Maacroun

Maacroun is a dessert that’s also prepared on Eid el Berbara and it is one of the most delicious sweets. I prepared the dough myself, my first time, and the result was a huge success. Everyone liked it.

Maacroun is either baked or fried then soaked in sugar syrup, Qater. I prefered to go with the frying thing, since it’s more delicious. And because it’s been a long time since I ate fried maacroun.

The preparation of the dough is so easy. It has to sit for a while covered with a blanket or so. I couldn’t wait more than 10 minutes. The result was a delicious sweet crunchy pastry. The important thing about Maacroun is that, they are best eaten after hours or the next day because the dough will absorb all the sugar syrup and it will be softer, sweeter, the flavors more stable.

Maacroun

– 2 cups fine semolina

– 1 cup cake flour

– half a cup vegetable oil

– half a cup anis water (2 tsp anis soaked for few minutes in half a cup boiled water) warm

– 1/2 tsp baking powder

– 1/2 tsp mahlab

– 1/2 tsp instant dried yeast

For the syrup

Combine 1 cup caster sugar and 3/4 cup water in a saucepan to boil. Set aside.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then add the oil, and with your fingers rub the oil with the dry mixture and slowly add the anis water to make it more wet and combine very well to form a ball. Set aside covered in a warm cloth for some time. When the batter is ready, form a mini-size ball and press it on a strainer-bowl with big holes, and with the tips of the fingers, roll it back so you see the holes marked on the dough.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the maacrouns, when they turn brown, transfer them to the sugar syrup, stiring so they are completely soaked and then transfer to a pan to cool down.

Serve warm ( if you can’t wait) or after few hours. They are best eaten the next day.

Enjoy.