Melomakarona (Greek Christmas Honey Cookies)
Melomakarona are traditional Greek cookies made with olive oil, orange juice, cinnamon, and a touch of cognac. They’re baked to golden perfection, soaked in a honey syrup, and topped with a generous sprinkling of crushed walnuts. They’re sweet, sticky, and utterly irresistible. There is a depth of flavor—the warmth of the spices, the tang of the orange, and the earthy richness of the honey—unlike anything I’ve ever tasted.
Ouzo & Olive Oil is a reader-supported site. When you purchase through the affiliate links on the site, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
If you’ve ever tried to follow a hand-written Greek “recipe,” you’ve quickly realized the final result has less to do with the written instructions and so much more to do with a mix of intuition and decades of practice. The saying “cooking is an art, baking is a science” has never been more wrong than when I tried to replicate a handed-down recipe for melomakarona, which I can’t even pronounce.
There’s something magical about learning when to add “a little more olive oil” or “enough flour until it feels right”. And after a few years of practice, melomakarona have become a part of our family’s holiday traditions. The kitchen smells like cinnamon and honey and cloves, and it feels like Christmas has truly arrived. Our kids love helping in the kitchen, and while their shaping skills still need some work, their enthusiasm is infectious. We make dozens of cookies, eating some as soon as they’ve been dipped in syrup.
Take a look at this
Tips for Making the Perfect Melomakarona
Measuring the Ingredients
Using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients (specifically the all-purpose flour and powdered sugar) is the best way to get the right texture. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can use 8 cups of sifted all-purpose flour and slightly less than ½ a cup of sifted powdered sugar. Make sure to sift the flour and powdered sugar to ensure you don’t pack the measuring cups to full.
Syrup
Make the syrup first. It needs time to cool before the cookies come out of the oven. Dipping the hot cookies in cooled syrup ensures they properly absorb the flavors of the syrup.
Cognac
If you prefer to omit the cognac, simply replace it with orange juice.
Texturizing the Cookies
There’s many ways to texturize your cookies. You can use a fork and lightly press into the tops of the cookies or the edge of a knife to make a criss cross pattern. Or you can lightly roll the shaped cookies across a wire cooling rack. I used the slicing part of this avocado tool.
Convection oven
Melomakarona are the perfect cookie to use the convection setting on your oven. The air circulation in a convection oven creates a perfectly crispy exterior and soft interior making these cookies melt in your mouth. If you don’t have a convection setting, they’ll still be amazing, just remember to adjust the temperature for standard ovens.
Melomakarona (Greek Christmas Honey Cookies)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Syrup
- 500 mL water
- 800 g granulated sugar
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 orange cut in half
- 150 g honey
For the Melomakarona
- 1000 g all-purpose flour
- 200 g semolina flour fine
- 350 mL orange juice
- 400 mL vegetable oil
- 180 mL olive oil
- 50 mL cognac
- 50 g powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- zest of an orange
For Serving
- honey
- chopped walnuts
Instructions
Making the Syrup
- Combine water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and the orange in a sauce pan.500 mL water, 800 g granulated sugar, 3 cinnamon sticks, 3 whole cloves, 1 orange
- Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until the sugar melts.
- Remove from heat amd stir in the honey.150 g honey
- Let the syrup cool to room temperature. *See Note 1.
Making the Melomakarona
- Preheat oven to 350℉ convection (375℉ for a standard oven). *See Note 2.
- In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour and semolina flour and stir to combine.1000 g all-purpose flour, 200 g semolina flour
- In another large bowl, add orange juice, orange zest, vegetable oil, olive oil, cognac, powdered sugar, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and baking soda. Whisk until combined. *See Note 3.350 mL orange juice, 400 mL vegetable oil, 180 mL olive oil, 50 mL cognac, 50 g powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp baking soda, zest of an orange
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix by hand until combined. Do not over work the dough.
- Using about 35g (~a heaping tablespoon) of dough, shape into ovals and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Texturize the top of the cookies by pushing lightly on the tops with a fork.
- Bake for about 23 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- As soon as they are done baking, place the hot cookies in the cooled syrup for 10-15 seconds turning the over to coat.
- Remove the cookies with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack to drain.
- Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.honey, chopped walnuts
