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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cookies 77g Recipe makes 40 cookies) The following items or measurements are not included below: 2 oranges, zest of
Calories 294
Calories from Fat 109		(37%)
Amount Per Serving		%DV
	Total Fat 12.1g	18%
	Saturated Fat 2.8g	13%
	Monounsaturated Fat 6.7g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1g
	Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 6mg		2%
Sodium 96mg		4%
Potassium 56mg		1%
Total Carbohydrate 44.1g		14%
	Dietary Fiber 1.1g	4%
	Sugars 23.0g
Protein 3.4g		6%
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Dinner with the Greeks

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By: plantfreek

Melomakarona (A Greek Christmas Cookie)

Recipe #76498 | 1 hour | 30 min prep | add private note

⁽⁸⁾ RATE IT NOW Print Recipe

By: evelyn/athens
Nov 14, 2003

These are a coarse-grained cookie soaked in a honey syrup (the semolina achieves this), popular throughout Greece during the Christmas Holidays. They are wonderful and are THE recipe that makes my house smell like Christmas - orange peel and cloves and cinnamon. The most unbelievable perfume wafts through the house for a couple of days after baking!

40 -50 cookies (change servings and units)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups light olive oil or corn oil
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup beer or orange juice (or more)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 oranges, zest of, grated
1 cup sugar
2 cups fine ground semolina (cream of wheat or farina)
6 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups greek thyme honey
1 cup water
3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Directions

1
Put the corn oil, butter, beer (or orange juice), cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until they are thoroughly blended.
2
Sift about one cup of flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt and blend into the oil mixture.
3
Add the semolina, a cup at a time, into this mixture.
4
Add enough of the remaining flour, a cup at a time, until you get a rather firm dough (you may need a bit more or less than the amount of flour mentioned in the ingredients list).
5
Use your hands to do the mixing, as an electric mixer will be useless after the first two or three cups of flour have been added.
6
Roll the dough into cylinders, about two inches long and one inch in diameter, flatten them with your hands, and place them on cookie sheets that have been greased with a little olive oil.
7
Bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for half an hour.
8
Remove the cookies from the oven and pour hot syrup over them.
9
Lay the cookies out in a rimmed baking pan large enough to contain them and pour the hot syrup over the cookies, sprinkle them with the chopped walnuts and let them soak overnight.
10
(Alternatively, if you do not have enough rimmed baking sheets to accommodate all the cookies, you can dip them in batches directly into the hot syrup - keeping the syrup at the lowest possible simmer - and allow to soak in the syrup for 8-10 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon).
11
For the syrup: mix the sugar, honey and water, and bring to a boil.
12
Cook on low heat for four minutes and skim off the foam that forms on top.
13
The next day put them on your prettiest platter, sprinkle each layer evenly with the finely chopped walnuts and wrap with plastic wrap (or put in an airtight container) and serve.
14
These are great keepers and will last for months (my Mom's 'big' batches sometimes made it nearly up until Easter!).

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Featured Reviews for This Recipe

From: Chef #545970

On Dec 18, 2007

I had quite a dilemma deciding what to rate this as I loved the taste but hated the texture of the farina in the cookie. My DH also loved the taste but wouldn't eat more than 1 since they were so sweet. So sadly, this is not a recipe that we will make again despite the excellent flavor. Thanks for the post, though.

0 people found this review helpful

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From: Chef #526780

On Dec 13, 2007

great recipe

1 person found this review helpful

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From: mizboxster

On Jan 1, 2006

I was looking for a recipe for authentic Melomakarona that I could make this holiday season as a nostalgic treat for my Greek husband, and this recipe really fit the bill! I followed the recipe exactly as is (using OJ instead of beer), and baked them for the full 30 minutes. They turned out perfectly. Next came the syrup part — which did take a bit of adaptation to get them to the right consistency that my husband recalls. Perhaps I should have done the slotted spoon method in the pot over the stove, but I opted to pour the simmering syrup over the cookies after they had cooled for 1/2 an hour in the pan. Perhaps the cookies had cooled too much (??), as it took several hours for the cookies to even BEGIN to soak up some of the honey syrup. We decided to put the whole sheet pan (cookies & syrup) back in the oven at a "warming" temp of 170F to help the absorption process along. We did this several times throughout a 5 hour period, and even flipped all the cookies over to try to get the tops to absorb the liquid. Finally, this method worked, and we ended up with DELICIOUS authentic Greek Christmas cookies! They really are very tasty. **Note for next time — we will either try the slotted spoon method to incorporate the syrup into the cookies, OR try pouring the hot syrup over the cookies only 5 minutes after they come out of the oven (instead of waiting until they cool). **ALSO, of note, I used a regular ice cream scooper (not the kind that is round and has the spring lever) but a typical oblong ice cream scooper, to pack the raw cookie dough into to form the flattened egg-shaped cylinders. WORKED LIKE A CHARM & was far more efficient than molding each one by hand. Thanks Evelyn for a great recipe that I feel will become an annual Christmas tradition in our family!

8 people found this review helpful

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From: Dimpi

On Mar 17, 2006

This is definitely a 10-star recipe. I made 1/4 of the recipe and baked it exactly for 30 minutes. Cookies are best after they've soaked awhile - deliciously soft-textured with a hint of oranges and perfect sweetness that melts in your mouth. I did add a bit of lemon zest, juice and a stick of cinnamon into the syrup. Thanks Evelyn for a WONDERFUL recipe Update Mar 17 '06 - I have made these several times now and they were awesome each time. I've doubled the batch successfully, and kept it at room temperature for a little over 2 months (it was still great), and they have even travelled over 7700 miles I usually do the slotted spoon method for about 30 secs (syrup taken off heat), and then lay them in a row on the baking sheet and pour syrup lightly all over. Takes several hours, even overnight, to soak fully. In a couple of batches, I've stuffed each cookie with some of the chopped walnut and its delightful to bite into. Also, I used the beer not OJ. Drank the rest of it! I'd recently been to a famous Greek bakery in NJ and tried out their melomakarona and I tell you this is SO much better. Very good recipe, Evelyn, thanks!