Ma'amoul (Nut-filled Cookies)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup semolina flour
• 10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) pareve margarine or 1 pound (2 sticks) butter
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/4-1/2 cup water
• Confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups roughly ground walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

1. 1. For the dough, place the flour, semolina, margarine, and oil in a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Add the water gradually, pulsing until a soft dough is formed. Cover and set aside for 10–15 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. 2. For the filling, combine the walnuts with the cinnamon and sugar.
3. 3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. 4. Either use the ma'amoul mold described above or take a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll it into a ball and hollow out the center. Inside, place a heaping teaspoon of walnut filling. With your hands, mold the dough closed.
5. Continue with the rest of the dough.
6. 5. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. With the tines of a fork or tweezers with a serrated edge, make designs on the top of each cookie, being sure not to penetrate the crust.
7. 6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Do not brown; the cookies should look white. Cool. When hard, roll in confectioners' sugar.