Gingerbread Date Cookies

I love traditions! I find myself often torn between traditions. Who doesn’t love a soft and chewy gingerbread cookie? They taste, smell, and look amazing but lack incorporating something Ramadan-y or Eid-y. So, I started experimenting with the always festive date! I played with recipes and different combinations until I found something magical!! It’s so pleasing to adults and children (yes they love them..even the picky ones). The recipe looks long but I promise, it’s really simple. The dough can be made ahead of time and stored up to 4 days in the refrigerator. There’s an easy way to make them by rolling out the dough, adding the stuffing and covering with another piece of dough….super quick! But you can also make it fancy by molding it into the traditional mamool molds which I purchased at my local middle eastern grocery store. I sometimes even use random silicone molds that I get from Target in pretty shapes like stars, cars, and butterflies! Just remember to remove from molds and bake on parchment paper. Decorate with powdered sugar or royal icing… you can get so creative with these!!

Original Gingerbread Date Cookies (Mamool) 

Components:

Outer Cookie Shell:

The outer shell is made of a soft and chewy gingerbread dough. The mild spiciness in the outer shell works so well with the sweetness of the date filling inside.

Date Filling:

The date filling is very simple, just dates and butter…dates and butter are a match made in heaven! Here are a few snippets along the way, complete instructions are available for download on the bottom of the page.

 

Dowload Recipe Here: