Melomakarona, the greek xmas cookies!

Every country has a recipe for xmas cookies, find today here the greek way :)
It's full of honey, cinnamon and walnuts! You will be surprised how tasty they are although quite sweet and heavy in calories... Despite this, when I make them for Xmas, we tend to finish them so fast that I have to redo for Xmas once again :)
Not many succeed to make them in Greece, so do not underestimate my recipe as it is a sure one for success... and I share it today with you together with the small secret that goes with it ;)



Ingredients (for about 40 cookies)

1 cup of good olive oil
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of good brandy
1/2 cup of fresh orange juice
the zest of an untreated orange
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
some clove powder
1/2 cup of walnuts

For the syrop:
3/4 cup of good honey
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water


Procedure
In a big bowl, mix well with the mixer all the liquid ingredients with the sugar. Then add little by little the flour with the rest of the ingredients but not the walnuts and with your hands continue to mix them. Continue adding the flour, until the mixture starts to thicken but not stick to your fingers.

Then, make with your hands cookies in the shape that you see in the photos. Put them in an oven pan for cookies, using the special cooking paper or butter it if you prefer. Leave the space of a cookie among them.

Bake them in the oven in fan and 180 degrees of Celsius for about 30min or until they get a nice golden color.

In the meantime, and 5 minutes before the end of the baking, boil the ingredients for the syrup for about 5min but check it often as the big secret is to be quite liquid as with the honey inside, if it boils too much it will be too thick to be absorbed by the cookies.

When the cookies are done, take them out of the pan and put them in a smaller and deeper pan one next to each other. Pour the syrup little by little to all of them and leave them to absorb it as long as it needs to. The faster this happens, it means that you have done it correctly :)

Finish by decorating, putting them in a nice presentation tray, and pour on them the grated walnuts. Don't they look great? And they taste even better... 


Eat with moderation :)