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Traditional Greek Honey Cookies (Melomakarona) Recipe

Traditional Greek Honey Cookies (Melomakarona) Recipe
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★★★★★

5.3 from 18 reviews

Traditional Greek Honey Cookies known as Melomakarona are aromatic, soft, and soaked in a luscious honey syrup. These festive cookies combine warm spices like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg with a hint of orange zest, finished off with a honey and walnut topping, perfect for holiday celebrations or any special occasion.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Dough

  • 125 ml fresh orange juice
  • 250 grams (8.8 oz) olive oil (or half olive oil, half sunflower oil for lighter flavor)
  • 50 grams (1.7 oz) honey
  • 80 ml water
  • 100 grams (½ cup) sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground clove
  • ⅓ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon vanillin powder or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 125 grams (⅔ cup + 1 tbsp) fine semolina
  • 550 grams (4⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the Syrup

  • 400 grams (2 cups) sugar
  • 100 grams (3.5 oz) honey
  • 325 ml (1⅓ cups + 1 tablespoon) water
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 4–5 dried cloves
  • Peel of 1 orange

For Serving

  • Additional honey for drizzling
  • Ground walnuts for topping

Instructions

  1. Make The Dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, olive oil, honey, water, sugar, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanillin powder (or vanilla extract), orange zest, and baking soda. Whisk together until the sugar dissolves completely. Then add the fine semolina and stir it in well. In a separate bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour and baking powder, then gradually add them into the wet ingredients. Knead the mixture with your hands for several minutes until it forms a very soft, oily dough that comes together well. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest while you prepare the syrup.
  2. Make The Syrup: Place the sugar, honey, water, cinnamon stick, dried cloves, and orange peel in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then let it boil for exactly 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from the heat and leave uncovered to cool.
  3. Shape The Cookies: Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take roughly 40-45 grams of dough at a time, squeeze to remove air pockets, shape into a round ball, then flatten and form into an oval shape. Arrange cookies on the baking sheet leaving about 3 cm (1½-inch) between each. Decorate each cookie by making criss-cross knife lines or pressing a hand grater gently on top for texture.
  4. Bake The Cookies: Bake the cookies for 20 minutes or until they turn a light golden brown. If needed, bake an additional 5 minutes but avoid overbaking to keep them soft.
  5. Soak In The Syrup: Using a draining spoon, dip the baked cookies into the cooled syrup in small batches. Let each side soak for a few seconds, flip carefully, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to drain excess syrup and cool completely.
  6. Serve: Once cooled, drizzle extra honey over the top and sprinkle generously with ground walnuts before serving.

Notes

  • Use a combination of olive and sunflower oil if you prefer a lighter flavor.
  • Do not stir the syrup while boiling to avoid crystallization.
  • Make sure to leave space between cookies on the baking sheet to prevent them from sticking together.
  • Allow cookies to rest in the syrup only briefly to avoid them becoming overly soggy.
  • Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks or in a covered cake stand.

Nutrition

Keywords: Greek honey cookies, Melomakarona, traditional Greek dessert, honey syrup cookies, Christmas cookies

Find it online: https://cheframiflavor.com/traditional-greek-honey-cookies-melomakarona-recipe/