Ma'amoul is usually made during the holidays ofEaster, and a few days beforeEid (then stored to be served withArab coffee and chocolate to guests who come during the holiday).[1][2][3] It is popular throughout theArab world.[4]
They may be in the shape of balls, domed or flattened cookies. They can either be decorated by hand or be made in special wooden moulds calledtabe.[5] Different moulds can denote different fillings.[6]
Levantine maʿamoul has been linked byfood historians tokleicha, aMesopotamian date-filled cookie attested since at least the medieval period, and tokahk, an ancient Egyptian date-filled cookie.[7][8][9][10]
An 1895 Egyptian Arabic-English dictionary by authorSocrates Spiro described "maʿmûl" as "a kind of Syrian cake", the name was translated as "made, manufactured".[11]
Late 19th-century proceedings by theInternational Congress of Orientalists described both ma'amoul andkarabij withnatef; ma'amoul was described as a small, round, nut-filled or plain semolina flour cookie with a decorated top, and karabij was described as long, finger-shaped, nut-filled cookie served with or withoutnatef cream.[12] A recipe for walnut-filled ma'amoul appeared in the 1885 Beirut cookbookUstadh al-Tabbakhin.[13]
In 1883, SwedishOrientlistCarlo Landberg [sv] described ornamented, date-filled ('ajwa) ma'amoul being made for Eid al-Adha in Syria.[14]
The cookies can be filled with nuts (commonly used nuts are pistachios, almonds or walnuts) or dried fruits, most commonly orange-scented date paste.[15]
In Turkey, maamouls are referred to as kömbe and the filling usually consists of crushed walnuts, ginger and cinnamon.[16]
Ma'amoul maad (Arabic:معمول مد) is a variation of ma'amoul where instead of shaping the dough into individial cookies, it is shaped into a 3-layer cake, with the semolina dough at the bottom layer, the filling in the second layer, and more semolina dough at the top layer.[20][21] It is popular in Lebanon, whereqishta is a popular filling besides nuts and dates.[21][22][23]
Karabij Halab (meaning "whips of Aleppo") are a stuffed semolina cookie originating fromAleppo, Syria, they are typically stuffed with pistachios, and are served withnatef, a sort ofmarshmallow creme,[27][28] they are a variation of ma'amoul,[29] and are also popular in Lebanon.[30][31]
Kerebiç [tr] is Turkish a variation ofkarabij.[32][33] It is a semolina cookie that stuffed with nuts and served withsoapwort cream, it is popular inMersin during Ramadan.[34][35][36][37] It is a registered patent under theTurkish Patent and Trademark Office as geographical indication, according to the patent office, it was popularized by Arab confectioners in the 1940s.[38][39][40]
While ma'amoul are consumed all-year long, they are most associated withEid Al-Fitr oriftar as meals in celebration for the ending ofRamadan's fasting.[44] ForChristian Arabs as well, ma'amoul is also part of theEaster celebrations.[5]
^abHelou, Anissa (2015).Sweet Middle East: Classic Recipes, from Baklava to Fig Ice Cream. Photographs by Linda Pugliese. Chronicle Books.ISBN9780594094197.
^إكرام صعب (17 April 2021)."كلاّج رمضان".. حلوى بيروتية لم تعد للفقراء ["Kallaj Ramadan"... A Beiruti sweet that is no longer for the poor].Sky News Arabia. Retrieved10 September 2025.
^Ṭalbi-Ḳadmi, Raḥel (1996).Rasheliḳah = Rashelika : niḥoaḥ ha-miṭbaḥ ha-Yerushalmi Sefaradi ha-mesorati : ḥamishah dorot shel matkonim mishpaḥtiyim mesoratiyimרשליקה = Rashelika : ניחוח המטבח הירושלמי ספרדי המסורתי : חמישה דורות של מתכונים משפחתיים מסורתיים [Rashelika: the aroma of the traditional Spanish Jerusalem kitchen: five generations of traditional family recipes]. Jerusalem: O. Raikh, Y. Ḳadmi. pp. 82–87.LCCN98825100.
Farah, Madelain,Lebanese Cuisine: More than 200 Simple, Delicious, Authentic Recipes: London: 2001ISBN978-1-56858-179-8
Smouha, Patricia,Middle Eastern Cooking, London 1955 ASIN: B0000CJAHX
Roden, Claudia,A New Book of Middle Eastern Food: London 1986ISBN0-14-046588-X
Roden, Claudia,The Book of Jewish Food: New York 1997, London 1999ISBN0-14-046609-6
Uvezian, Sonia,Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen: A Culinary Journey Through Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan: 2004ISBN0-9709716-8-0,ISBN978-0-9709716-8-5
Joan Nathan,The Jewish Holiday Kitchen: New York 1988ISBN0-8052-0900-X
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