Friday, April 22, 2016

Mamm'ouls~and Maps~








Mammouls are wonderfully shaped little stuffed cookies..sometimes w/ a date filling..sometimes with a nut filling..sometimes both..
I had not made any in ages..
I like the little ritual..of forming little balls then making a deep dent and filling..folding the dough over..and pressing into the mold..knocking out the perfectly shaped little filled cookies and baking.

Soo many recipes for mammouls and not all are created equal..in my mind..these are my faves..so far..
Please refer to the recipe here..they are from The Book Of Jewish Cooking by Claudia Roden..
I made the date filling.
But above..my dough was from a different recipe and not nearly as good.It included semolina..I much prefer all flour.
The first time I made these..was over 10 yrs ago I am almost certain.I got my molds at our Lebanese market..Adonis..yrs ago.
I have seen some 9 cavity ones in plastic that look adorable.
The molds are also available on EBAY etc..
Sometimes..I even omit the orange or flower water..and put in almond essence..then they can be filled w/ Nutella.
I am not a purist as you know.Nutella and my Littles..a marriage made in heaven.
I'll be making that cinnamon swirl banana bread this aft..
and I made fantastic muffins but the pics are frightening..all 3 littles gave them a 10..The recipe is here..

The cookies by the way.. end up looking as though you had picked them up in a lovely salon de thé~

I have been writing again..trying different little nibs..

one nib I like and really it's small and a bit of a wallflower looks wise..but does it ever pack a little punch..the Gillott 303..
I got them on Ebay..fast shipper..honest..(I had placed the order twice and he emailed asking if I had meant to do that..kudos.)
I'll add the link if anyone is interested..

..speaking of the name Gillott..it struck my fancy as it is Carol's last name from Paris Breakfasts  and her wonderful Salons des Thés arrived..you can subscribe to the Paris maps by clicking on the link to the right..on my sidebar..the maps come w/ so many cute things..

brochures..business cards..my art room looks like a shrine to Carol;)







Carol just celebrated her 10th anniversary of over 2250 posts over at Paris Breakfasts..
Bravo !

Bon weekend~!

P.S..  Garden Lore..

Its pouring and grey..Wuthering Heights-like today..weekend should be better.
I planted peas and beets..and nasturtiums the past few days..hope they all take..I want to split open the peas and admire..then eat..same with the beets...admire first..then eat.
The garlic is up and the local one is 100 times more robust than grocery one..it was a test..
I'll never have enough garlic..I need a field..
so if any of you planted some last fall..it should be up;)

41 comments:

  1. Bonjour, Monique! As a fellow fan of Carol's art, I enjoyed seeing her mentioned again! The tea map may be my favorite...Your calligraphie in gold is gorgeous!! Lovely cookies and all those pretty things. Your home must be like a beautiful museum, with a Carol room and so many treasures! Glad that les petites choses sont arrivées...Bisous, R.

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    1. Moi aussi Rita.. :)
      Je suis allée au bureau de poste ce matin..alors je crois que tu auras un petit souvenir de moi aussi..Après tout.. c'est le mois d'avril..le mois de la correspondance.
      Des petits échanges entre correspondantes!

      Une idée géniale ses cartes ..Jacques les apprécient aussi!

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  2. Your calligraphy is beautiful my dear! Only a true artist can do it. I always wish I can write like this....unfortunately, my hand writing is like a 7 year old! :P Wish you a wonderful weekend!

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    1. I love to write..a note..a postcard..always have ..hope to always be able to:)
      Thanks Amy!

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  3. Your are a true artist doing all that beautiful calligraphy. Cookies sound heavenly and I wish I had some right now yumyum.

    Great post - hope your weekend is sunny and warm.
    Mary

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  4. Oh Monique, your calligraphy is very pretty and your cookies sound delicious! Hope your peas and beets do well. Happy weekend!

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  5. Yes, Monique, you are very talented in calligraphy. It looks so professional. I want to learn that. Did you teach yourself? I wonder if cornstarch instead of semolina

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    1. Well, I don't know how that happened, but just wondered what it would be like to replace semolina with cornstarch. I think they would just melt in your mouth. I have a cookie recipe with cornstarch and it is very good. So maybe you can try that. Hope the gray passes and you can get in the garden.

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    2. In school I learnt cursive..never block letters so my block letters are not great:)
      My mom had beautiful handwriting and I think I tried to write as well as she did..over the yrs..I had fun w/ calligraphy but more script-like..I am almost going back to cursive w/ flourishes..
      I cannot believe the talented calligraphers out there..back then you didn't have the internet and images everywhere to learn..
      amazed at what I have found on Instagram and it has resurrected my wanting to practice..

      Donna I love cornstarch in cookies..and rice flour..both add such melt-in-your mouth goodness..:)

      I'll experiment:)

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  6. Delight! Oh, you do make my heart sing with your pretty images, delicious treats, and your way with words.
    I adore Carol's work and have subscribed to her letters. I need to get her maps, especially this one of Salons des Thés. My favorite afternoon ritual when in Paris. '-)
    Your caligraphy is gorgeous. I want to take a class. Always intended to, but never have. One of my dear friends is a master caligraphier. She has gifted me with many hand pened pieces through the years. I cherish each one. Thanks for the recipes. I love the molds of course. Carved wooden kitchen implements = love!

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    1. I think you would love a class :) And they also have beautiful wood holders:)
      I know your love of pottery and wood in a kitchen..I love those 2 also.
      I find Carol's maps true works of art:)

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  7. I'd KILL for some Wuthering Heights weather --- lots of unrelenting sunshine here...

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    1. I do like a change too..but sunshine..is not hard to take:)

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  8. Your cookies look so delicious Monique! And of course very pretty. Love anything which is filled I do, I do, I do! Especially with dates. Loving your caligraphy. You are so very good at it. No surprise there as you are good at all you put your hand to. I am wishing now we had put garlic in. We have such sodding wet weather here, most things just rot in the ground. We have very poor soil and lack the funds to make it better. I can enjoy seeing yours though! I want to do some container gardening myself this year. All on my own. I can handle that. No Todd allowed. I want to see how I do on my own. Love and hugs and happy weekend wishes! xoxo

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    1. My soil is awful! And needs replenishing..but we both don't feel like hauling dirt anymore..

      there's been some erosion in the beds and I sweat I see the black material that we had put at the surface now..slants in the beds..oh boy..

      garlic..does not like to be wet..in fact they do not encourage a lot of watering..
      I know your are of the garden will be very you:)Your pretty containers:)
      I think you will love that.Your bébés:)

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  9. I have some notes from you and always marvel at your handwriting. Mine has gotten worse with age. The cookies look wonderful. Of course I am trying to search them on eBay but not having success. The Nutella sounds nice. I think I have to try this too.

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    1. I am ging to look for you..remember..use the recipe in the link;)

      Ebay must have some..
      My writing has gotten worse with age etc..also..I think that is why I am hanging on for dear life:)

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  10. I found the moulds...did you season your wood one first before using so the dough releases easily?

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    1. Not that I can remember:)Yay!

      Did you see the cute plastic ones too? The thing about the plastic ones is that there are more cavities in one tool..

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    2. So the wood ones are easier to work with and have the cookie release from the form? Plus I guess you can bang them out without breaking the tool!

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  11. How interesting. My mother made a dessert very similar to Mammouls. It was a cheese pastry stuffed with a date filling. I've never quite been able to duplicate it, so I'm anxious to try this recipe.
    Sam

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    1. I had tasted a little turnover w/ a cheese pastry from a freind 1oo years ago..I recently found it and tucked it somwehere..I'll have a look;)

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  12. I wish we had planted garlic - but seem to have enough to tend lately. Love your beautiful cookies and the gorgeous moulds. The calligraphy is lovely!

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    1. I think you have enough on the go:) Thank you Tricia.

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  13. The Mammouls sound wonderful. Your calligraphy is beautiful too.

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    1. I try:) I just keep trying..:)Thanks for your nice words today on your blog.

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  14. Those are the prettiest cookies! You need a glass of mint tea to sip with them...
    Your calligraphy is lovely. And that's exactly how I picked my nom de plume...by writing out Gillott beau coup. Loved those pen points!

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    1. Well you learn something new every day..Bonne soirée ma belle.

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  15. Great calligraphy! Good job. I took a class in it years ago, loved it and you have inspired me to go at it again. Great little cookies, bet they're delicious!

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    1. Fun to get back into things..and w/ a whole different way..:)

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  16. Wonderful calligraphy skills Monique. You talk about being creative and talented and I am visiting your site where you are so creative, whether it's baking, photography, calligraphy, gardening and more. Happy Saturday.

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    1. You have the whole tecchie aspect nailed!! Plus the interior decor:)

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  17. Would you believe I haven't used my Ma'amoul mold yet? I have to get it out of the drawer and set it on the counter to remind me! I would LOVE the date filling. Your calligraphy is so pretty, Monique. People would pay you to address their wedding invitations! Seriously. Too bad about the cupcakes but if they're a 10 with the boys that's all that matters :) I had a baking 'fail' today. I hate when that happens. My garlic has been up since late fall and the snow didn't effect it a bit. It's getting tall and the stems filling out! Can't wait to see all of our crops flourishing this season but love the slow and wonderful process of watching them grow. Don't want to rush the season one bit :)

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    1. I won't rush it either..what patience we gain with our ...older souls now:)

      It will be fun to share our crop pics:)

      So many calligraphy artists EXCEL now..I am left in the dust:)

      Thanks though..I always love sending you a letter♥

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  18. I took a calligraphy class in elementary school using an old nib set of my Grandma's. I'm not sure where the set is now. It's definitely somewhat of a lost art!

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    1. Heather..with your attention to detail..it may be something you would love again..while waiting for wee ababy..after.you might be very busy for a while..Oh I hope you find that set!

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  19. I love Mammouls. You can get really good ones in the shops here, so I never tried making my own. I should.
    Amalia
    xo

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