Nicos, my Greek friend with whom I worked many years ago, has returned to Bologna. After our welcome back chat, I took the opportunity to ask him for the melomakarona Greek cookies recipe typical of the Christmas period, and here is the recipe!!!!!!!
The melomakarona Greek cookies are typical of the Christmas period and are pastries also prepared in other Balkan countries. They are always soaked in a delicious and viscous syrup that can be flavored with lemon zest, orange, and/or cinnamon.
I have a great affection for Greek cuisine, which I experimented with years ago while working in pub and restaurant kitchens. On the blog, you can find several recipes such as:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Portions: for about 50 melomakarona cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for MELOMAKARONA Dough
- 2 cups olive oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cognac
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons orange zest (chopped)
- 7 cups flour (7 and a half cups according to Nicos' recipe)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (SCARCE)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4.6 oz walnut kernels (chopped)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups wildflower honey
- as needed lemon zest
- as needed orange zest
- as needed cinnamon sticks
MELOMAKARONA GREEK COOKIES Recipe Tools
#adv
- Mixer
- Stand Mixers
- Baking Parchment
- Baking Pans
- Frying Pans
- Choppers
FOR THE PREPARATION OF MELOMAKARONA GREEK COOKIES RECIPE
It’s very simple, so put in the mixer or the bowl of the stand mixer the oil, cognac, orange juice and zest, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and crushed or ground cloves.
Mix everything well, blending aromas and ingredients for a few minutes.
Sift together the baking soda with the baking powder and the flour.
Now combine the liquids from the first “mixture” of the melomakarona with the powders from this last mix, stirring first with a spoon and then with your hands.
If the dough is sticky, add a little flour because it should not stick to your fingers.
Here’s the fun part! Nicos didn’t mention the portion size, i.e., how many grams the melomakarona should weigh, so I searched the web and found about 30 grams… WELL the first batch was 30 grams, and they turned out like giant cookies, so I reduced it to 23 grams, and I’d say we’re about right! However, always test and decide what you like best as always!
As I make oval cookies with a thickness of about half an inch, I arrange them on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
With a skewer, I make many holes on top of each melomakarona cookie and then bake the Greek cookies with walnuts, cinnamon, and honey at 355°F for about 25 minutes as Nicos mentioned!
Once baked, let them cool on a wire rack for sweets. In the meantime, prepare the syrup.
In a pan, put water and sugar and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Then add the honey and mix until a foam forms, which I gradually remove with a skimmer.
To flavor the syrup I also add lemon and orange zest and a piece of cinnamon stick.
Pour the syrup over the melomakarona and there are 2 options: cold cookies with hot syrup or hot cookies with cold syrup, the choice is yours!
As I soak them, I also add a little chopped walnut kernels, and we’ve finished preparing the TYPICAL GREEK CHRISTMAS MELOMAKARONA!
Enjoy!
Annalisa
SO… I should have baked them a few minutes longer to make them crispier, and maybe I should have soaked them less, IN SHORT, A DISASTER ON ALL FRONTS HA HA! But I assure you they are very, very good and keep for many days!
