My husband as been away from his home country, Algeria for just over 3 and half years. I try my hardest to transport him back there whenever i can, through cooking / baking the delicious cuisine the country has to offer, makrout are one of his favourite sweet so it's a no brainer that i bake some up to try to impress him and one day my inlaws will enjoy these from me too insha Allah(God willing)
Makrout is not specific to Algeria but is common throughout the whole of North Africa and no suprises there are many versions, fried or baked, fillings of nuts and / or dates, etc this particular version is baked and the filling consists of dates and sesame seeds.
I would say these cookies are somewhat similar in texture to a fig roll / newton, which according to wiki was probably invented by the early Egyptians as a way of preserving the beautiful and nutritious fig.
There are numerous benefits of the date fruit but today i will mention only one - easing labour pains and shortening the birthing process and it just so happens as i write this post my twin sister is in a local hospital giving birth to her second child mashaAllah (as God willed).
Before, any study showing the benefit of dates for the woman giving birth, Our God Allah blessed us this verse of the quran about Maryam's birth to Isa (Jesus) peace be upon them both, which mentions the date palm.
Translation of the meaning:-
The pains of labor drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She
exclaimed: "Oh, if only I had died before this time and was something discarded
and forgotten!" A voice called out to her from under her: "Do not grieve. Your
Lord has placed a small stream at your feet. Shake the trunk of the palm toward
you, and fresh, ripe dates will drop down to you. Eat and drink, and delight
your eyes. If you should see anyone at all, just say: 'I have made a vow of
abstinence to the All-Merciful, and [so] today I will not speak to any human
being.'" (Surah Maryam: 23-26)
Recipe taken from couscousandpudding with slightly more details
Makes: 30-40
Ingredients
3 cups fine semolina1 cup of melted butter or margarine (margarine will result in a softer dough)
1/2 tsp salt
60 ml Orange blossom water
120ml* Lukewarm Water
filling:
500g dates paste100g of toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp Orange blossom water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Oil for hands, work surface
plus:
150ml honey or golden syrup1-2 capfuls of orange blossom water **
* depends on the absorbency of the semolina
Method
Melt the butter over a low heat and leave to cool slightly.Mix the semolina and a salt in a large bowl
Pour the melted butter into the semolina, rub the butter into the semolina as you would if making shortcrust pastry ensuring every grain is coated, it all should be a lovely golden sandy beach colour.
Leave to stand at room temperature for 1hour minimum.
Slolwly moisten the enriched semolina grains with the orange blossom water and water bringing the dough together with your hands, without kneading. You want to use enough water so a soft dough is formed, neither dry or too wet.
Cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and leave to stand for a few minutes while you prepare the filling.
Pre-heat oven to 180C / 160 Fan
Mix the date paste with butter, orange blossom water and cinnamon, using a butter knife mix together until a smooth consistency similar to that of the dough. Add the toasted sesame seeds.
Divide date mixture into 3 balls of equal weightWith oiled hands form 3 long logs about 30cm in length.
Make 3 balls of semolina dough the size of oranges, all the same weight.
Take one ball of the dough, make a sausage shape about 30-35cm long and form a tunnel in the centre running from one side to the other or as the author on coucousandpudding says "dig a trench" in the middle with your finger.
Place a log of date paste in the 'trench' shut it well by pinching the dough.
Roll again to reform the sausage shape, then flatten a bit with your hands as i did or use a special makrout mold, if you happen to know where i can get those in england, let me know!Using a knife cut into diamonds/lozenges/rhombus shapes each about 3cms wide and 2cm deep (a ruler comes in handy)
Place the makroutes side by side on a baking parchment lined tray.
Bake in oven until a light golden color, about 20 minutes.
Let cool completely before removing from the tray
Warm your honey mix in some orange blossom water ** to taste then immerse the makroutes for a few minutes. I used a large pan so it meant i had to turn my makroutes after 1 minute to enable the honey to coat all sides.
Drain in the basket of a coucousier (over a pot) or simply place back on baking trays.
Optional extras: sprinkle with sesame seeds/sugar sprinkles.
