Author Notes
Baklava in a cookie. These cookies are spiced with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. With lots of nuts, and honey. A Cypriot Christmas classic, but enjoyable all year round. Easy to make. Hard to mess up. —christina@afroditeskitchen
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Ingredients
- for the cookie
-
3 cups
peanut oil
-
3/4 cup
orange juice
-
zest
of two oranges
-
3/4 cup
powdered sugar
-
2 teaspoons
cinnamon
-
1/2 teaspoon
ground nutmeg
-
1/2 teaspoon
ground cloves
-
1 1/2 teaspoons
baking soda
-
1/2 teaspoon
salt
-
1 cup
ground lightly roasted almonds
-
1 /4 cups
ground lightly roasted hazelnuts
-
1/4 cup
ground lightly roasted walnuts
-
6 cups
flour (you may need more)
-
coarsely ground walnuts for sprinkling on top
- for the syrup
-
2 cups
water
-
2 cups
sugar
-
1 cup
honey
-
juice
1/2 lemon
-
1
cinnamon stick
-
3
cloves
-
1
whole orange peel
Directions
-
Preheat the oven to 175C.
-
Mix all the ingredients except the flour together with a hand whisk, then slowly mix in the flour until the mixture becomes thick.
-
Use your hand to finish mixing the dough.
-
Form the melomakarona into oval shapes and put them in the cookie sheets and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes.
-
Let the “melomakarona” cool – at least a couple hours.
-
Once the “melomakarona” are cool, prepare your syrup. Put all the syrup ingredients except the honey into a pot on the stove. Bring the syrup to a boil. Add the honey and bring to a boil again, then lower the temperature to a simmer (i.e. the syrup is still boiling, but just on “simmer’ level!). Dip the cookies in a few at a time for a few seconds (maximum 10-15 seconds).
-
Remove the “melomakarona” and place on wax paper. Sprinkle with coarsely ground walnuts. And that’s it!
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