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Levantine · Lebanese · Syrian

Ma'amoul with dates

Vegetarian

معمول · ma'amoul

Melt-in-the-mouth semolina shortbread cookies filled with spiced date paste and pressed into patterned moulds. Baked for Eid and Easter across the Levant.

Ma'amoul with dates is a Levantine sweet, ready in about 2 hours 8 minutes and made with semolina, butter and dates. It serves 24 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
50 min
Cook
18 min
Rest
1 h
Total
2 h 8 min
Serves
24
Level
Intermediate
Calories
148

Ingredients

24 cookies

For the filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rub the melted butter (opens in a new tab) into the semolina (opens in a new tab), flour, sugar (opens in a new tab) and baking powder (opens in a new tab) with your fingertips until every grain is coated. Cover and rest at least 1 hour (or overnight) so the semolina absorbs the fat.

  2. Step 2

    Knead the dates (opens in a new tab) with the soft butter (opens in a new tab) and cinnamon (opens in a new tab) into a smooth paste and roll into 24 balls of about 12 g.

    • 10 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Sprinkle the milk (opens in a new tab), orange blossom and rose waters (opens in a new tab) over the semolina (opens in a new tab) mixture and knead gently just until it holds together like soft clay. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C.

    • 5 min
    • 180°C

  4. Step 4

    Take 30 g of dough, flatten it into a cup in your palm, put in a date (opens in a new tab) ball and close the dough around it. Press into a floured ma'amoul mould and knock out, or shape into a dome and pattern with a fork or tweezers.

  5. Step 5

    Bake 15–18 minutes until the bases are golden but the tops are still pale. Cool completely on the tray — they are fragile while warm — then dust with icing sugar (opens in a new tab).

About this dish

Origin
Not attributed to one place · Origin disputedShared by Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian and other Levantine traditions; no single origin is agreed.Also popular in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt
Dish
Snack · Dessert · Sweets & confectionery · Desserts
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
sweet, buttery, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Semolina · Butter · Dates · All-purpose flour · Sugar · Baking powder
Techniques
Baking · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter, milk
  • Contains: Wheatfrom semolina, all-purpose flour, baking powder
  • Contains: Glutenfrom semolina, all-purpose flour, baking powder

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

148 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 38 g · recipe makes 24

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 6%
  • Carbohydrate 56%
  • Fat 38%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy148 kcal396 kcal
Protein2.1 g5.7 g
Carbohydrate21.4 g57 g
Net carbohydrate20 g53.3 g
Sugars——
Added sugars1 g2.8 g
Fibre1.4 g3.7 g
Fat6.5 g17.3 g
Saturated fat——
Trans fat——
Cholesterol——
Sodium61 mg162 mg
Salt equivalent0.2 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
116 mg
Calcium
21 mg
Iron
0.8 mg
Magnesium
13 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
55 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
—
Folate (DFE)
42 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: icing sugar.
  • Orange blossom water: Water (FDC 174158); orange flower water is a distillate with negligible nutrients.
  • Rose water: Water (FDC 174158); rose water is a distillate with negligible nutrients.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Judge doneness by the underside; the tops of ma'amoul should stay pale.

Common mistakes

  • Skipping the rest leaves the cookies gritty and prone to cracking.

Serve with

  • Serve with Arabic coffee or mint tea.

Storage

  • Airtight at room temperature for up to 2 weeks; freeze up to 3 months.

Variations

  • Walnut ma'amoul: Fill with chopped walnuts, sugar and cinnamon, shaped in a round mould.
  • Pistachio ma'amoul: Fill with ground pistachios bound with sugar and rose water, shaped in an oval mould.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 50 min

    Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

  2. Rest · about 1 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 18 min at 180 °C

    Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

  4. Cool · about 30 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 2 h 38 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Cracked or domed top

    Likely causes

    • Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
    • Too much leavening
    • Overmixed batter

    What to do

    • Lower the oven 10–15 °C
    • Use the exact leavening amount
    • Fold just until combined
  • Dry or crumbly

    Likely causes

    • Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
    • Over-baked
    • Too little fat or sugar

    What to do

    • Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
    • Check 5 minutes early
    • Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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