What is Maamoul? Is it the only Arabic cookie popular in the world or is it one of many other types? How many types of it are there? What are its ingredients? How does it taste? Is it as popular around the world as much as it is popular in Arabic countries or is it only popular in local geographic areas?

Maamoul is a dessert that is most consumed in Lebanon and Syria. It is also well known in many other countries in the Middle East. People like it because it is sweet but does not include a lot of calories. It is the preferred dessert in many countries in the region. It is popular for personal consumption as well as gifting. It is liked much more popular than other desserts that are of inferior nutritional value. People prefer Maamoul mostly because of its nutritious ingredients and sweet taste that is not found in most other cookies that are popular in these countries. This dessert however is not the only one available to people in the region. There are many other cookies that people love as well.

Karabij for example is another cookie that people like to eat. It also tastes very good especially when dipped with its special cream that is called “Natef”. This cream is made exclusively for these cookies. One of the important commonalities between this type and the previously described one is that they are made from similar ingredients. The latter is just a special version of the former. It is actually a miniaturized version of it but has the added characteristic that it is served with Natef to dip it in. Because this latter version is small, it is usually offered in large quantities because people tend to eat a lot of them. It also has an elongated shape while Maamoul is always given a round shape. The latter version is more popular and most people prefer it because they can eat it anytime anywhere since they don’t need to dip it in the special cream. This makes handling it much more practical.

We have already mentioned that both of these two desserts have a lot of nuts in them. What kind of nuts however is a point of difference among the two. Maamoul is known to exist in many versions as you can put many different kinds of nuts and other fillings in it. The most used nuts filling is pistachios. Dates filling is however also popular along with walnuts and some other less used versions like almonds for example. Karabij is different when it comes to filling. It is filled with pistachios only. Dates, walnuts, and almonds are never used with it.

All these different version of Maamoul also come in different shapes. In general they have a round shape, but the exact form changes from piece to the next depending on what filling is used in it. Some are more rounded and others are more elongated. This shape is rather a tradition than a requirement. In theory, you can shape it in any way you like, but tradition has it that it is usually given a rounded shape.

One question remains, and that is about when do people eat Maamoul? You can really eat it anytime anywhere. It is sweet, and thus most people consume it as a dessert. Since it is small and each piece is usually sealed, you can take a few pieces with you to work and have them after lunch or send a few with your kids to school so that they eat them after their main meal.

In summary, Maamoul is a popular dessert consumed during formal desserts as well as at work or in school. It is nutritious and sweet at the same time.

Author Bio: Maamoul are unique and tasty cookies that can be made at home if one is ready to get a little messay. Read the article Mamoul And More Lebanese Sweets for more information.

Category: Food and Drinks
Keywords: Maamoul