Mellomacarona (Greek Honey Cookies)

Greek Christmas cookies made with olive oil, orange juice, cinnamon, cloves and a splash of whiskey, dipped hot in honey syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon pecans.

From the recipe book of Sandra Mills, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained cook in our family.

Steak and Seafood title card for Mellomacarona (Greek Honey Cookies), photo coming soon
  • Prep 40 min
  • Cook 30 min
  • Total 1 hr 10 min
  • Yield About 4 dozen cookies

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Melomakarona are the honey-soaked cookies of the Greek holiday table, and Sandra Mills spells them Mellomacarona. The dough is rich with olive oil and margarine and fragrant with orange juice, cinnamon, cloves and a little whiskey, kneaded by hand and shaped into small eggs.

After baking and cooling, the cookies are dipped a few at a time into hot honey syrup and sprinkled with a cinnamon and pecan topping.

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup margarine
  • 1/2 heaping cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 ounces of whiskey
  • 5 1/2 cups of flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Syrup

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 stick of cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Topping

  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

  1. Cream. Cream the oil, margarine and sugar in a large bowl with an electric beater. Add the cinnamon, cloves, orange juice, baking soda and whiskey and beat until well mixed.
  2. Add the flour. At very slow speed, gradually add the flour and baking powder. When it is all mixed well, take the dough out and knead well by hand to form a stiff dough.
  3. Shape. Use 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie and roll with your hands into the size and shape of an egg. Place on a greased baking sheet about an inch apart.
  4. Bake. Bake at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes, watching carefully, since ovens vary. Let the cookies cool.
  5. Syrup. Combine the syrup ingredients, bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
  6. Dip and top. Dip the cooled cookies into the hot syrup, 5 or 6 at a time. Arrange on a tray and sprinkle with the pecan topping.

Tips

  • Cool cookies dipped in hot syrup absorb it best.
  • They keep for a week or more in a covered tin.

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