Ma’amoul are small shortbread pastries filled with pistachios, walnuts or dates. They are served all over the Arab world for Eid and Easter.

A special wooden mould is used to shape a ma’amoul, the round shallow molds are for dates, oval molds are for pistachios and deeper molds for walnuts. If you do not have the molds you can shape the ma’moul in your hand or use a small tart pan.
Makes 36

Pastry Ingredients

• 2 1/2            cups all purpose flour
• 1/2               lb unsalted butter
• 1                  tbsp rosewater
• 4                  tbsp milk
  icing sugar for dusting the pastries

Pistachio filling

• 1               cup chopped pistachios
• 1/2            cup sugar(granulated or icing)
• 1               tbsp rosewater

Walnuts Filling

• 1           cup chopped nuts
• 1/2        cup sugar(granulated or icing)
• 1/2        tsp cinnamon
• 1           tbsp rosewater

Instructions

1. Make the fillings. Chop the nuts and mix in the sugar. If you don’t like a grainy texture, you can use icing sugar. The tblsp of rosewater will make the nut mixture moist and easy to shape. Add cinnamon to the walnuts.
2. In a large bowl add the flour.
   Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour(using the tip of your fingers)
3. Add the rose water, followed by milk and make a soft dough.
4. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each quarter into about 9 balls to make approximately 36 balls of dough-depending on the size of the mold.
5. Fill the dough balls with a spoonful of nuts. First, flatten a ball of dough with your thumb and make a hollow. Place the nuts into the hollow. Be generous with the filling. Pinch the dough back over the nut filling, making a ball shape. Do this with the rest of the balls.
   Press the filled dough balls one by one into the ma’moul mold.
6. To snap the dough out of the mold, tap the tip of the mold against the edge of the counter with a firm quick movement. With the other hand, catch the ma’moul and place it on an ungreased cookie sheet. Dust some flour inside the mold if it’s sticking.