Date maamouls

It's always fun to play with new kitchen toys, and my beautiful hand carved maamoul mould is my newest. I already posted a recipe for the pistachio filled maamouls a couple of weeks ago, this time I'm going for the other main traditional filling - dates. Nature's chocolate... the desert's candy... simply divine... 

I used medjool dates to make the filling here, lucious plump beauties. If you can't get a hold of them and are using standard dried dates, soak them for a bit longer in the rose water, overnight if possible so they soak up all that goodness. If all you can find in your supermarket is the so-called 'ready to eat' dates then frankly I wouldn't bother! I am not sure what they do to them, but whatever it is seems to render them useless for cooking.

Ingredients
300g semolina
100g white flour
150g margarine / ghee
50g caster sugar
1/4 tsp ground mastic (optional)
1/4 tsp mahleb (optional)
1/4 tsp yeast
100ml orange blossom or rose water 

For the date filling
8 medjool dates
Pinch of cinnamon
Orange blossom water

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, melt the margarine or ghee and pour in, along with the orange blossom or rose water. Mix together until it comes together in a large dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for around 4 hours. I should point out, in that time nothing particularly magical happens, it doesn't transform in size, the waiting period is more to allow the semolina to absorb the fat
2. While the dough is resting, blitz the dates in a blender, with the cinnamon and orange blossom water. You want a fairly thick textured paste
3. Pinch golf ball sized (or walnut, depending on your frame of reference) pieces of the dough and roll into balls. With this quantity you should have enough to make around 20 (ish) maamouls
4. Take a ball into one hand and flatten out with the heel of your other hand. Pinch off a teaspoonful of the date paste and roll into a ball. Place this in the middle of the flattened dough circle and close the dough around it to encase fully
5. At this point squish it in your maamoul mould, traditionally the oval ones are used for nut fillings, and the round for date. If you don't have a mould then you can decorate a pattern on the top with a fork
6. Arrange the maamouls on a baking tray covered with greaseproof paper and bake in an oven preheated to ~190C for 15-20minutes. You want the bottom golden, but the top to be lightly coloured
7. Cool, and dust with icing sugar to serve