Recipes with Loulla Astin

Melomakarona

(Christmas honey-dipped biscuits)

Happy holiday month!

Melomakarona are vegan and they are consumed mostly at Christmas during the fasting period. Greek Christmas without Melomakarona and Kourabiethes is like English Christmas without mince pies.

These biscuits are made by all Greek and Cypriot families in the weeks preceding Christmas. If they’re going to be consumed before Christmas, they are made vegan using vegetable oil and olive oil, no butter and eggs because of the pre-Christmas fasting. Some make Melomakarona with only flour, but I like to add a little semolina, for that extra crunch, if you don’t like semolina then just use flour.

It is said that the recipe was brought to Greece by the Phoenicians and they are sometimes called Finikia. I love adding semolina to the cookies, it makes them crumbly and plumps them up. Melomakarona made with 100 per cent flour are denser.

Makes 25-30

For the syrup

500g sugar

570ml water

2 cinnamon sticks

4 whole cloves

1/2 cup honey or molasses

few drops lemon juice

For the biscuit

150ml olive oil

150ml vegetable oil

150g caster sugar

Juice of 2 large oranges and grated zest of 1 orange

1 liqueur glass brandy

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

225g fine semolina

650g plain flour (approx) sifted

A pinch of salt

For decoration

Honey

Ground or finely chopped toasted walnuts

Ground cinnamon

To make the syrup, place all the syrup ingredients in a saucepan, apart from the honey. Bring slowly to the boil until the sugar dissolves add honey and simmer for 8 minutes, remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, mix and whisk the orange juice with the baking soda, oils, grated zest, sugar, brandy and spices.

In another larger bowl, add the sifted flour, baking powder, salt and semolina.

Gradually add the wet ingredients to the flour and mix lightly starting with a wooden spoon then using your hand until the mixture comes together, and you have a light pliable but firm dough (do not overwork the dough otherwise it will become too oily and cracked up). If the dough is too soft to handle add more flour or semolina and if too stiff add more orange juice. Rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Break off egg-sized pieces of the dough and squeeze and roll them in the palm of your hands so that they hold together. Shape into ovals and place on baking sheets lined with baking paper, not too close together. With the back of a fork gently make ridges on top of each biscuit to make patterns, try not to flatten them, you want them to have a nice shape.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Remove from the oven and allow them to cool down before storing in airtight containers.

When required, warm syrup or make the syrup on the day. Dip cold biscuits in warm syrup a few at a time for 3 seconds only, otherwise they will break, and place on a rack to drain.

Arrange them on a platter, drizzle them with honey and sprinkle them with ground cinnamon and chopped walnuts.

These biscuits can be made up to 3-4 weeks in advance.

Kourabiethes

(Celebration shortbread biscuits)

Kourabiethes used to be only made at Christmas, but today they are made on all special occasions, including weddings, engagements, birthdays and name days.

The shape of the biscuits can be varied from rectangular to round, half-moon or star shapes. I have fond memories of my mother and her friends, spending a whole week making them for my wedding in 1975, as we were expecting 1,000 guests. She was covered from head to toe in icing sugar and so was her carpet and Tiger our cat!

Makes 18-20

1 x 250g unsalted butter, softened

100g caster sugar

1 large egg yolk, room temperature

4 tbsp brandy or ouzo

Few drops vanilla extract

50g ground almonds

100g toasted almonds, chopped

50g cornflour

400g plain fine flour

1tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

To decorate

Rose water

Icing sugar

In a medium-sized bowl or a food mixer, cream the butter for 4-5 minutes until fluffy, then add the sugar and continue whisking for a few minutes more, add the egg yolk, brandy and vanilla.

Using a wooden spoon, start adding the flour, cornflour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, then mixing gently with your hands add the ground nuts and chopped nuts, until the dough is firm and doesn’t stick to your hands. (Avoid working the mixture too much, it will make the shortbread tough). Leave the mixture to rest for 20 minutes.

Take walnut or tangerine-sized pieces of the dough, shape into rectangle or round shapes and place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper not too close together, as they will expand during baking. Bake in a pre-heated oven 170C for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden in colour (do not allow the biscuits to brown).

Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, and while still warm spray or brush the biscuits lightly with rose water and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and carefully take the biscuits one by one and roll them in icing sugar to coat them. Place them on greaseproof paper and sift them with lots more icing sugar to completely cover them.

When they are completely cooled store in airtight containers and the flavour will improve after a few days. They can be stored in this way for up to a month.

Good Luck and Happy Christmas ! 

Loulla’s book My Kosmos My Kitchen can be ordered from www.amazon.com or www.austinmacauley.com/book/my-kosmos-my-kitchen. For more traditional Greek and Cypriot recipes and inspiration, join Loulla’s Facebook group Loulla’s Recipe Share