Eid Maamoul is different fillings and a special flavor which is not absent from the homes of Syrians

With the last days of the blessed month of Ramadan, the smell of Maamoul emanates from the homes and neighborhoods of Damascus as an event to celebrating the coming of Eid. Many families are keen to prepare it at home, while some of them want to buy it from the market, even with the high prices of the Maamoul, but it is still the first choice of Syrians for Eid sweets with its different fillings according to their taste.

Usually in every Eid Syrians prepare the maamoul with Ajoua (Dates), pistachios, nuts filling, or one of the different kinds of jams such as narnage, citron and they serve it beside Barazek and Ghraybeh which are very famous in Damascus, not forget the Arabic coffee. Shops sell their sweets in a very presentable way in order to attract attention.

Start making maamoul first by making the dough, filling the cookies, forming them and baking them, then to be sprinkled with Arabic ghee after taking them out from the hot oven (200c). Biting into one of these cookies, you will first get the slightly crumbly crust with a hint of mastic and mahlab. Next comes the chewy and sweet filling. Be it the nutty pistachios or walnuts, the dates with hints of cinnamon and cardamom, the whole thing melts in your mouth playing a melody of textures and flavors.

Maamool is usually formed into unique shapes using hand carved wooden molds that not only make look special but they help you tell what type of filling is in each one. The flat round ones are filled with dates, the elongated oval ones and are for the nut fillings: pistachios and walnuts. Another way of forming the cookies would be using special decorating. Tweezers are used to pinch the dough to form different patterns.

Maamoul is a special Eid treat, and it is one of the special desserts that show up in Eid days despite the demand for it all the year.

Lara Khouli