VEGAN MELOMAKARONA RECIPE (Greek Christmas Cookies)
My vegan version of the amazing classic Greek Christmas Cookies recipe MELOMAKARONA. It’s a must-eat, must-bake classic Christmas cookie in Greece. This is my vegan MELOMAKARONA recipe. It’s just as Christmas-y, cozy, and irresistibly delicious as the popular authentic MELOMAKARONA recipe. Featuring fragrant cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, these delicious Greek Holiday cookies are like a mouthful of Christmas in every bite.
Ingredients
FOR THE MELOMAKARONA
- 5.3 oz 1/2 cup (150g) Fine Semolina
- 17.6 oz 4 cups (500g) Flour baking flour or all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 3.5 oz 1/3 cup (100g) Orange juice
- 3 tbsp Cognac or apple juice for a nonalcoholic option
- 3.5 oz 1/3 cup (100g) Sugar caster or coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon Powder
- ⅓ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ⅓ tsp Ground Clove
- ½ tsp Allspice
- 1½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3.2 oz 1/3 cups (90g) Water
- 4.4 oz 1/2 cup (125g) Olive Oil
- 4.4 oz 1/2 cup (125g) Vegetable Oil neutral flavours, like sunflower oil or avocado oil
- 3 tbsp (50g) Maple Syrup or other syrup
- 2 Oranges - Zest From
FOR THE SYRUP
- 1¼ cups (300g) Water
- 2¾ cups (600g) Sugar any type you prefer
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 4 Whole Cloves
- 1 Orange cut into halves
- 7 oz 10 tbsp (200g) Maple Syrup or other syrup
FOR TOPPING
- 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1⅔ cups (200g) Walnuts (optional) chopped
Instructions
Making the syrup
- Prepare the syrup for the melomakarona first. Add water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and the orange to a pot or saucepan.
- Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 minutes while stirring. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the maple syrup. Set the syrup aside while you bake.
Making the melomakaron
- Set out two large mixing bowls. Add semolina, flour, and baking powder to one bowl and mix until completely combined.
- In the second bowl, mix together orange juice, cognac, sugar, and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, vanilla). Now, whisk in the baking soda and keep whisking until a foam begins to form. Add the water, olive oil, neutral vegetable oil, orange zest, and maple syrup. Whisk to combine.
- Now, begin adding the flour mixture from the first bowl a little at a time as you whisk to combine. Once the dough is too thick to whisk, add all the remaining flour mixture and begin kneading the dough quickly to form a smooth and still a little sticky cookie dough.
- Next, preheat the oven to 350F (180 Celsius) and line several baking sheets with baking parchment. Now, pinch a walnut-sized chunk of dough and roll it into a ball, then shape the ball into an egg shape. Do this with all the dough and place the cookies on the lined baking sheets. Press a fork on top of the cookies to create indentations that will become deliciously crispy on top.
- Bake the melomakarona in the oven, 2 baking sheets at a time for around 15-20 minutes or until the cookies are golden and evenly cooked through.Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and dip them immediately into the cold syrup. Let the cookies soak for 7-8 seconds on each side, flipping them over with a spoon so all sides are covered. Gently remove the cookies from the syrup, place them on a baking rack and sprinkle them with ground cinnamon, granulated sugar, and chopped walnuts. Let the cookies cool, and store them in an airtight cookie jar at room temperature until serving.Enjoy.