Melomakarona (Greek honey cookies) are one of the most popular treats throughout Greece during the Christmas Holidays and their intense homely smell makes every house smell like Christmas.
Ingredients
- 9 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups sugar (one for the cookies and one for the syrup)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 ½ cups Ariston Orange Infused Olive oil
- Juice and zest of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ cup Cognac
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup Ariston Honey from Wildflowers
- Chopped walnuts to sprinkle on top of finished cookies (optional but yummy)
Instructions
We start with the syrup so that it is cool for the cookies.
In a pot, warm 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar and the honey. (Optional: add a cinnamon stick) Stir until the mixture is consistent. Set aside to cool.
Separate dry and wet ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients so that they are consistent.
In a large bowl, add the Ariston Orange Infused Olive oil and sugar and mix well with a mixer. Begin to add the wet ingredients one at a time (orange juice, Cognac, orange zest, lemon zest and blend to a homogenous consistency.
Begin to add dry ingredients a little at a time mixing with a spoon. We want a doughy consistency.
Prepare your cookie sheets and preheat oven to 325 degrees
Shape cookies in small round shapes or use your favorite cookie cutter shapes. Space them on the cookie sheet so they are not too close together.
Place the baking trays with the cookies in the oven and bake for approx. 20 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and cooked through.
When the cookies come out of the oven, place them in the cold syrup, flipping them with a slotted spoon to absorb the syrup for approx. 20 seconds, depending on how syrupy you like them. Remove the cookies using a slotted spoon, place on a platter and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.