Maamoul are middle eastern cookies that are traditionally made with a rose water flavored dough and filled with a paste of made of dates. To switch it up (and because we don't have any rose water :) I made these delicious, flakey and dare I say 'buttery' cookies with a smooth date, coconut and almond butter paste. We also didn't need lots of cookies so this recipe only makes 6, if you would like to make more the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
Ingredients (makes 6 cookies)
30g vegan butter
13g olive oil
80 g flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
75 g soft dates*
1 Tbs almond butter
1 Tbs raw shredded coconut
1-2 Tbs milk of choice (I used almond)
salt to taste
powdered sugar for dusting
* if your dates are not very soft you can soak them in hot water for 5 minutes prior to using them
Instructions
1. Melt the vegan butter in a medium sauce pan. Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the olive oil, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, almond extract and a pinch of salt. Mix the everything together and add the milk, a little at a time until the dough has reached a stiff but pliable consistency, don't mix the dough more than necessary because overmixing will cause a tough, and even rubbery cookie.
2. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. In the mean time make the filling. Add the dates, almond butter, coconut and a generous pinch of salt to a food processor, blitz everything up until it forms a smooth paste. Evenly divide the paste into 6 portions and shape each into a ball.
3. After the dough has finished resting preheat the oven to 350F.
4. Evenly divide the dough into 6 portions and roll them into balls. Roll out the dough balls into thick circular disks and place a ball of date paste into the middle. Wrap the dough around the paste and place the cookie onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
5. Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes until they have a very light tan and the bottom of the cookie is golden. Let them cool on a cooling rack and dust them with powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!
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