Melomakarona
Most homes in Greece around this time of the year emerge aromas from cinnamon, honey, orange and cloves, which means… Melomakarona! They are aromatic bites of Christmas, a traditional Greek Christmas treat.
Method
For the syrup
- Boil all of the ingredients for the syrup, apart from the honey, until the sugar melts. Remove from heat. Add the honey and mix till combined.
- Let the syrup cool for 3-4 hours. It must be cold by the time the cookies come out from the oven.
- You can prepare the syrup from the day before.
For the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 190* C (370*F) set to fan.
- To make the cookies, you need to prepare 2 separate mixtures.
- For the first mixture, add all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix, using a hand whisk.
- In a separate bowl, add all of the ingredients for the second mixture.
- Combine the first and second mixture.
- Mix by hand, very gently and for a very short time (10 seconds at the most). If you mix longer the mixture will split or curdle.
- Mold cookie dough into oval shapes, 3-4 cm in length, 30 g each. Try to keep them as similar as possible.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until they are crunchy and golden brown.
- As soon as you remove them from the oven, soak the hot cookies in the syrup for 10 seconds.
- Allow them to drain on a wire rack.
- Drizzle with honey and chopped walnuts.
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 500 g water
- 800 g granulated sugar
- 150 g honey
- 3 stick(s) cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 1 orange, cut in half
1st mixture
- 400 g orange juice
- 400 g seed oil
- 180 g olive oil
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) cloves
- 2-3 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
- orange zest, of 2 oranges
2nd mixture
- 1 kilo all-purpose flour
- 200 g semolina, fine
To serve
- honey
- walnuts
Kourabiedes
Kourabiedes is another delicious traditional treat which you will find in all homes alongside melomakarona! They are almond snowballs, sweet and crumbly that literally melt in your mouth.
Method
- Remove the butter from the refrigerator about 2-3 hours before using, so that it can soften at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180* C (350*F) Fan.
- In the mixer using the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 5-6 minutes on high speed until it turns white. Add the icing sugar and vanilla. Continue beating for another 5-7 minutes. As soon as the sugar is added, the volume of the butter may lessen but it will rise again. It will be ready when it looks like whipped cream.
- Remove the mixing bowl and add the flour in batches. Gently fold in with a spatula and add then add the almonds.
- The mixture should be soft but not that soft that it will stick to your hands.
- Mold into balls the size of walnuts (25 g). Place them in rows, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make a small indentation on top of every little ball of dough with your finger. This way it will hold on to more icing sugar.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until they turn light golden.
- Remove from oven. Carefully move them from the baking sheet and place them on to a wire rack to cool. They are very soft and crumbly when hot.
- When cool, spray them with some rose water.
- Put some icing sugar in a sieve and dust.
Ingredients
- 900 g all-purpose flour
- 500 g butter, sheep butter
- 220 g icing sugar
- 2 stick(s) vanilla powder
- 1 teaspoon(s) bitter almond liqueur
- 200 g almond slivers, blanched slivered, toasted
- 1 teaspoon(s) rosewater
To serve
- 300 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon(s) rosewater
Vasilopita
Vasilopita is a traditional New Year’s cake that kids and adults look forward to cut, not only in order to eat it but also in order to find out who will be the lucky one! Tradition has it that we hide a lira coin inside the baked cake and when the time comes to eat it, we cut it into pieces (as many pieces as the people at the table) and name the pieces after each of the family and friends. The lucky one that will find the coin hidden in their piece will have a very lucky year! Usually the host also has a present for the winner.
Method
- Preheat oven to 180* C (350*F) Fan.
- In a mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar, with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Stop beating and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat for another 5 minutes. (It is important that the butter is at room temperature. The softer it is the fluffier your mixture will be.)
- While you are waiting, add the remaining ingredients from the 1st mixture (apart from the orange zest) and beat them in a blender along with a tablespoon of sugar, until they become powdery. When ready, add the orange zest and mix.
- Add this powdery mixture to the mixer and beat on low speed.
- Add all the ingredients from the 2nd mixture, in batches. Release the mixing bowl and add the ingredients from the 3rd mixture. Mix with a large spoon.
- Grease a round 25 cm spring form bakingpan and dust with flour. Transfer the batter to the baking pan.
- If you would like to follow the Greek tradition, wrap a coin and place it somewhere in the cake before you bake it!
- Bake for 45-50 minutes.
- When ready, remove from oven and dust with icing sugar and serve!
Ingredients
- 300 g butter, at room temperature
- 250 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon(s) granulated sugar
- 7 g mahlab
- 2 g mastic
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) nutmeg
- 2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
- orange zest, of 1-2 oranges
- 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla powder
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 75 g milk, 3.5%
- 400 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
- icing sugar