Melomakarona
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5.0
3 reviews
Excellent
Melomakarona
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Melomakarona are traditional Greek Christmas and New Year cookies made with semolina, olive oil, Cognac and spices, and infused with aromatic honey syrup.
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Ingredients
For the syrup
- 3 cups caster sugar
- 2 cups water
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- ½ cup thyme or flower honey
- 1 orange , sliced, with the skin
For the dough
- 2 lbs flour
- 1½ cups fine durum wheat semolina
- 1¾ cups extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ cups fresh orange juice
- ⅓ cup cognac
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ammonium bicarbonate
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- zest of 2 oranges
For the garnish
- 1½ cups unsalted pistachios , roasted and crushed (or crushed walnuts)
- 1 cup liquid honey
Equipment
- food processor
- Stainless steel spider
- Fine mesh strainer
- Greaseproof paper
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Instructions
Syrup
- The syrup should be prepared at least 3 hours before preparing the dough.
- Pour the sugar, water, cinnamon sticks and orange slices into a saucepan, and bring to a boil over a high heat.
- As soon as it’s boiling, lower the heat, and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, add the honey, and stir until dissolved.
- Set aside to cool completely.
Dough
- In a bowl, mix together the baking soda, durum wheat semolina and flour.
- In the bowl of a food processor, using the blade, mix the olive oil, Cognac, icing sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
- Add the orange zest, and mix until the sugar dissolves.
- In another bowl, mix the ammonium with the orange juice, and pour it into the food processor bowl.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 stages to ensure it’s all incorporated.
- Mix thoroughly, being careful not to overwork the dough.
- Divide the dough into about 75 golf ball-sized pieces (about 1 oz / 30g each).
- Shape each piece into an oval, and roll each piece across a stainless steel spider. (This will create ridges that will help soak up the syrup after baking.)
- Place all the melomakarona on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden.
Soaking
- Strain the syrup through a fine mesh colander while the melomakarona cooks to remove the cinnamon sticks, orange, and any orange pulp.
- As soon as the melomakarona comes out of the oven, immerse them, still hot, in the very cold syrup.
- Leave for 1 minute, turning once.
Garnish
- Pour a little honey into a dish, and add a few pieces of pistachios or walnuts.
- Using the spider, remove the melomakarona from the syrup, and place into the honey.
- Sprinkle with pistachios or crushed walnuts.
Notes
- Very important: The syrup in which the melomakarona are immersed after cooking must be cold. It may be made several hours in advance, or even the day before. It can also be placed in the freezer for a while so that it cools down faster.
- This recipe uses 2lbs (1 kg) of flour. So be sure to incorporate the 3-step flour mixture to assess the texture of the dough. If the dough is too dry, add a little orange juice or water and if, on the contrary, it is too soft, add a little flour.
- Olive oil must be of excellent quality, which is why it is important to use extra virgin.
- The melomakarona dough should not be overworked.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
3 reviews
Excellent
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