Moroccan Semolina and Almond Cookies Recipe (2024)

Measuring the semolina flour by volume, 1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons, and then weighing this amount of semolina flour results in 242 grams, rather than the 294 grams in the ingredients list. This is a significant discrepancy when baking. 3/4 cup by volume of sugar weighs 179 grams, rather than the 150 grams listed in the ingredients.Which should one trust, the volume measurements or the grams?

I substitute cornmeal for semolina! They are incredible and then GF!

The subtle and complex flavors and aromas of orange, vanilla, and lemon, along with a unique texture provided by semolina and almond flours make this a very special cookie. Be sure to Firmly press the cookies with your thumb--this creates a deep impression in the center of the cookie and crispy, cracked edges. After making the recipe several times, the only change I would suggest is to substitute a 1/4 teaspoon of orange oil for the orange water. It is more aromatic and flavorful.

I measured by weight, used all ingredients, and everything came together beautifully. While I loved the cookies as made, I found the little thumb-wells tempting to fill. I had a jar of dark chocolate orange sauce, and another of tangerine jam, so I added about 1/2 tsp of one of the fillings to half of them, making a nice variety on the plate. Delicious and will make again.

Aug. 2021 Delicious and nourishing! Will make again!1. Made almond flour from fresh almonds. Didn't bother with blanching the almonds, so have pretty brown flecks in the cookies. 2. As a reviewer stated, 90 gms of granlulated sugar add just the perfect amount of sweetness (instead of the recipe's 150 gms). 3. Added lemon zest and orange zest.4. Added 1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice instead of orange oil or orange blossom water.5. Used a fruity olive oil instead of flavorless canola oil

Baking by weight is more reliable.

I wanted to make “something specials” for my post-op surgery meeting with my phenom team. These gorgeous cookies among the assortment, I opted for 2.5 large eggs for moister cookies, which necessitated cooling the dough for 10 minutes for uniform sizing and shaping. Used 3/4 teaspoon almond extract in lieu of orange blossom water.Results:a most satisfying, homemade THANK YOU to an amazing team of doctors and nurses at UNC.

I highly recommend freezing these cookies and eating them frozen! Absolutely delicious! Freezing them adds unexpected and wonderful moisture to these dry cookies.

Holy moly these are divine! The semolina weight measurement compared to the volume measurement was way off like other reviewers said. I just went by weight because volume ended up well over 300g. I ended up needing to add some semolina to the dough because it was a little too wet to roll into balls. Nevertheless, these are soooo delightful. I used 130g of sugar and they were perfect. I highly recommend the orange blossom water. It’s not overpowering. Pairs great w/earl grey tea. Mmmm

These did not work for me at all. I am so surprised as Melissa’s recipes are usually a hit. They were dry and quite flavorless despite the orange blossom water and lemon. The bottoms burnt on mine because the dough is quite wet and takes on a lot of the powdered sugar when rolled. It was a total miss for me.

dry as a bone. The lemon just isn't enough to make it tasty. Sorry I bought a big bag of semolina & rose water for this

For my first try I halved the recipe and reduced the sugar to 62g. I chopped up some sugared orange slices soaked in Cointreau and added to the dough. Also used orange zest in place of the orange blossom water. I ended up with 20 cookies that baked beautifully after 18min, although next time I’d reduce the time a bit as they got slightly browned and a bit too crispy. These were lovely! I’m off to buy ingredients to make a second batch!

Don’t press cookies. They make crinkle cookies.Flavor with lots of rose water and cardamom

I am a huge fan of Melissa Clark’s recipes and generally do them just as she suggests. But in this truly delicious and nutritious cookie, I do make some changes. I prefer olive oil to canola oil in every case and I prefer to add the following flavorings:Zest of three lemons, 1/4 teaspoon blood orange essential oil, which gives more bang for the buck,1 teaspoon vanilla extract, as Melissa suggests, and1 tablespoon almond extract.

I used grape seed which is a better oil than canola - that I hardly use . I would double the orange blossom so it comes through. I baked it for 14 minutes and it was just perfect.

Tried this recipe using exact weights, measures, and times. While warm and fresh out of the oven, they tasted fabulous. However, once they cooled off, they were very hard and dry. Wondering what I did wrong? Wish I could re-gain that fresh out of the oven taste.

Waited to make these until I got ahold of orange blossom water, which was $3 for a 16 ounce bottle at a european grocery store. I baked for 6 minutes x 2 on super convection in my breville air fryer / oven combo. Nice and browned, crispy edges, tender crumb and lightly floral. New favorite cookie hands down, Dorie Greenspan is a treasure in the baking community! Also note: I weighed everything, including the cookies at 17g each. Really lovely size and thickness.

I weighed my ingredients, and found that the cookies were barely sweet at all. I’m trying to figure out what I could’ve done wrong, since other people seem to feel that if anything they were too sweet, and could potentially cut the sugar down

7 min each go-14-15 min total!!

Sorry..don't know how to edit..'cooked' perfectly in 8 minutes x 2.

Made as written minus orange blossom water. Bit sticky forming the balls uncooked in exactly 8 minutes x 2. Very tasty, attractive too.

Try with olive oil (June 2022)