Maamoul are a Lebanese traditional dessert especially around Easter. They are a Lebanese pastry that come in several fillings ranging from dates, pistachios, to walnuts and more. My personal favorites are the date filled ones. My mom used to always bake dozens upon dozens of batches but after I got diagnosed with celiac, it got a little harder and took me some time to figure out a recipe that I liked. This year, I finally whipped something up that I thought would be worthy of sharing with the rest of y'all and it's actually quite easy. They taste just about the same as the originals and can definitely satisfy your sweet tooth without the added sugar.
Here's the recipe:
Pastry dough:
2 cups of Gluten Free all purpose flour (I used Enjoy life's)
2 1/2 cups of Gluten Free Polenta (Corn meal)
2 1/2 cups of Coconut oil (feel free to replace this with butter)
1/2 tsp of yeast
1 Tbsp Rose water
1 Tbsp Orange blossom water to taste
Start off by combining the all purpose flour and polenta in a large bowl. Proceed by adding in the coconut oil rubbing it into the flour until it forms a gritty texture. Make sure to rub the ingredients together rather than kneading. If preparing overnight you can let it rest in a cool area. Add the yeast, rose water, and orange blossom water the next day. If not, let sit aside in a cool area or the fridge for 25-30 minutes. Afterwards, combine the yeast, rose water, and orange blossom flower and mix them into the dough. Knead the dough and let it rise for minimum 30 minutes.
Dates Filling:
2 cups of dates
a splash of rose + orange blossom water to taste
1 tbsp coconut oil
While you wait for the dough to rise, combine the dates with rose and orange blossom, or you can also leave them on their own if you wish. I also added some coconut oil in order to form a smoother paste. You can either knead it by hand or in a mixer. I used my hands as I felt I had more control over the dates and deciding how smooth I wanted the paste.
Once the filling is ready, take the dough and form dough balls. You may then proceed by filling each ball one by one with some date filling. In terms of shape, you can just do a simple circular dough ball, use a mold, or anything you wish. I decided to shape mine the way my mom used to when we were kids. In order to do that, I took a piece of dough and rolled it out using a rolling pin. I then took some date filling and rolled it into a sausage like shape using my hands. I placed it into the dough and rolled the dough over it. I then folded the dough into a circular shape which resembles that of a donut.
And that's it! :) It's as simple as that.
Once you have your Maamoul ready, place them onto a baking sheet lining it with parchment paper or just greasing it with some oil. Bake the Maamoul for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the Maamoul start browning, remove them and allow to cool for at least an hour. You can also sprinkle some icing sugar once they have cooled. There you have it, gluten free Maamoul for everyone to enjoy! :)
Here is the final result:
I hope this helps some of you in making some gluten free treats for Easter or any other events. :)
Happy eating,
xox Léa S.
Have any comments, questions, or suggestions?
Please leave them in the comments below, I would love to hear your feedback! :)
