-DOUGH-
2 1/2 c Unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c Semolina
2 1/2 Sticks pareve margarine or 2
-sticks butter
2 ts Vegetable oil
1/4 c Water; (up to 1/2 cup)
FILLING
1 1/2 c Roughly ground walnuts
1 ts Cinnamon
1/2 c Sugar
1. Combine the flour, semolina, margarine and vegetable oil. Add the water
gradually. Blend well. (A food processor is splendid for this.) Cover and
set aside for 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. Combine the walnuts with the cinnamon and sugar.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Either use the ma’amoul mold described above or take a piece of the
dough about the size of a walnut. Roll it into a ball and hollow out the
center. Inside, place a heaping teaspoon of walnut filling. With your
hands, mold the dough closed.
5. Place each cookie on an ungreased cookie sheet. With the tines of a fork
or tweezers with a serrated edge, make designs on the top of a cookie,
being sure not to penetrate the crust.
6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Do not brown, the cookies should
look white. Cool. When hard, roll in confectioner’s sugar.
Makes 35-40.
NOTES: Ma’amoul means “filled” in Arabic. Ma’amouls are small imprinted
molds made of wood that have a handle attached. A piece of short-pastry
dough is pressed into these molds and date or nut filling is then enclosed
in the dough. Holding the handle, the mold is slammed on the table causing
the finished dough to drop out. The imprinted dough can then be rolled in
confectioner’s sugar if so desired. If a mold is not available the cookies
can also be made using a tool of your choice.
These cookies are traditionally eaten at Purim in Middle Eastern
countries… especially in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.
SOURCE: The Jewish Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan p. 227 Schocken Books NY
ISBN 0-8052-0900-X
Yields
35 Servings