Greek Holiday cookies: kourambiedes & melomakarona -

This week in Greece, households are busy making Kourambiedes and Melomakarona. These are the traditional holiday cookies that are omnipresent during the holiday season and offered with coffee or tea everywhere one goes! Kourambiedes have been named “wedding cookies” over here in the US–I suppose because they are white. However all my years in Greece, I never saw them at a wedding! I think these were only made during the holidays because the secret to success is to beat the sugar and butter for about 20 minutes or until it is white and fluffy, which would have been quite a chore in the days before electric mixers! Melomakarona are vegan and was a proper sweet that could be eaten during the 40 day fasting period before Christmas. It has the holiday flavors of orange, walnut, cinnamon, cloves and honey. The recipe can be found below.

KOURAMBIEDES
Here is the recipe I use for Kourabiedes, which comes from the famous Greek pastry chef, Stelios Parliaros and it comes out melt in your mouth perfect every time–just be sure to beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until it looks as white and fluffy as whipped cream.

125 gr Almonds
300gr softened butter
110gr powdered sugar
25 ml Metaxa brandy
2 tsp vanilla
600 gr flour
1 tsp baking powder
Dash of salt

Put almonds in preheated oven 325F for 15 minutes then chop into big pieces
Beat butter and sugar on high speed for 15-20 minutes (should be completely white)
Add Metaxa and vanilla
Then add flour, baking powder and salt mixture until just mixed
Fold in almonds
Shape into crescents
Cook for 30 minutes in oven 325F
After they have completely cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar

And here is the recipe I use for Melomakarona, also from Stelios Parliaros

MELOMAKARONA
First make the syrup because it needs to be as cold as possible when the cookies come out of the oven.
Syrup:
500gr water
700gr sugar
1 orange cut in half
2 cinnamon sticks
100 gr honey
Put the sugar, water and cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan and boil for one minute. Stir to dissolve the sugar and take off heat. Add the honey, stir and then the 2 halves of the fresh orange. Once cooled, put into the refrigerator. (I take out the orange & squeeze to use for the cookies).

Cookies
Zest 1 orange
400gr freshly squeezed orange juice
530gr EVGE EVOO
30gr powdered sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp ground cloves
1200 gr flour

Toppings:
honey
chopped walnuts

preheat oven to 350F
In a deep bowl stir the zest, orange juice & olive oil with the soda, powdered sugar, cinnamon and cloves until well mixed. Gently fold in the flour until just incorporated.
Form into finger length oval cookies and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. (a walnut can be stuffed inside the dough when forming each cookie if you’d like)
Gently score the top of cookies with a tea strainer or anything you have on hand that would make the cookie surface rough (this is to hold the honey and chopped walnuts on top of cookie.
Bake for 30 minutes.

When cooked to golden brown, turn off oven, but leave the cookies in it. Place some of the cold syrup in a shallow pan (I use a pyrex), and put 5-6 hot cookies in the cold syrup. Leave for 1 minute and then them turn over for another minute. Then place on a plate–and continue doing this until all have been dipped in syrup, adding more cold syrup as needed. Then, drizzle honey over the cookies and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.

KALI EPITYCHIA KAI KALI OREXI!!! (good luck and good appetite!)

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