my little expat kitchen

my little expat kitchen

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my little expat kitchen
my little expat kitchen
Melomakarona - Greek Christmas honey cookies

Melomakarona - Greek Christmas honey cookies

Μελομακάρονα - the ultimate Greek Christmas flavors

Magdalini Zografou's avatar
Magdalini Zografou
Dec 20, 2024
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my little expat kitchen
my little expat kitchen
Melomakarona - Greek Christmas honey cookies
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Hello friends, welcome to my new space here on Substack and to my newsletter, that will come to you every week with new recipes, stories, tips and insights into the Greek kitchen pantry, ingredients, food and more.

I’m so excited about this new adventure and so very happy to have you here!

I have a lot more to share with you about this transition from my blog over to Substack and will do this really soon on my next post.

I know, I know, you came here today for my recipe for Melomakarona that’s long overdue. Many of you have been asking for this recipe for years and let me assure you, you won’t find another as delicious as this.

For those unfamiliar with these cookies, they are one of the two traditional Greek cookies made during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays (the other one is Kourabiedes - find my recipe here).

They’re a delight to make and so easy. No mixer in sight!

They are made with olive oil, orange and spices, and they get soaked briefly into a honey syrup after baking. Once cool, they are drizzled with more honey and sprinkled with lots of chopped walnuts and cinnamon.

They’re slightly crispy around the edges, soft and moist from the syrup in the middle, full of intoxicating aromas from the honey, spices and orange that you can also taste with each bite, and the deeply nutty crunch of the walnuts gives them a beautiful earthiness.

Oftentimes, melomakarona tend to be overly sweet and saturated with spices. Not in this case. My melomakarona are as sweet as they need to be and the warming spices of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, while making their presence known, will not overpower your palate.

Hope you enjoy them as mush as we do. And please share with me your photos when you make them. I’d love to see them.

Melomakarona (Μελομακάρονα) - Greek Christmas honey cookies

Use good quality extra virgin olive oil. I use a pungent one because I love the intense flavor of olive oil but a fruity one may suit you best if you prefer something milder or you’re just not used to the flavor of olive oil in your desserts or food in general.

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