Melomakarona – Greek walnut, syrup cookies

Tags

biscuits, christmas, cookies, greek, honey, syrup, traditional, walnuts

These sweet little Greek honey cookies are super quick to bake, so much fun to make and highly addictive! These cookies are incredibly soft, moist, flavorsome and soaked in a delicious honey syrup.

Melomakarona (μελομακάρονα) are traditional Greek Christmas cookies, that are served during Christmas time throughout Greece. The word “melomakarona” is a combination of the two words “meli”, which means honey and “makarona” that comes from the ancient word “makaria” and means blessed. Now, I do realise that we are only April and nowhere near Christmas yet but really…. does it matter? Who needs an excuse to make some delicious bites of goodness?

Serve them over a hot cup of coffee and you will have a match made in heaven!

note:To syrup the melomakarona, the syrup must be cold and the melomakarona hot. This will help the cookies to absorb the syrup and become moist on the inside. So, start by making the syrup first and then the dough. If you are in a hurry you can place the syrup in the refrigerator to cool down, while preparing the dough for the melomakarona.

Makes about 30

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, 1 cup
Sugar, 1/2 cup
Oranges, 2 juiced
Lemon, 1 juiced
Egg yolk, 1
Ouzo liqueur, 1 tablespoon
Self raising flour, 3 cups
Cinnamon, ground 3/4 teaspoon
Walnuts, finely chopped, 1 1/3 cups
Syrup:
Sugar, 1 cup
Honey, 1/2 cup
Water, boiling, 1/2 cup
Cinnamon stick, 1
Cloves, whole, 4
Lemon, juice of 1/2

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F
Line 2 baking trays with baking paper
Using an electric mixer, beat oil, sugar, 1/2 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice on high speed for 10 minutes or until thick and creamy (Start electric mixer on low speed and increase speed as mixture thickens)
Add egg yolk and ouzo Beat for 5 minutes
Sift flour and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over oil mixture
Fold gently to combine (mixture should be a light, doughy texture)
Using hands, roll tablespoons mixture into oval shapes
Place on prepared trays
Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch
Allow to cool on trays

Make syrup
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat
Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved
Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium-low
Simmer for 4 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly

Using a slotted spoon, dip cooled biscuits, 1 at a time, into hot syrup for about 30 seconds, turning over often until well coated
Return to trays
Combine walnuts and remaining ground cinnamon
Sprinkle over biscuits
Allow to cool before eating

Bon Appétit!

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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Biscuits

Tags

biscuits, cookies, Macadamia nuts, white chocolate

This is my next update while Nadia is recovering.  This time we decided for me to do something sweet.  These biscuits looked great so here is our version.

They actually turned out really well.  I took some to my French classes and they were well received too 🙂

Makes 32 biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 175C / 350 F
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture.
Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate.
I used a small ice cream scoop to form each biscuit and placed it onto an ungreased tray
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Enjoy! (we did)

 

 

 

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookie

Tags

biscuits, chocolate chip, cookies, peanut butter

I must admit that I am a bit fussy about my cookies. I like them thick and chewy, not thin and crispy. It really is all a matter of personal preference but that is just how I like mine. So, how do you get a thick and chewy cookie? Well, here are a few tips that I discovered after my testing of several batches. Yes, I know, it is a tough job, but someone has to do it, right? Don’t flatten them AT ALL before baking. Even if they stay a dome shape – which they will, don’t worry.  You simply take a spatula and softly press down on the freshly baked cookie, right when they come out of the oven. The secret to the best thick and chewy cookies is always to under-bake them slightly. Oh, and these are large cookies, by the way. I used a medium sized ice cream scoop to make them. Of course, you can use a regular scoop and they will be even larger or a smaller one for smaller cookies; just remember to adjust your cooking time slightly.

Makes 16

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup / 120g butter, softened but not melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I used 1/2 dark and 1/2 white chocolate)

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 360F
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl
3. Mix the egg until combined
4. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract
5. Whisk the dry ingredients together then add to the butter mixture, mixing together thoroughly
6. Add the chocolate chips by hand until evenly distributed throughout the dough
7. Using an ice cream scoop, fill the scoop until it’s full, flattening the bottom until it’s level with the straight edge of the scoop
8. Place onto parchment lined baking trays
9. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown all over
10. Using a flat spatula press each cookie down slightly
11. Leave the cookies on the trays to cool completely
12. Enjoy!

 

 

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