Mamoul – Date and Semolina Shortbread Cookies

Using your hands mix together the shortbread mixture being careful to not over work the dough. You will want to use the tips of your fingers and flutter them to help distribute the butter with the flours. Once they are almost like a breadcrumb, bring the dough together and then split the dough into 4 pieces and wrap in cling film and place into the fridge to cool for around 1 hour.

Use a food processor and make the date filling and then wet your hands with the orange blossom water and roll out around 10g of this date mixture into a perfect ball. The orange blossom will scent the date mixture as well as enabling it to not stick to your hands.

Remove one dough from the fridge and take a piece of dough and press it into the Mamoul press – this will give you the total weight of each cookie. You will need to subtract 10g from this total amount to give you the weight you will need for each piece of dough. Weigh each piece of dough and then roll each piece into a circle and then keep covering with a cloth while you do this to make sure the dough doesn’t dry out.

You will now take a piece of the rolled dough and open this slightly in order to encase the date mixture, almost like making dumplings, cover the entire date mixture with the dough and then roll into a ball making sure there are no openings for the date mixture to seep out of.

Place this into a bowl of fine semolina and then into a Mamoul mould press down and then remove carefully. The coarse semolina will stop the dough from sticking to the Mamoul press. Place directly on to a baking tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Bake in the oven at 180°c until golden brown (depends on the size of the biscuits) and allow to cool. Once cooled sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.