🍪 Melomakarona

Name: Melomakarona
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 30
Cuisine: Greece
Ingredients: 250 ml olive oil; 150 ml orange juice and the zest of 1 orange; 100 g sugar; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp baking soda; 250 g fine semolina; 400 g wheat flour; For the syrup: 150 g honey, 150 g sugar, 200 ml water; 80 g walnuts, chopped

Origin: Greece

168kcal

per serving · 60 g

280kcal

per 100 g

2 gProtein4 g / 100 g

8 gFat13 g / 100 g

22 gCarbs36 g / 100 g

Melomakarona are Greek Christmas cookies made with semolina, olive oil, orange juice and zest and cinnamon, baked and then soaked in honey syrup. They are soft and moist inside with a slightly crumbly edge, fragrant with orange and spice, and finished with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts. They are served with coffee throughout the festive season.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not veganbecause of: honey syrup

Contains glutenbecause of: semolina

Not keto36 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Tree nuts

What it is made of

semolinaolive oilorangehoney syrupwalnutscinnamon

Recipe

30 servings75 min

Ingredients

250 ml olive oil
150 ml orange juice and the zest of 1 orange
100 g sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
250 g fine semolina
400 g wheat flour
For the syrup: 150 g honey, 150 g sugar, 200 ml water
80 g walnuts, chopped

Method

Whisk the oil, orange juice, zest, sugar and cinnamon; dissolve the baking soda in a little orange juice and add.
Mix in the semolina and flour just until a soft dough forms; do not overwork.
Shape into 30 small ovals and bake at 180 °C for 20–25 minutes until golden.
Bring the honey, sugar and water to a boil for 5 minutes to make the syrup.
Dip the warm cookies in the hot syrup for 30 seconds each and sprinkle with walnuts.

How to make it lighter

One cookie is about 30–35 g; count each one you eat.
Dip the cookies quickly so they soak up less syrup.
Use a light sprinkle of walnuts on top instead of a thick coating.

History

Melomakarona are one of the two classic Greek Christmas sweets, together with kourabiedes. Their name joins 'meli' (honey) with 'makaroni', and they are often linked to an ancient or Byzantine honey bread, though that connection is not certain. Today they are baked in Greek homes and bakeries every December.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →