My daughter Anne-Marie’s melomakarona (Honey and nut cookies)

Serves : 30 cookies
Prep time : 30 min
Cook time : 25-30 min

Ingredients

310 ml (1 1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar
2 egg yolks
1 ounce Metaxa or brandy
125 ml (1/2 cup) orange juice
2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
5 ml (1 teaspoon) baking powder
1 l (4 cups) flour
15 ml (1 tablespoon) ground cinnamon
8 ml (1/2 tablespoon) ground nutmeg
8 ml (1/2 tablespoon) ground cloves

Syrup

125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar
125 ml (1/2 cup) honey
250 ml (1 cup) water
250 ml (1 cup) walnuts (very finely chopped)
2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground cinnamon

— In a small saucepan, combine sugar, honey and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 2 minutes and keep warm. Combine nuts and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Steps

— Preheat oven to 190 ˚C (375 ˚F).

—In a large bowl, beat together oil, sugar and egg yolks. Add alcohol and orange juice. Set aside.

— In another bowl, sift together the baking soda, baking powder and flour. With your hands, incorporate gradually the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until well combined. Add spices and mix well. Form balls (the size of an egg) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a fork, flatten the cookies and bake for 25 to 30 minutes on the top rack of the oven. Cool on a wire rack.

— Once cooled, immerse the cookies, a few at a time, in the syrup for 15 to 20 seconds on
each side.

— Using a slotted spoon, remove the cookies from the syrup, sprinkle with nuts mixture and place them on a wire rack to cool.