Jingle Bells~ Jingle Bells~ Jingle all the way! Christmas is one of our favourite festivals of the year. In Europe, most people go home and spend Christmas with their families, so the office is usually quieter than usual. That’s my personal reason why I like Christmas the most: I can have a truly relaxed Christmas!
During Christmas, Melomakarona is one of the festive sweets in Greece. It’s also one of Mr. 197’s favourites. However, like many other sweets in Greece, I always find them a bit too sweet. That’s why I decided to make it less sweet, and don’t worry, Mr. 197 approves and he loves it soooo much!
If you wonder how Melomakarona tastes, it’s honey cookies with orange and Christmas spices! Personally, I also like the fact that it uses oil instead of butter in the cookies, feels a bit healthier too! The texture of the cookies is a bit crunchy outside and soft inside.
The best thing of making your own cookies is you can decide if you want it to taste more spice, or sweeter. You can also decide how much you want to have, big batches if you have a big family, a few less when you are a small family. (But it’s so tasty that I suggest you to better make more than less – you will regret making too little!) Hope you will try it out and enjoy Melomakarona as much as we do!
Melomakarona - Greek Christmas Honey Cookies (Less Sweet Version)
Ingredients
Syrup
- 1 Orange
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Cloves
- 250 mL Water
- 200 g White Sugar
- 60 g Honey
Cookies Mix (Group 1)
- 200 mL Orange Juice
- 200 mL Vegetable Oil
- 90 mL Olive Oil
- 25 g Icing Sugar
- ¼ tsp Cloves
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp Nutmeg
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Orange, Zest
Cookies Mix (Group 2)
- 500 g Plain flour
- 100 g Fine Semolina flour
Toppings
- Honey
- Chopped Walnuts
Instructions
Syrup
- Cut the orange in half.
- Add all the ingredients together in a small pot.
- Heat it up until all the sugar melts.
- Leave it to cool down completely.
Cookies
- Mix all the ingredients in group 1 and group 2 separately in 2 bowls.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mix (group 2), and pour the group 1 mixture in it.
- Mix with a spoon until just combined. (Don't over-mix!)
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Take 30g of cookies dough, and shape it to an oval shape. Use a knife to cut 3 lines diagonally, and another 3 lines interlock the first 3 lines, forming some diamond grid shapes. Repeat for the rest of the dough.
- Bake for 20-25minutes. Once it's ready, soak the hot cookies in the syrup for 10-15 seconds. Leave the cookies on a wire rack to cook down.
- Serve with honey and chopped walnuts on top.
