Tunisian Date and Almond Makroudh Bites

About This Recipe

Makroudh are one of Tunisia's most iconic sweets, small semolina pastries filled with a rich, spiced date paste, traditionally shaped into diamonds before being fried and soaked in a fragrant honey or sugar syrup infused with orange blossom water. This bite-sized version follows the same essential technique, filling small semolina dough pieces with a date-and-almond paste before frying them until golden and soaking them while still warm in syrup so they properly absorb its sweetness. The technique that matters most is working the semolina dough with enough oil or ghee to give it a slightly sandy, tender texture once fried, distinct from a plain flour pastry, and cooking the date filling down until it's a smooth, cohesive paste that won't leak out during frying. Soaking the fried pieces in warm syrup immediately after frying, rather than waiting for them to cool, lets them absorb the maximum amount of syrup for the characteristic sticky-sweet finish. A fixture of Tunisian celebrations, particularly weddings and Eid festivities, makroudh reflects the country's deep love of dates, one of its most significant agricultural exports, transformed here into an irresistible fried sweet.

Ingredients

Serves 10

• 2.5 cupsfine semolina
• 0.5 cupmelted butter or ghee
• 0.5 cupwarm water
• 0.25 tspfine sea salt
• 300 gpitted dates(chopped)
• 0.25 cupground almonds
• 0.5 tspground cinnamon
• 2 cupsneutral oil(for frying)
• 1 cupsugar(for syrup)
• 0.75 cupwater(for syrup)
• 1 tbsporange blossom water

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Combine semolina, melted butter, warm water and salt into a soft, slightly sandy dough. Rest 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Make the date filling

   Warm the chopped dates in a pan over low heat with a splash of water until soft and mashable, about 5 minutes. Mix in ground almonds and cinnamon.

3. 3

   Shape

   Roll the dough into small logs, flatten, add a strip of date filling down the center, and fold the dough around it to enclose completely.

   Seal the dough thoroughly around the filling — a poor seal lets the date paste leak out during frying.

4. 4

   Fry

   Heat oil to 170°C (340°F). Fry the filled pieces in batches for 3-4 minutes until golden.

5. 5

   Make the syrup

   While frying, simmer sugar and water together until dissolved, then stir in orange blossom water.

6. 6

   Soak and serve

   While still warm, dip each fried piece into the syrup, letting it soak briefly. Cool slightly before serving.

Variations

• •

  Add chopped pistachios to the date filling for extra texture.

• •

  Bake instead of frying for a lighter version, though the texture will be noticeably different.

• •

  Roll the finished, syrup-soaked pieces in sesame seeds for extra crunch.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week; they hold well and are often made in advance for celebrations.

Frequently Asked Questions