Melomakarona (Greek honey Christmas cookies)
Traditional Greek melomakarona — soft honey cookies with warm spices, olive oil and walnut topping. Authentic Christmas recipe
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Syrup
- 500 g water
- 700 g granulated sugar
- 200 g honey
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 oranges, cut in half
Melomakarona
- 1000 g all purpose flour
- 200 g fine semolina
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 30 g powdered sugar
- 60 gr melted butter
- 400 ml fresh orange juice
- 400 ml canola oil or corn oil
- 100 ml EVOO
- chopped walnuts and honey for the decoration
Instructions
- Start by preparing the syrup first, as it needs to be completely cool before dipping the melomakarona.
- In a pot, add all the syrup ingredients except for the honey
- Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 1 minute (start timing once it begins to boil).
- Remove from heat, add the honey, and stir until it dissolves.
- Pour the syrup into a large bowl and let it cool completely.
- Make the dough. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a large bowl, combine the orange juice, extra virgin olive oil, canola (or corn) oil, cloves, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
- Add the flour and semolina, and mix gently just until the dough comes together.
- Do not overmix — the dough should remain soft and slightly oily.
- Shape the melomakarona into small ovals (about 20 g each) and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While the cookies are still hot from the oven, dip them into the cold syrup and let them soak for about 1 minute.
- Place on a serving plate and drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chopped walnuts