Can you feel the Christmas spirit without melomakarona?
Christmas has always been a very special time of the year for me. I am one of those people who experience it with mixed feelings, both happiness and sadness at the same time. On the one hand, I feel so happy about everything that I have tried, fought for, and won in the year that has passed, but at the same time I have a -sweet- sadness for all these moments that I have to leave behind and move on. Whether you are a Christmas lover or you feel this sweet melancholy, you certainly can’t deny that the festive atmosphere won’t come, if we don’t make the delicious sweets of the season, such as melomakarona (Greek honey cookies with), kourabiedes (Greek almond cookies), diples (Greek honey pastries), skaltsounia (Greek walnut-filled pastries), etc. After all, is there anyone in Greece that doesn’t love these festive desserts? As I recall, my mother always made these delicious desserts, that made me go crazy and couldn’t stop eating. Well, something similar happens nowadays too…
Melomakarona or Kourabiedes (Greek Almond Cookies)? Which one do you prefer?
Personally, I choose -for sure- melomakarona! Although the dilemma is hard and I really enjoy them both, melomakarona win this battle. After a lot of thought, I decided that the first dessert I would make for this festive season would be my favorite one, so today’s recipe is melomakarona. Of course, I made my small modification in the syrup and made an absolutely vegan version. So, let’s bake and fill our house with these aromas of this traditional dessert and prepare for the most beautiful period of the year.
Vegan Melomakarona (Greek Honey Cookies)
Ingredients
For the syrup:
- 400 ml water
- 400 g granulated sugar
- 150 ml agave syrup
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2-3 cloves
- peel of 1 orange
For the melomakarona:
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ⅓ tsp. clove powder
- 120 ml olive oil
- 120 ml sunflower oil
- 100 gr granulated sugar
- 30 ml cognac
- juice of 1 orange
- zest of 1 orange
- grated walnuts (am much as we want)
Instructions
For the syrup:
- Start with the syrup by throwing the ingredients in a pot in low heat.
- Stir and let them boil for 2-3 minutes.
- After this time, remove the pot from the heat and set the syrup aside to cool.
For the melomakarona:
- Preheat the oven to 170 ° C in the air setting and spread a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and clove powder in a bowl and mix them well.
- Add the olive oil, sunflower oil, sugar, brandy, orange juice, and zest in another bowl and mix them well too.
- Gradually, pour the mixture from the first bowl to the second, while stirring with a whisk. Our goal is to homogenize the ingredients without kneading the mixture.
- Shape small melomakarona and place them in the baking tray leaving enough gap between them.
- Bake them for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the baking tray from the oven and dip the melomakarona one by one in the cold syrup, while they are still hot.
- Leave each one for about 10-15" and then turn it from the other side for the same time.
- Place the melomakarona on a plate and serve with grated walnuts.
- Enjoy!
Have a nice cooking session!
