Ma'amoul are Middle Eastern cookies traditionally offered to guests with coffee, tea or other beverages, depending on the region.
It's one of the dishes that unites Christians, Muslims and Jews, who serve them on holidays such as Easter, Ramadan or Purim.
The pastry is usually made with semolina which makes it like a chewy shortbread, and they are filled with nuts or dates.
Traditionally they are shaped in decorative moulds with distinctive shapes for each filling.
Mrs Harris likes to divide the dough in three and fill one lot with date filling, another with a mix of walnuts or walnuts and almonds, and the third with pistachios.
2 cups semolina
1 ½ cups caster sugar
2 cups flour
200g unsalted butter or ghee, melted
½ cup milk
1 tsp orange blossom water or rose water
about ½ cup boiling water
nut filling: 1 cup crushed mixed nuts
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup icing sugar
date filling:
400g dates
¼ cup water
To finish: icing sugar
Prepare the fillings first.
For the date filling, place water and dates in a saucepan and simmer for five minutes.
Cook on a low heat, stirring the dates and pressing down until they become a soft paste.
Remove and cool.
For the nut filling, roast one cup of nuts in a frying pan on the stove to get a smoky flavour.
Place the nuts in a food processor and whizz with cinnamon and sugar until they become like breadcrumbs.
Preheat the oven to 200degC.
To make the pastry, place the semolina, sugar and half a cup of flour in a large bowl and mix.
Add milk, rosewater and melted butter and mix to a soft dough.
Place the other cup and half of flour on the bench, tip the dough on to it and knead briefly adding boiling water if needed to soften the dough.
Shape the pastry into small balls, about 5cm in diameter.
Hollow out the centre of each ball with your index finger by pressing around the inside of the ball to make a shell about 6mm thick.
Fill the hollow shell with either date or nut filling, then seal by pressing the dough together.
Flatten into a pie shape by pressing lightly between the palms of the hands.
Make a design on top by pinching with a fork.
Traditionally, Easter cookies are moulded in decoratively carved wooden moulds before baking.
Place the cookies on a baking tray and cook in a very hot oven, 200degC for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
When the cookies are cool, sift icing sugar over on the top.
This will make about 20 ma'amoul.
Tip: Rose water and orange blossom water are distilled from the flower petals and used in the Middle East and India as well as in parts of Europe, to flavour dishes such as Turkish delight, baklava, lassi and desserts and cakes.
