Melomakarona are the cookies every Greek home bakes for Christmas: soft, crumbly ovals made with olive oil, orange juice and warm spices, dipped in honey syrup and covered in chopped walnuts.

This Tone & Taste recipe makes about 40. They keep for weeks and taste even better after a few days in the tin, so they are ideal to bake at the start of December.

The method is simple. The only rule that matters is the syrup: hot cookies go into cold syrup, so they soak it up without falling apart.

What Is It?

Melomakarona (μελομακάρονα) are oval cookies made from a soft dough of olive oil, sugar, orange juice and zest, a splash of brandy, cinnamon and cloves, with flour and a little fine semolina for texture.

After baking they are dipped in a syrup of sugar, water and honey, then sprinkled with chopped walnuts and cinnamon. The outside turns sticky and glossy while the inside stays soft and slightly crumbly.

They are made without butter or eggs, so they are naturally dairy-free and egg-free, and they are often eaten during the Orthodox fasting period before Christmas.

A Little History

The name comes from meli, the Greek word for honey, and is often linked to makaria, a bread once served at memorial meals in Byzantine times. Over the centuries the honey-soaked version became a Christmas sweet.

In some parts of Greece they are called finikia. Every family has its own balance of spice, orange and honey, and the recipe is usually handed down rather than written down.

Today they sit next to kourabiedes, the snowy butter cookies, on almost every Greek Christmas table, in bakery windows from late November and in tins passed between neighbours.