Maamoul Filled Cookies

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1. 1Step 1: Beat the butter with a hand-held or stand mixer until light, fluffy, and holding peaks like whipped cream, about 6 minutes. Add the vanilla, orange blossom water, and 3 tablespoons of sugar and beat for another couple of minutes.
2. 2Step 2: Sift in the flour and gently incorporate it into the butter with a wooden spoon. Add the milk, then add more flour by the tablespoon until the dough is ready to shape, meaning you can make a ball that flattens in your floured palm without melting or cracking. Knead the dough with your hands for a minute or two. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
3. 3Step 3: Make the filling by processing the nuts until nearly-finely ground, but not to a paste. The nuts can also be finely chopped by hand. In a small bowl, combine the nuts with 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon orange blossom water, using your fingers to evenly distribute everything.
4. 4Step 4: Line two heavy baking sheets with parchment or Silpats. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
5. 5Step 5: To form the ma'moul, press a bit of the dough into the mold to grease it, then flour the mold generously so all grooves are coated. Pinch off about a tablespoon, walnut-sized piece of the chilled dough (larger or smaller depending on the size of your mold). Flour the palm of your hand to prevent sticking, and flatten the dough in your palm to make a small (about 2-inch) round. Place about a teaspoon of the walnut filling in the center, then fold it over like a crescent and seal the edges. Stretch the dough a little to get it over the nuts to seal.
6. 6Step 6: Gently nestle the stuffed dough, seam-side up, into the mold cavity. Using a light touch, press the dough into the mold—it doesn't take much for the dough to assume the form of the mold. Flatten the exposed dough and wipe away any excess with your fingers, making sure the edge of the molded shape is clear of dough for a defined cookie edge.
7. 7Step 7: Turn the mold over and slam it against the work surface until the cookie falls out.
8. 8Step 8: Repeat this process with the remaining dough and cookies, moving the cookies to the sheet pans. If the dome of your cookies doesn't seem tall enough, plump them up by nudging the dough around the base of each cookie in a bit.
9. 9Step 9: Bake one pan of cookies at a time, until they are still mostly white but golden on the bottom. Check them by lifting one with a flat metal spatula after 15 minutes, and then again every minute or so for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.
10. 10Step 10: Sift confectioner's sugar over the cookies lightly while they are still warm, and then again when they are room temperature. Store them in an airtight container, where they will stay nice for at least one week.