Fuel your body for the Ramadan fasting period with delicious date recipes from MasterChef’s Hoda Hannaway.
Makes 12-15 cookies
30 mins, plus 1 hr resting
Ingredients
- 2 cups polenta
- 1 cup gluten-free plain flour
- 1 cup ghee
- ¾ cup gluten-free icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp maamoul spices (see note)
- ½–1 cup plain yoghurt
- ¼ cup orange blossom water
For the filling
- 250g date paste
- 2 tsp maamoul spices
Cook's note
Make your own maamoul spice mix by combining 1 teaspoon each
of ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and mahlab.
Method
1
For the filling, mix the ingredients together and, using your hand, roll it into balls of approximately 15g. Set aside in fridge until needed.
2
In a large bowl, combine the polenta, flour, icing sugar, ghee, baking powder and maamoul spices and mix well. Add ½ cup of yoghurt and orange blossom water and knead until it forms a ball of dough. It should be smooth, not too sticky. If the dough is a little dry, keep adding yoghurt until the right consistency is reached. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave to stand for 1 hour at room temperature.
3
Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced). Using your hands, form the dough into balls of approximately 30g. Stuff each ball of dough with a ball of date filling. Roll the dough so the filling is fully covered.
4
Put icing sugar into the maamoul mould and tip it out. Press the dough inside the mould and pack well, turn the mould over and give a quick tap to unmould. If you don’t have a maamoul mould, you can leave them as round balls and gently press down on the baking tray once filled and rolled.
5
Place the maamoul on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and cook in the oven for approximately 15 minutes. Note that the pastries must remain very white. Sprinkle the maamoul with icing sugar as you remove them from the oven. Store in an airtight container for up to 8 days.
