Greek Honey Cookies

We enjoy making these Greek Honey Cookies known as Melomakarona, which were introduced to us by our neighbours. These Greek holiday cookies do not contain alcohol, the recipe is adapted from this site. I have kept the measurements in grams as I use a measuring scale to measure all the ingredients. 

I have reduced the sugar and find this amount is enough for us. 

200g water 

400g sugar 

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 orange, cut in half

150g honey 

First make this syrup as it needs to cool completely before the cookies bake. In a pot add all the ingredients for the syrup, except the honey and bring it to a boil. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved, and remove from the stove. Stir in the honey and set aside to cool completely.

To garnish

200g chopped walnuts or almonds 

ground cinnamon 

ground clove 

We can make 26 cookies each weighing 50 grams. 

For the melomakarona cookie you will need...

150g fine semolina 

500g flour

1/2 tbsp baking powder

100g orange juice 

100g sugar

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/3 tsp nutmeg ground

1/3 tsp clove ground

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tbsp baking soda

90g water 

125g olive oil

125g vegetable oil

50g honey 

zest of 2 oranges

In a bowl add the semolina, flour and baking powder and blend with a whisk to combine.

In another large bowl add the orange juice, sugar and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, vanilla). Then add the baking soda and whisk immediately for 5-10 seconds, until the ingredients combine and the baking soda dissolves and starts to foam. 

Pour in the water, oil, orange zest and honey and whisk to combine.

Add the mixed flour, semolina and baking powder mixture to the wet ingredients. Knead the dough lightly using your hands until the ingredients combine and the dough is smooth and soft. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will look wet, but do not to add any more flour than the recipe calls as this will make the cookies tough.

Preheat the oven at 356F. Layer 2 baking trays with baking liners and shape the cookies with your palm into smooth oblong shapes by taking 50g of dough. Place the cookies on the baking tray, push each cookie lightly with a fork and make some holes on top do not poke the holes all the way down.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and cooked through.

When the melomakarona come out of the oven, place them in the cold syrup, flipping them with a slotted spoon to absorb the syrup for about 10-20 seconds, depending on how syrupy you like them. Remove the cookies using a slotted spoon, place on a platter and sprinkle with chopped nuts, ground cinnamon and cloves. 

Store the melomakarona at room temperature in an airtight container.

To make these cookies good quality honey is a must. We love using honey for desserts, and as a sweetener for coffee and other beverages. Honey as lots of natural benefits, and finding honey that is pure and fresh isn't always easy. Beekeeper's Naturals sells raw honey and other superfoods from the hive including royal jelly, propolis, and bee pollen online. 

Propolis is traditionally used in Herbal Medicine to relieve sore throat and infections in the mouth. Purchasing the products online is easy and shipping in North America for products over $60 is free. 

We tried three varieties of their honey - Cacoa honey that has a chocolate taste perfect to drizzle over breakfast or to dip fresh fruits; Raspberry blossom is a thicker golden honey perfect to drizzle on desserts; and Sweet Clover is a lighter coloured honey that has a thin consistency perfect to add to tea and desserts.  

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