Truffes aux Dates a la Me’me’ ( Me’me’’s Dates Truffles)

     Christmas Truffles that Me’me’ used to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups Dates pitted & chopped
1/2 cup Walnuts chopped
1/2 cup Rice Crispies (or crushed biscuits)
2 tbsp Butter

A handful of Rice crispies crushed  for coating ( optional)
 

Put dates and butter in microwave for 30 sec, so dates become soft & easier to knead. Add walnuts and rice crispies and mix all together. Using a small spoon, scoop up a bit of the mixture; roll into small ball.

  It can be served as it is, or can be coated with some crushed rice crispies.  

Chill before serving. Sahtein!

Apricot Truffles

I was looking into a different recipe of truffles and I came across this recipe and I had to try it....It is really good & healthy!

Ingredients:

100g ready to eat Apricots (dried - no soak)
40g Cut Mixed Peel ( Candied Citrus Peel)
50g Walnuts chopped
50g Raisins or Sultanas
1 tablespoon Orange juice or Orange liqueur

Chop the Apricot into small pieces, and mix all the ingredients together.  With a small spoon scoop up a bit of the mixture, roll into balls.

Roll the balls in dried coconuts or sesame seeds.

Bascot ElQuaker (Oat Cookies)

 Bascot ElQuaker was my Dad’s favourite type of cookies. He introduced us to oats and porridge after his trip to the UK...

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour

1½ cup Butter (softned)

2 cups Sugar

2 cups Oats

1 cup Walnuts

1 cup Raisins

3 Eggs

2 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 teaspoon Baking Powder

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoon of sugar with ½ tsp of cinnamon (for decoration)

     Rub flour, oats and butter between your hands.

 Add the rest of ingredients and mix all together to make dough. Mix sugar & cinnamon (for decoration) in tea saucer. Pinch a bit of dough and roll it up into a ball between your hands.

Then flatten it a bit. Dip it in the tea saucer so the top of the cookie is coated with the sugar mix.

Place it on greased baking tray. Repeat until the tray is full, leaving some space between the cookies.

 Bake in preheated oven gas mark 6(200C/ 400F) for 15-20 mins or until they are done. 

Maamoul

Maamoul is Lebanese shortbread pastry filled with dates, walnuts, pistachios or almonds. Our Family Maamoul is stuffed with a mix of pistachio, walnuts and almonds all together! The taste is so distinctive! Also, instead of using the maamoul molds, mum used to make us all help out decorating the maamoul using special brass tweezers.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1kg fine Semolina

½ kg Butter melted
1/2 cup Flour

½ cup mixed Rose Water

½ cup Orange Blossom Water

1 tablespoon of dried Yeast (I used dried instant Yeast)

Nuts filling:

1 cup Pistachios

1 cup Walnuts 

Maamoul molds (only had 2 designs out of 3)
& brass tweezers

 1 cup Almonds

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoon Rose Water

3 tablespoon Orange Blossom Water

Dates Filling:

500g Dates

½ cup Butter

½ teaspoon Miskeh/ Mastic

Mix fine semolina, melted butter and yeast together. Add Rose water and Orange blossom water gradually to make a dough and knead for a minute or two to be sure the dough is well blended. Cover dough and let stand for at least one hour.

Ground together all the nuts. Mix together ground nuts, sugar, rose water and orange blossom water till the mixture is crumbling together. Set aside.
Mix together dates, butter and mistek so that that mixture is like dough. Set aside.
Now we have both fillings ready. You will have enough dough to use  both of these fillings. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 or 400F (200C).
Grease cookies sheet, or line with greaseproof paper.

 Knead dough again briefly, and form into walnut sized balls. Make a hole in the centre using your finger.

Fill the hole with a teaspoon of the nut mixture (or dates mixture), and seal the dough up over the hole.

Gently form into balls. Place into the maamoul mold , press in gently; level it up with the mold. Turn it round and gently tap on the worktop & the maamoul will come out. 

If you don’t have a mold you can make designs with brass tweezers or simply with a fork.  

Maamoul with dates

Maamoul with mixed nuts

 

   

Place it on baking tray, keep spaces between the maamoul.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Dust with powdered sugar while still warm if desired.

Usually we dust the maamoul stuffed with nuts and not the dates ones.