Mamoul (Eid biscuits)

1. Beat the butter with the sugar until creamy.
2. Add the oil, flour and semolina and mix to combine.
3. Pour in the warm milk and bring the dough together, without kneading it too much.
4. Cover and set aside for an hour or so while you make the filling.
5. For the date filling, fry a little sesame in a pan, then add butter. Stir in the date paste and combine well with the sesame and butter, adding a touch of water until soft, but take care not to make it too wet.
6. Take it off the heat and spread it on a plate to cool, then shape into balls of about 15g each.
7. Chill for half an hour.
8. Roll the dough into balls of about 30g each.
9. Take the date balls from the fridge, stuff one into each dough ball, then press into a maamoul mould to shape.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes, until golden underneath and lightly coloured on top.

Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen

• Handle the dough gently and stop as soon as it comes together, since over-working it makes the cookies tough rather than crumbly.
• Let the dough rest so the semolina has time to hydrate and the texture comes right.
• Chill the date filling until firm, which makes it far easier to tuck into the dough.
• If you have a maamoul mould, tap it firmly but gently to release each cookie cleanly.