What semolina cookie is filled with dates or nuts?

Maamoul is the semolina cookie filled with dates or nuts. This celebrated Arab-world pastry is made from a buttery semolina dough wrapped around fillings such as date paste, pistachios, walnuts, or almonds.

Maamoul is strongly associated with the Levant and is prepared for major religious holidays. Christian families commonly serve it around Easter, while Muslim families make it for Eid. The cookies are shaped into domes, balls, or flattened rounds, then pressed into carved wooden molds called tabe, which leave distinctive patterns on the surface.

Different shapes or mold designs can identify the filling, especially date versus nut versions. Maamoul is sometimes confused with baklava because both are Middle Eastern sweets, but baklava is made from layered pastry and syrup, while maamoul is a molded cookie. Food historians have linked Levantine maamoul with older date-filled pastries such as Iraqi kleicha and Egyptian kahk.