Date-filled semolina cookies
Adapted from the cookbook, Zaitoun by Yasmin Khan
These are a filled shortbread-style cookie, often eaten to celebrate Easter in the Lebanese Christian community or enjoyed at Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan. Traditionally, they are pressed in a special hand mold, lending them a beautiful shape and pattern. The molds are inexpensive. I saw two styles at the Middle Eastern grocery store: small plastic ones with an ejector-type button to push out the dough, and a larger hand carved wooden mold. They are also available online at Amazon.
Truthfully, I thought these would be beyond me, but with a little patience when maneuvering the dough out of the mold, they are easy to prepare. If you don’t have a mold, you can put the filled balls of dough on a cookie sheet and gently flatten them with a fork, pressing a pattern into the top.
Ingredients
For the dough
500 grams (3 cups) fine semolina
75 grams (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
85 grams (1/2 cup) white sugar
¼ tsp fine salt
4 Tbl whole milk
1-3 tsp rose water
For the filling
8 oz date paste
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp sea salt
Optional: confectioner’s sugar to dust the baked cookies
Instructions
Pulse the semolina, flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor or standing mixer until the mixture has a crumbly texture.
Add the milk and rose water and mix until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too crumbly, add a little more milk one tablespoonful at a time. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
Make the filling by kneading the date paste with the spices and a pinch of salt.
To bake:
Preheat the oven to 400 ° F.
Form the dough into balls that, when flattened, will fill your mold. Press your finger into each ball of dough and place a bit of date filling in the indentation, then pinch the sides to encase the filling. If you are using a ma’moul mold, press the filled dough firmly into it and flatten the bottom. Rap the mold sharply on the counter or gently pry the cookie out onto the baking sheet. If you are not using a mold, flatten the round filled balls of dough on a cookie sheet and gently press a decorative pattern on the top with the tines of a fork.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, dust with powdered sugar before serving.