Serves: 35 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
  • 300g (1 ½ cup) Semolina
  • 200g (1 cup) Thin semolina
  • 250ml (1 cup) Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 50ml (1/4 cup) Hot water
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • ½ Teaspoon mahlab
  • 1 Teaspoon natural rose water
  • 1 Teaspoon orange blossom water
For the dates filling:
  • 150g (1 cup) Unpitted dates
  • A pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1 Teaspoon water
For the pistachio nuts filling:
  • 100g (1 cup) Unshelled pistachios
  • 1 Teaspoon muscovado sugar
  • ½ Teaspoon orange blossom water
For the walnut filling:
  • 100g (1 cup) Unshelled walnuts
  • 1 Teaspoon unrefined muscovado sugar
  • ½ Teaspoon orange blossom water
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
  1. In a large bowl add the semolina and thin semolina, the pinch of salt and the mahlab and mix it all well until combined. Add the EVOO and mix well with the dried ingredients. Add then the rose water, the orange blossom water and the hot water and work it all with your hands very gently. At first you will get clumps, then the dough will start to come together. You are not aiming for a smooth dough but for a dough that comes together and is slightly homogenous. You should work the dough with your hands for about 15-20 minutes.
  2. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for at least 1 hour. Then remove the dough from the bowl, roll the dough into 2 long kind of sausages shape and cover with cling film. Allow them to rest over night (or for a minimum of 4 hours). The next day remove the cling film from the dough and cut off small pieces (see my step-by-step pictures for guidance).
For the dates filling:
  1. Cut the unpitted dates into very small pieces and add them into a bowl. Add the pinch of freshly ground nutmeg and a teaspoon water and with the help of a blender, mix it all until you obtain a paste.
  2. Roll the date paste with your hands into small walnut size balls.
For the pistachio filling:
  1. Mix the pistachios, sugar and orange blossom water
For the walnut filling:
  1. Mix the walnuts, sugar and orange blossom water
For the final preparation:
  1. Cut off small pieces of the dough. Do not worry if it crumbles a bit between your fingers, to avoid that my tip is to have your hands wet with water every time you are making a cookie. Flatten each piece of dough with your hands, form a hollow (see my step by step pictures for guidance) and stuff in the middle of it the filling of your choice. Then close carefully until you have a filled dough ball. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
  2. If you have the maamoul molds press each of the filled dough balls inside them (the molds should be previously lightly greased with EVOO to avoid the cookie to stick to it), push the dough a bit inside the mold to make sure it gets the shape and then tap the tip of the mold against your working surface with a firm quick movement. To avoid them to crumble, when I release them from the mold I do it directly over ovenproof paper that I have previously added to my working surface. Like this I avoid having to touch them when putting them on the baking tray, and thus there is less risk of them to crumble.
  3. If you do not have the maamoul molds do not worry, you can bake them without shaping them. Just make the stuffed cookies into balls and flatten them slightly. Their shape won’t change their taste! And if you want you can decorate them a bit with the help of a fork.
  4. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F). Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
If you are not vegan or do not have lactose intolerance and would like to try my family original recipe, just replace the 250ml EVOO with 250g melted butter.

If you keep the maamoul in an airtight container in the fridge they can perfectly last for up to 1 month.

Once the cookies are cold, you can add a small dusting of powdered sugar over the pistachio and walnut stuffed maamoul. Usually you don’t add any powdered sugar over the date stuffed maamoul since they are already sweet enough. But for those of you with a sweet tooth, add sugar to taste. In any case this delicate recipe is only made for Easter, it's all about balance!

Each maamoul mold is meant for a specific filling. See my pictures for details on which filling each mold is meant for.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Hi, thanks a lot for sharing this!

    I tried it but the dough was really mushy and none of them would leave the mold. It was too oily perhaps? I don’t know where I went wrong I followed the recipe to the dot. Also, in 12 minutes they still seemed raw.

    • Hi Noor, I’m sorry to hear that the dough was mushy, did you use a mix of semolina and thin semolina as per the instructions? If it was too oily maybe you could have added a bit more of coarse semolina… As per the baking time they are usually ready in 10-12 minutes…honestly, I don’t know what may have gone wrong…

  3. i made this recipe , and the results were amazing ! I’m always on the hunt for a good vegan,diabetic friendly gluit free arabic sweets and this recipe suits me and my family perfectly!! thank you

  4. Hi Margarita, I struggled a bit with the dough, but as you say this recipe requires a bit of patience. I finally succeeded to prepare them, thank you for sharing your family recipe with us, it required patience but the result was really good!

    • Hi Lili, delighted to know you managed with the dough! I know it is a tricky one, but with a bit of patience it works out 😉 Enjoy!

  5. I would like to try.where did you get your molds? Not Amazon I hope( mucho $)

    • Hi Pym, I bought them in Lebanon. But do not worry if you do not have the molds, you can just make the stuffed cookies into balls and flatten them slightly. And if you want you can decorate them a bit with the help of a fork. Their shape won’t change their taste! Enjoy! 🙂

  6. Hi! Need help ASAP, please! Made the dough last night following the instructions. This morning it still looks like a wet sand and there’s no way i can roll it into anything as everything crumbles and falls apart. Any suggestions?

    • Hi Laana, the dough should crumble a bit, and working it with wet hands can help you to handle it. Did you use a mix of semolina and thin semolina as per the instructions? If you did so and it crumbles too much I would suggest you add a tiny bit more of semolina (not thin semolina) and mix it all well again until you get to reach a bit more of consistency. But it is normal that the dough looks as wet sand and it tends to crumble. Try to create the small balls with your hands wet, as I mention this recipe requires a bit of patience and I hope you’ll get to shape them. Please let me know how it goes, I hope you’ll get there!

      • Thank you for such a quick reply! I did as you suggested and also i added some more melted butter and farina flour. I let it rest a bit and then was able to shape it into small balls easily. It was surprisingly difficult to stuff them with date filling, but i managed somehow. It wasn’t the best maamoul i’ve tasted, but i guess i’ll have to give it another try – this cookie is surprisingly tricky! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

        • Hi Laana, the maamoul is not an easy to prepare recipe, as you have seen it requires a bit of patience but I’m glad to know you finally managed with the dough 🙂

  9. They look amazing – nothing better than a family recipe for something like this! original is the best ?
    Sarah x

  11. Absolutely delicious Margarita! It takes time to prepare them, but it’s time well invested, thanks so much for sharing your family recipe!

    Love,
    Anne

  12. Hi Marga! I bought the molds on Amazon, they are not exactly like yours, but very similar. I prepared your recipe using butter (I love butter!) and I just want to say thanks so much for sharing! I had guests over and they all loved the maamoul. I pointed them towards your recipe on the blog 😉 See you soon

    • Hi Phil! You are welcome 🙂 I’m so glad to know you found the molds and what is best, I’m super happy to know you and your guests loved the recipe 😀 Thanks for sharing it! xx

  13. Delish recipe! I made it over the weekend, the weather wasn’t great and had plenty of time. I couldn’t find the mahlab spice and used the same amounts of cinnamon instead. I guess that change a bit the recipe taste? but they were delish anyway! I don’t have those beautiful molds and I made them as flattened balls as you suggest. I’ll send you the pics, not as beautiful as yours, but very tasty, thanks for sharing!

    • Hi Aoife, that’s great! So happy to know you like them 🙂 I often buy my spices during my trips abroad, and I had mahlab from my last trip to Lebanon, but when I miss some exotic herbs I often find them at Fallon & Byrne…maybe they’ll have mahlab too? I’ll check it next time I go there. In any case your choice of using cinnamon sounds good, the taste won’t be exactly the same but I’m so glad to know you enjoy them 😀 Looking forward to those pictures! Have a great week! xx