Nicos, my Greek friend with whom I worked many years ago, has returned to Bologna. After welcoming him back, I took the opportunity to ask him for the recipe for Melomakarona Greek cookies typical of the Christmas period, and here is the recipe!!!!!!!
The Melomakarona Greek cookies are typical of the Christmas season and are pastries made in other Balkan countries as well. They are always soaked in a thick and delicious syrup that we can flavor with lemon zest, orange, and/or cinnamon.
I have a great affection for Greek cuisine, which I experienced years ago working in pub and restaurant kitchens, and you can find many recipes on the blog like:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Portions: for about 50 Melomakarona cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for the 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 (SPARSE)
- 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
Tools for the MELOMAKARONA GREEK COOKIES Recipe
#adv
- Mixer
- Stand Mixers
- Baking Paper
- Baking Pans
- Frying Pans
- Choppers
FOR PREPARING THE MELOMAKARONA GREEK COOKIES RECIPE
It’s very simple, so I put the olive oil, cognac, orange juice and zest, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and crushed or ground cloves into the mixer or the stand mixer’s bowl.
I work it all well, mixing the aromas and ingredients for a few minutes.
I sift the baking soda with the baking powder and flour together.
I now combine the liquids from the first “mixture” with the powders from this last mix, stirring first with a spoon and then with my hands.
If the dough is sticky, I add a little flour because it should not stick to the fingers.
Now comes the fun part, ha ha! Nicos didn’t tell me the size, meaning 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 to be giant cookies, so I reduced it to 23 grams, and I’d say that’s about right! Anyway, always do a test and decide how you like it best, as always!
As I make the oval cookies with a thickness of about 1/4 inch, I place them on a 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 356°F for about 25 minutes, as Nicos wrote to me!
Once baked, I cool them on a cooling rack and meanwhile prepare the syrup.
In a pan, I put water and sugar and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Then I add the honey and stir 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.
I soak the melomakarona in the syrup, and the options are 2: cold cookies with hot syrup or hot cookies with cold syrup, your choice!
As I soak them, I also add a little bit of chopped walnut kernels, and we have finished preparing the TYPICAL GREEK CHRISTMAS MELOMAKARONA!
Enjoy your meal!
Annalisa
SO… I should have baked them a few minutes longer to be crunchier and perhaps should have soaked them less, IN SHORT A DISASTER ON ALL POINTS HA HA! But I assure you they are very very good and keep for many days!
