michi's cakery

Melomakarona

New years cookies

Melomakarona dough

This is a christmas cookie from Greece they are very sweet and delicous. The sweetness comes from the syrup and the honey that is usually poured over it. In this recipe I tried to do something different, I made them with chocolate. The recipe comes from akis petretzikis

Ingredients

(for the dough)

  • Orange juice | 400 ml
  • Sunflower oil | 400 ml
  • Olive Oil | 180 ml
  • Icing sugar | 50 g
  • Ground cloves | 1/2 tsp
  • Ground cinnamon | 2-3 tsp
  • Ground nutmeg | 1/4 tsp
  • Baking soda | 1 tsp
  • Orange zest | 1 orange
  • All-purpose flour | 1 kilo
  • Semolina | 200 g

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (370°F) Fan.
  2. To make the cookies, you need to prepare 2 separate mixtures (dry and wet ingredients).
  3. For the first mixture (all ingredients except flour and semolina), add all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix, using a hand whisk.
  4. In a separate bowl, add all of the ingredients for the second mixture (flour and semolina).
  5. Combine the first and second mixture.
  6. Mix by hand, very gently and for a very short time (10 seconds at the most). If you mix longer the mixture will split or curdle.
  7. Mold cookie dough into oval shapes, 3-4 cm in length, 30 g each. Try to keep them as similar as possible.
  8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until they are crunchy and dark golden brown.
  9. As soon as you remove them from the oven, soak the hot cookies in the syrup for 10 seconds.
  10. Allow them to drain on a wire rack.
  11. Drizzle with honey and chopped walnuts.

“To make the cookies not to dry you need to add some syrup”

Melomakarona syrup

Syrup should be done in advance so it can cool down enough so that the cookies can be covered with syrup

Ingredients

(for the syrup)

  • Water | 500 ml
  • Granulated sugar | 800 g
  • Honey | 150 g
  • Cinnamon sticks | 3
  • Whole cloves | 3
  • Orange, cut in half | 1

Directions

  1. Boil all of the ingredients for the syrup, apart from honey, until sugar melts. Remove from heat. Add the honey and mix till combined.
  2. Let syrup cool for 3-4 hours. It must be cold by the time the cookies come out from the oven.
"If you have made a melomakarona I would be happy if you send me a picture and tell me how you think the making of it was!"