GLUTEN FREE · VEGAN OPTION · PALEO

I have done the unthinkable. I have dared to mess with a Paul Hollywood recipe…I can practically hear all Great British Bake Off fans gasp in horrified unison - the audacity! I know, I know, it’s a special kind of masochism that pushes someone to fiddle with the blue-eyed-baker’s creations, and it seems I am that special kind of baking masochist! I first saw the original recipe a few years ago on an episode of GBBO (Series 9, episode 5, for those who want to know) and loved the sound of it. So, I put a mental pin in it, to try a gluten-free version at some point. And this is that point.

Ma’amoul (or Maamoul) are delicious, shortbread-like cookies, typically filled with nuts or dates, that originate from the Middle East. Traditionally, they are eaten to celebrate Eid, at the end of Ramadan. The filled dough is pressed into molds, to produce these beautifully decorative treats. The aromatic Middle Eastern flavours of rose water, cinnamon, mahleb and mastic combine to create a perfect melt-in-the-mouth treat.

Whenever I take a traditional recipe, be it my native Cypriot/Greek or Middle Eastern, I always aim to stay as true as possible to the original tastes and textures when changing ingredients or quantities for more healthful and/or gut-friendly options. Ma’amoul are traditionally made using fine semolina (coarsely-ground durum wheat), so it was a bit of a challenge to find an appropriate gluten-free substitute. I tried with rice semolina, but the first batch was just too rough and ‘bitty’ - while you can find regular semolina in varieties of ‘coarse’ or ‘fine’, there is much less variety in gluten-free options, so the rice semolina was simply too coarse. This not only made it a bit ‘crunchy’ to eat, but it also meant the semolina was somewhat less absorbent, so, while beautifully-formed Ma’amoul went into the oven, Ma’amoul splodges were what came out! The ghee simply melted and ‘escaped’, leaving the Ma’amoul to collapse. Incidentallly, the splodges were still delicious, and there may or may not have been shameless spooning directly off the baking tray! I then tried blitzing the rice semolina in the blender to make it finer, and this was a definite improvement (no collapse!), but I still wasn’t loving it. So, I tried almond flour, which is naturally coarser in texture (than say, rice flour), which should still feel quite true to the traditional Ma’amoul. I loved the result, and that’s the version you will find here!

INGREDIENTS

Almond flour

Sometimes also called almond meal, you can find this ready-made or you can simply throw some blanched almonds into a food processor and grind them down into a fine flour.

Almond flour has an impressive nutrient profile (rich in protein, fibre, vitamin E and good fats), and is also low-carb, making it a key player in gluten-free baking.

Tapioca flour

Tapioca flour is a great binder in gluten- and grain-free baking, and makes a good substitute for corn starch in recipes.

Coconut sugar

Coconut sugar is a great substitute for refined sugar. Also called coconut palm sugar (not to be confused with palm sugar), it is not as processed and even contains small amounts of certain nutrients.

Coconut sugar contains potassium, magnesium, and sodium, which are important for balancing electrolyte levels in the body. Regular table sugar has a glycemic index (GI) of 65, while coconut sugar has a GI of 35 (much closer to the GI of the sugar that’s naturally found in fruits - around 25).

As coconut sugar is naturally a caramel-brown in colour, this has an effect on the resulting Ma’amoul colour, which is why they may appear slightly darker than traditional Ma’amoul.

Ground mahleb

Mahleb (or mahlepi) is an aromatic spice made from the ground kernels from the seeds of a specific type of cherry. Very popular in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries, it has a slightly almond-y flavour, and is used in traditional Ma’amoul recipes.

Ground mastic/mastiha

Mastic (also known as: masticha, mastika or mastiha) is a resin, obtained from the mastic tree native to the Greek island of Chios. While it starts off as a semi-clear sap, mastiha solidifies to form yellow-hued ‘tear drops’, which are then ground down into a powder and used as a spice. Popular in Greek, Cypriot and Middle Eastern cuisine in particular, mastic has a unique fresh, musky aroma, similar to pine almost.

To use mastic in cooking, it needs to be ground using a pestle and mortar. Don’t try to grind it using a food processor or spice grinder because it is a resin, not a regular spice, and so is gummy and sticky and will not only not turn to powder, but could ruin the blades of your machine! After all, mastic is a natural chewing gum, and you wouldn’t want that in your blender, now would you?

Mastic has been used medicinally for centuries for both digestive and oral health. Indeed, it has been shown to help ease gastrointestinal discomfort, and to have positive effects on ulcers in particular. In fact, there has even been a study demonstrating that mastic has the ability to kill off Helicobacter Pylori bacteria, which is responsible for the majority of ulcers in the stomach and small intestine.

Not only is mastic used to alleviate abdominal discomfort, but there has even been the suggestion that it could help ease symptoms of IBD due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. As such, various mastic supplements are readily available, either in powder or capsule form.

Ghee

Ghee gives the Ma’amoul their delicious buttery, shortbread-y flavour here. Due to the removal of the milk solids, ghee is both lactose-free and casein-free and so is very well-tolerated, although may still need to be avoided by those with severe dairy allergies (in which case, coconut oil could be a suitable alternative, making the recipe vegan).

Ghee is also a key ingredient in a gut-healing diet as it contains butyrate: a source of energy for the cells lining the colon, anti-inflammatory and can improve intestinal permeability.

Rose water

A classic flavour in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, rose water gives a beautiful aromatic hint to the Ma’amoul, without being overpowering.

Orange juice + orange zest

Get your juice freshly squeezed from an actual orange please! Fresh beats from-the-carton every single time, both in terms of flavour and nutrients.

This combination of the juice and zest is my substitution for the more traditional orange blossom water. I find the latter quite an overpowering flavour, and so swapped it for this zest/juice combo, which really lifts the flavour and gives it a hit of freshness. Of course, if you prefer to use orange blossom water, you can absolutely do so - check out the substitutions section below for quantities.

For the filling:

Medjool dates

Dates are a great natural sweetener, and their stickiness helps to mimic the caramel effect. You can use other dates if you can’t find Medjools, but they really are the best if you can get your hands on them, as they are larger and ‘juicier’.

Dates provide the sweetness you want, but with lots of healthy fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Rose water

Ground mahleb

Cinnamon

A great digestive aid, with blood sugar-regulating properties, cinnamon beautifully rounds off the traditional flavours of the Ma’amoul, and makes the filling just divine!

CHANGES & SUBSTITUTIONS

No tapioca flour?

You could substitute either arrowroot starch or rice flour here. You may find you need a little bit more or less of these though, so add in gradually and see how you go, to ensure you get the right consistency.

Orange blossom water

If you want to use traditional orange blossom water instead of the orange juice and zest combo, simply swap these out for 2 tsp of the blossom water.

Make it vegan

You could try using coconut oil instead of ghee here. I have not tried this, but it should work well - just be sure the coconut oil is chilled (as the ghee would need to be), and keep in mind the coconut flavour, so maybe opt for an odourless version so it doesn’t impact the resulting taste of the Ma’amoul.

No moulds?

Don’t worry if you don’t have a traditional Ma’amoul mould. You could try one of two alternatives here: either simply roll into balls (with the filling in the centre) and bake just like that, or you could try dividing the dough into two, rolling the halves into equal squares, spreading the filling over one half then laying the other half on top and cut into squares to bake. I have tried the Ma’amoul balls version and it worked very well. The squares are untested by me, so if you give that version a try, let me know how it goes!

TIPS

Ma’amoul moulds come in a range of sizes, and this may affect how many you end up with. I used a slightly smaller than average mould here, and it yielded fifteen Ma’amoul. A slightly larger mould would probably yield 10-12. Just have this in mind when it comes to dividing your dough and filling.
When it comes to rolling the date filling into balls, it helps to have slightly wet hands, to keep the paste from sticking to you.
Here’s a visual guide for how to easily get the filling into the balls of dough:

‘Flouring’ your hands with tapioca starch is very helpful when it comes to shaping the dough.
Make sure to dust the mould with tapioca starch each time before pressing the stuffed ball of dough into it. You can also roll the ball between lightly tapioca-dusted hands before moulding as well. The ‘stickier’ your dough feels, the more likely it is to lose the mould’s pattern when it comes out of it. Light dustings with tapioca flour can help, just make sure not to overdo it and over-dry the dough, as this will affect the resulting texture and that beautiful melt-in-the-mouth effect.