Melomakarona Andonias
Submitted by Melody
Melomakarona are classic Greek Christmas cookies, olive oil dough spiced with orange zest and cognac, soaked in honey-cinnamon syrup, then sprinkled with toasted almonds. Holiday tradition perfected.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
30 minCOOK
45 minREADY
1 hrsMelomakarona are the jewels of the Greek Christmas table, honey-soaked olive oil cookies that taste like Christmas itself if Christmas had moved to the Aegean. This version comes from Andonia, which means it’s built the old-school way, kneaded by hand and bathed in syrup until every bite gives way like cake.
The dough is naturally dairy-free (a feature, since Greek Orthodox Christmas fasts restrict dairy) built around olive oil as the fat. Fresh orange juice and zest, cognac, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg all get kneaded in to build that unmistakable warm-spice-and-citrus flavor.
The syrup step is what sets melomakarona apart from every other Greek cookie. Cooled syrup poured over hot cookies makes them tough; hot cookies dipped in cool syrup soak it up in seconds while keeping their shape. It’s the single most important technical detail.
Toasted almonds mixed with cinnamon and sugar get showered over the tops while still sticky. Serve with strong coffee and a stack of napkins, they’re deliberately drippy.
Pro Tips
- Knead the dough a full 10 to 15 minutes. Short kneading leaves them crumbly instead of tender.
- Only dip warm cookies (not hot, not cold) into chilled syrup. Hot cookies melt into the syrup, cold cookies won’t absorb it.
- Blanch and toast the almonds yourself. Pre-chopped ones have lost their oil and flavor.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature, not the fridge. Refrigeration dries them out and the syrup crystalizes.
Variations
- Swap almonds for chopped walnuts, more traditional in some Greek regions.
- Add a quarter teaspoon of ground anise or a splash of ouzo to the dough for a Greek herbal undertone.
- Drizzle melted dark chocolate over the cooled cookies for a modern (and absurdly pretty) upgrade.
Ingredients
Directions
Start by making the syrup.
Put the honey, sugar, cinnamon, clove, and lemon zest in a saucepan and add the water.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the lemon juice, then chill.
To blanch the almonds, plunge them into boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, until you see signs of their skins loosening.
Then drain and slip or pop them from their skins onto a baking sheet.
Toast them in an oven preheated to 350℉ (180℃) F for about 10 minutes - just until they begin to color.
Cool, then chop them very, very finely - if you do this in a food processor, make sure that the pulses are short, or the nuts could turn oily.
Mix the ground almonds with the sugar and cinnamon and reserve.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.
Put the olive oil and sugar in a large bowl and beat together - with your fingers like Andonia - or with a wooden spoon.
Beat in the Cognac, the orange zest, spices, and juice from 2 oranges (about ½ cup).
Then beat in the flour, a few spoonfuls at a time, until you have a malleable dough, adding more flour if it is too soft, and more orange juice if it is too stiff.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 to 15 minutes until very smooth.
Pinch off pieces of dough of about 2 tablespons and form into flattened oval or lozenge shapes.
Place them on an oiled or non-stick baking sheet.
Bake in an oven preheated to 400 to 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes, until brown.
When they are cool enough to handle, dip them in the bowl of syrup for about 1 minute.
Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a tray to cool.
Sprinkle with the chopped almond mixture.
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