Greek Honey and Walnut Cookies (Melomakarona)
Melomakarona are Greece’s most iconic Christmas cookies. These cookies are soft, spiced, and soaked in honey syrup. Made with warm flavors like cinnamon, orange, and clove, then topped with crushed walnuts.
Ingredients
- 8 ½ cups all-purpose flour shifted
- 1 ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ⅔ cups orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 orange zest
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp clove ground
- 1 ½ tbsp cinnamon powder
- 1 cup walnuts crushed
- For the syrup
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 2 ½ cups water
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon peel
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160
- Add the olive oil and the vegetable oil to a large bowl. Mix to combine. Add in the sugar, cinnamon powder, orange zest, and the ground clove.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sifted flour with the baking powder. Slowly incorporate the flour mix into the oil mix and stir.
- Add the baking soda to the orange juice and mix. Slowly pour the mix into the batter.
- Beat until it turns into dough
- Take a spoonful of batter, shape it into an egg-like shape, and place it on parchment paper lined in your baking pan.
- Once the cookies are shaped, use a fork and make a criss-cross on each cookie with the fork prongs. Place the cookies in the oven for 25 minutes. Set the cookies aside to cool.
- The syrup must be hot, and the cookies must be cold to absorb the syrup.
- Once your cookies have cooled off, start making the syrup. Add the water, sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and two tablespoons of honey. Stir and bring to a boil for about 10 minutes. Skim away any form that might form.
- Dip the cookies into the syrup and let them soak for about 30 seconds, then remove and garnish with the crushed walnuts.