Makrout

Makrout ou Makroudh, is a North-African recipe of semolina based cookies, stuffed with dates and soaked in syrup.

The recipe I share here is my grand-mother’s, God save her soul, who used to be an expert in Tunisian traditional cuisine.
Makrout can be deep fried, but I prefer to oven-bake it.

RECIPE

• Reduce the cleaned and pitted dates into a paste.
• Add ground cinnamon and olive oil.
• Form ropes that you keep aside to stuff the makrout later.

• Put the water and sugar in a large pan.
• Bring it to a boil over medium heat.
• When it starts to boil, add lemon juice and geranium water.
• Let boil for some minutes, then set aside to completly cool down.

• In a large bowl, mix the semolina with salt and orange peels.
• Add the vegetable oil and the ghee or clarified butter.
• Mix until well combined.
• Cover with a clean tea towl and leave to rest for at least 3 hours.
• Add some warm water then add the flour and mix well.
• Add water gradually until you obtain a smooth dough. Don’t knead.
• Divide the dough in 4 parts.
• Roll the dough into a thin log.
• Make a deep indentation with your finger that runs the length of the dough log.
• Place the date rope inside.
• Close the dough around the filling then roll out carefully until it forms a smooth log.
• Flatten the dough gently then cut diamonds.
• Place the makrout diamonds on a baking tray covered with baking paper.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C, until it get a nice gold color.
• When still hot, soak the makrout in the cold syrup.
• Transfer to a sieve with a bowl underneath.
• Leave to strain and completely cool down before you transfer it in an airtight container.

ENJOY YOUR HOMEMADE TREAT!