Melomakarona
Greek Christmas biscuits made with olive oil, orange and cinnamon, baked for 30 minutes and soaked in honey syrup with walnuts.
Photograph credit: Melomakarona (image of Melomakarono on Wikidata Q2655119) by Kalambaki2 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Before You Start
Do not knead the dough.
Dip warm biscuits in cool syrup.
Leave for a few days to soften.
How to Make Melomakarona
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Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line two trays. Whisk the oil, orange juice, 100 g sugar, brandy, baking soda and zest.
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Stir in the semolina and flour until just combined. Shape into 30 ovals and press with a fork.
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Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden.
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Simmer the honey, syrup sugar and water for 5 minutes and cool.
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Dip the warm biscuits in the cool syrup for 20 seconds. Lift out and sprinkle with the walnuts and cinnamon.
Why It Works
Do not overwork the dough. It is the single most useful tip for melomakarona, the Greek honey dipped Christmas biscuits, because they come out heavy and hard if the dough has been kneaded. They are made with olive oil and orange juice, no eggs and no butter, and are soft inside after soaking.
Mix the olive oil with orange juice, sugar, brandy and a little baking soda, then stir in the semolina and flour until just combined. The dough is soft and slightly sticky. Shape it into ovals with your fingertips, as little as possible, and press the top with a fork to make marks. Bake at 180°C / 355°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden.
While the biscuits are still warm, dip them in a cooled honey syrup made from honey, sugar, water and a strip of orange peel. Leave them in it for 20 seconds, then lift them out and sprinkle with chopped walnuts and cinnamon. The syrup should be cool and the biscuits warm, so that they absorb it. They improve over three days and last two weeks in a tin.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Keeps for 2 weeks in a tin.
What to Serve Alongside
- Greek coffee
- Mulled wine
- Tea
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. The calories include 1 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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