Melomakarona: Greek Christmas Cookie Recipe
Melomakarona are popular Greek Christmas cookies that are covered in a honey syrup and topped with cinnamon and walnuts.
Ingredients
Cookie dough:
- 1 orange zested
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 6 ½ cups flour all purpose
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ¾ cup orange juice fresh squeezed
- ¼ cup brandy optional: cognac
Instructions
Prepare the cookie dough:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Place the sugar for the cookie dough in a bowl and press the orange zest into the sugar with a fork until well combined.
- Place the sugar mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a beater blade on slow, add the olive and vegetable oils until well combined.
- Add the orange juice and brandy to the mixing bowl and continue to mix until well combined.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Slowly add the flour to the mixing bowl one cup at a time. The mixture will start to pull away from the edge of the bowl and form a soft dough. It should be somewhat dense and not loose, runny or sticky.
- Using a cookie scoop that holds approximately 1 tablespoon take a slightly heaping scoop. Drop the scoop into your palm, roll a ball then squeeze to an egg shape.
- Place the dough ball on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press with a fork to make a criss cross pattern.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. The bottoms will be more brown.
Make the syrup:
- While the cookies are baking, make the syrup in a sauce pan. Add the honey, sugar, water, lemon rind, and cloves to the pan.
- Stir to combine and set the heat to medium-high.
- Bring to a boil then set the heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes uncovered.
- Allow to cool, remove the cloves and lemon rinds and get a large slotted spoon ready to soak the cookies.
Soak and garnish the cookies:
- Once the first batch of cookies come out and the second is baking, soak each cookie in the syrup. You can drop them in for 10-15 seconds. Flip them over and soak for another 10-15 seconds. It is fine to soak them while they are still warm. Repeat for each batch.
- Remove them from the liquid with a slotted spoon and place on a tray. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts while they are still wet and sticky from soaking. You can lightly press the walnuts into the tops.
- You can lightly dust a little powdered cinnamon on top of each cookie.
Nutrition
Calories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 20mgPotassium: 53mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 11IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
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