Ma’amoul Med (Orange and Espresso Date Cookie Bars)

Ma’amoul is a quintessential holiday cookie that is enjoyed for Eid, Christmas, and Easter. In its traditional form, it is made by pressing semolina cookie dough into circular molds and filling them with nut or date paste.

In our kitchen, when the holiday season rolled around, beautiful wooden molds, traditionally used for these cookies, would surface. My sisters and I would make these labor-intensive cookies with gusto. But my mother, ever efficient, often made a Fig Newton–form of cookie bar, rolling out two layers of dough to sandwich the date filling. For years, I thought this was her own invention but, it turns out, this is another form of ma’amoul called med, which literally translates to “spread.”

The yeast in this recipe gives a little spring to the dough. As the dough rests, it becomes easier to handle and flavors develop more fully.

This recipe is my own rendition of a traditional date filling. Espresso adds depth to the date flavor, but if you are sensitive to caffeine, you can either omit it or substitute decaf espresso. The procedure here calls for soaking the dates to soften them. If your dates are already gooey and soft, you can skip this step.

I also offer an ashta cream filling variation, what many call the queen of ashta desserts in Lebanon. It is a softer, more cake-like version of the bar, since it’s drenched in syrup, and equally divine.