Melomakarona

Melomakarona is a traditional Greek Christmas dessert – fragrant honey cookies, soaked in syrup and sprinkled with walnuts. The name comes from the Greek words “meli” (honey) and “makaria” (a traditional ritual bread served at holidays and commemorations in ancient times), as its current form combines the taste of honey, orange, and cinnamon.

🌐 gotvach.com
🌍 Bulgarian

Ingredients

750 g flour

300 ml sunflower oil (or light olive oil)

150 g softened butter

100 g sugar

1 egg

150 ml fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

100 g chopped walnuts for sprinkling

a little cinnamon for sprinkling

300 g sugar

300 g honey

350 ml water

1 cinnamon stick

Method

The flour is sifted with the baking powder.
The cookie dough is prepared by first mixing together the butter and oil. The sugar is added to them, followed by the egg. They are beaten well.
The baking soda is mixed with the orange juice and immediately added to the mixture. The cinnamon and orange zest are added. A little of the flour mixture is added gradually. A soft dough is kneaded. It should not be kneaded for long, but only until it is homogeneous.
The oven is heated to 180°C.
The dough is shaped into balls the size of a large walnut. They are arranged in a pan on parchment paper. They are pricked with a fork, being careful not to flatten the cookies too much. They should remain ball-shaped, because this will affect their texture after they are baked. If they are made too flat, they will be dry and very crumbly.
The cookies are baked in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until they turn a brownish color. They are removed and left to cool completely.
The syrup is prepared by mixing all the ingredients. They are left to simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. The syrup is kept warm (not hot) on the turned-off burner.
The cooled cookies are dipped in the warm syrup. A few cookies are worked with at a time, depending on the volume of the container the syrup is in. The cookies are left to soak well for about 3 minutes. They are removed with a slotted spoon and placed on a rack to drain. They are immediately sprinkled with ground walnuts and cinnamon. They are left to cool completely. Then they are stored in a box.