Date-filled semolina shortbread cookies (Ma'amoul)

1. Melt the butter and pour it hot over the semolina; rub thoroughly with your fingertips so every grain is coated, then cover and rest at room temperature for at least 6 hours (or overnight).

2. Add the sugar, rose water and orange blossom water to the rested semolina and bring together quickly into a soft, kneadable dough (if crumbly, add 1-2 tbsp water).

3. Blitz the pitted dates with the cinnamon to a paste and shape into about 20 walnut-sized balls.

4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C; shape the dough into 20 balls, press each into a small cup with your thumb, put in a date ball and fold the dough over to seal.

5. Press the balls into a ma'amoul mould and tap out, or flatten slightly by hand and pattern with a fork, then place on a lined baking tray.

6. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the base is lightly golden but the tops are still pale; cool completely and dust with icing sugar.

Tip: Ma'amoul is the festive cookie of Easter, of Eid at the end of Ramadan and of the Jewish Purim across the Levant. The overnight rest is what makes it truly crumbly, so don't skip it. Don't bake it brown: a pale colour is right. It keeps for 2 weeks in an airtight tin.