Date Maamoul

Ingredients

• half a kilo, five cups Flour
• a pinch, 4 grams Yeast
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Nigella seeds
• 1 tbsp Toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp Whole anise seeds
• 100 grams Butter
• 200 ml Water
• 200 ml Olive oil
• a pinch Salt
• half a kilo Date paste
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Place the flour in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the pinch of yeast, sugar, nigella seeds, whole anise seeds, and toasted sesame seeds to the mixing bowl.
3. Add the butter to the mixing bowl.
4. Rub the dough ingredients together by hand in the mixing bowl with the butter until well combined.
5. Gradually add the water to the mixing bowl until the dough reaches the proper consistency.
6. Add the olive oil to the mixing bowl, continuing to mix.
7. Add a pinch of salt to the mixing bowl.
8. Knead the dough in the mixing bowl until it is neither crumbly nor stretchy.
9. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.
10. Place the date paste in a bowl.
11. Add the ghee to the bowl of date paste to soften it.
12. Add the cinnamon to the bowl of date paste.
13. Knead the date paste in the bowl until the filling is cohesive and easy to shape.
14. Shape the date-paste filling by hand into rounds or fingers.
15. Take a piece of dough in your hand and cover the date-paste filling with a very thin layer.
16. Shape the filled maamoul pieces by hand into fingers or bracelet shapes, as desired.
17. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
18. Arrange the maamoul pieces on a baking tray.
19. Place the baking tray in the hot oven until the pieces brown on the bottom and top.