Maamoul bousfeir

By Chef Charles Azar, Chef Consultant Makes 40 pieces Prep/cooking 95 mins

INGREDIENTS

Crust 1kg semolina 100g powdered sugar 100g powdered milk 5g vanilla 6g mahlab 200g butter 200g ghee 250g water 100g rose water 10g yeast Filling 800g dried bitter orange peel

( bousfeir) 200g honey 5g mahlab 50g vegetable oil 50g ghee 5g orange blossom water

PREPARATION

In a bowl, combine semolina, butter, ghee, powdered sugar, powdered milk, mahlab, vanilla and yeast. Mix well. Cover tightly and set aside for one hour. Meanwhile, mix the bousfeir with honey in a food processor and grind at high speed for around 2 minutes. Add mahlab, vegetable oil, ghee and orange blossom water and grind for a couple more minutes. Don't grind them too much to keep chunks of the bousfeir.

Add rose water to the dried mixture and knead by hand until the dough starts to hold together or forms a paste. Remove a small piece of dough and flatten it with your hands and place a teaspoonful of the filling on top. Close carefully to form a ball. Press the stuffed dough into a wooden mold to form a pattern on the upper side of the dough. Tap out onto a cookie sheet that is not greased and bake at 250°C for 5 minutes or until lightly colored but not browned. Remove from oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar, let it cool down, and then sprinkle again with the powdered sugar.