The melomakarono is the egg-shaped Greek Christmas cookie of flour, olive oil and honey, soaked in syrup and showered with walnuts. Made by the trayful through December, it pairs with the powdery kourabiedes on every festive table.
A cookie that is crumbly and oil-rich yet drenched, so it eats moist and almost spongy with honey, orange and warm spice. The walnut topping adds crunch against the syrupy softness. One is never enough at the holiday table.
Olive oil instead of butter gives a tender, slightly coarse crumb that drinks in syrup without dissolving. Dipping cool cookies into warm honey syrup lets them absorb liquid throughout while keeping their shape and a soaked, moist texture.
Variations
Walnut-stuffed centers, with brandy or cognac in the dough, dipped in chocolate, with a touch of grated orange in the syrup
On the Palate
Where Melomakarona sits in the Greek flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 10
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 15 min
Whisk olive oil, sugar, orange juice and zest, cinnamon and clove together.
- 28 min
Add flour with a little baking powder and soda and mix to a soft dough.
- 310 min
Shape the dough into small oval cookies and place on a lined tray.
- 425 min
Bake until firm and golden brown, then let cool completely.
Watch outBake until firm and golden, then cool completely — a warm cookie falls apart in the syrup instead of drinking it in.
- 510 min
Meanwhile simmer honey, sugar and water into a light syrup.
Watch outKeep the syrup at a light simmer, not a hard boil — over-reduce it and it turns sticky and won't soak in evenly.
- 66 min
Dip the cooled cookies into the warm syrup so they soak it up.
Watch outDip the cool cookies into warm syrup for a few seconds until they stop bubbling — that's them soaking through without going soggy.
- 72 min
Lift out and arrange on a platter.
- 83 min
Sprinkle generously with crushed walnuts and a dusting of cinnamon.
