Mamool (Maamoul) - Date Filled Cookies

Celebrate Ramadan and Eid with these delicious Middle Eastern date filled cookies known as mamool or maamoul! They're crispy & buttery on the outside, with a sweet & chewy date filling. And for more Middle Eastern sweets, try vegan baklava, vegan knafeh, and basbousa.

Every Ramadan and Eid that I've spend with my in-laws, a giant batch of delicious mamool are made. They usually make lots of extras to share with friends and neighbors.

These date filled butter cookies are seriously irresistible. Once you taste one, another half dozen will be in your mouth before you know it!

The cookies are crisp and buttery on the outside, and each bite melts in your mouth. The soft filling is made from sweet dates spiced with a little ground cinnamon.

My Middle Eastern in-laws always serve mamool with hot tea or coffee like chai or karak. They're a perfect ending to a delicious meal!

And these cookies are fun to make with a mamool mold, which is a wooden tool that imprints a pretty design on the top of each cookie.
But you don't need this tool to be able to make delicious mamool. You can shape each cookie into a ball and flatten it ever so slightly and bake them as-is. They'll still taste great!

I found my gorgeous wooden maamoul mold in a local shop in Portland called Indigo Traders. And they gave me a recipe for maamoul that inspired the recipe below! You can also find mamool molds online.
My mother-in-law has one from her last visit to Kuwait that imprints a beautiful flower design onto each cookie.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• All purpose flour - Sometimes semolina flour is used to make semolina mamool, but I've found that a dough made from just all purpose flour makes the best crispy cookie.
• Powdered sugar - Keeps the cookies really light and tender. I've seen some recipes also using granulated sugar, but your cookies won't be quite as crispy.
• Active dry yeast 
• Unsalted butter - You could substitute ghee for a richer flavor.
• Rose water - Optional to add a subtle floral flavor. You could substitute vanilla extract or orange blossom water.
• Dates - Sometimes mamool are also filled with chopped nuts like pistachios or walnuts.
• Ground cinnamon

How to Make Mamool

1. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and active dry yeast.
2. Knead: In the mixing bowl, knead the stick of softened butter into the dry ingredients with your hands until it forms a course and mealy dough.
3. Add Rose Water: Add the rose water and knead for another minute by hand.
4. Rest: Cover the mixing bowl with a damp towel and let rest for 2 hours.
5. Blend: Pulse the pitted dates and ground cinnamon in a blender or food processor until it forms a paste. Set aside.
6. Add Melted Butter: Slowly knead the melted butter into the blended dates.
7. Shape: Form the dough into 1-inch balls. Flatten the dough balls in your palms into discs that are about 3-inchs in diameter and about ¼-inch thick. Form the date filling into 1-inch balls.
8. Fill the Cookies: Place a date ball into the center of the dough and cover with the sides of the dough. Either re-roll it in your palms into a smooth ball or press it in a mammoul mold.
9. Bake: Spread out cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the edges are golden.

How to Shape Mamool

Step 1 - Shape the dough into 1-inch balls

Step 2 - Flatten each dough ball in the palms of your hands until it's about 3 inches in diameter

Step 3 - Roll some of the date filling into a 1-inch ball

Step 4 - Place the date filling ball in the center of the flattened disc of cookie dough

Step 5 - Pull the sides of the dough up and over the date filling to completely cover it and re-roll it in your palms into a smooth ball

Step 6 - Press the date-filled dough ball into a mamool mold

Step 7 - Turn the mamool mold over and give it a hard whack on the table to release the cookie from the mold

Recipe Tips

• If your dates aren't very soft, you can soak them for about 15 minutes in hot water, then drain them.
• The date paste is thick, so take your time when incorporating the melted butter. The more you knead it and work it in, the more well-distributed it will be.
• There is store bought date paste that you could use instead, if you don't want to make date paste from scratch at home.
• If you're using a wooden maamoul mold, don't soak it in water. You also don't need to spray it with cooking spray, since the butter in the cookie dough will allow it to release pretty easily from the mold.

Storing

My mother-in-law often stores mamool in big cookie tins. Make sure you cool them completely before storing them, otherwise the moisture could make them soggy.

Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Freezer: Place the cookies on a baking sheet and freeze until they're hard after 1 to 2 hours, so they don't stick together. Then transfer them to an airtight container or gallon sized Ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

More Middle Eastern Inspired Recipes

Looking for more sweet and savory recipes to make for Ramadan or Eid? Try these that I'm sure you're going to love!