One can’t properly celebrate Christmas in a Greek home if there are no kourabiedes and melomakarona on the table. Custom calls for these two traditional sweets that can turn any family gathering into an almond and cinnamon honey-drizzled sensation made in heaven. If you haven’t already bulk-ordered from your mum or loyal Greek baker, Neos Kosmos is bringing back two easy recipes that will help you make the most delicious Christmassy desserts that will crumble in your mouth at first bite.

The recipes have been passed down by Dora Kitinas-Gogos, the late mother of Neos Kosmos‘ publisher Christopher Gogos who was also an artist, an author and the heart-and-soul of the newspaper’s food column back in the day.

Melomakarona – A biscuit staple in the Greek cuisine, known as honey macaroons.

This recipe is based on Dora’s late mother-in-law’s kourabiedes. She was renowned for her cooking in her lifetime. Her family was from Asia Minor but settled in Chios. A great combination for a sweet culture: Chios and Asia Minor.

Ingredients:

-For the cookies

1 cup olive oil or canola oil

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup ouzo

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons orange zest

1 cup of fine semolina

2 and 1/2 cups of plain flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon clove powder

Method:

1. Sift baking powder with flour

2. Beat sugar and oil, add all ingredients and mixing to make a dough

3. Shape by taking a small fist full of dough and making a short oval shape

4. Bake on baking paper for about 30 minutes

5. Do not make them too big, as they will not cook on the inside

6. Remove put them on a cooling rack

7. Make syrup

-For the syrup

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

2 cups sugar

1 cups honey

1 stick cinnamon

5 whole cloves

1 star anise

1-2 teaspoons rosewater

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil for about 5 minutes on a slow heat

2. Take off heat and take out spices

3. With a slotted spoon dip each melomakarono in the syrup while still hot for a few seconds and line up on a platter in layers sprinkling each layer with walnuts

4. When cooled they can be covered

5. Top with coarsely ground walnuts

*Note: When cooled, store in an airtight container and they will keep for a fortnight.

Kourabiedes – the crumbly, addictive traditional Christmas biscuit

The myth tells us that during the Ottoman rule all kourabiedes had to be made into the crescent shape and therefore 250 years later that shape still predominates. Dora’s personal favourite shape was the small bite size, “the catch here is that you forget how many bites you have had” she would say.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg yolk

250 grams sugar

2 tablespoons ouzo

1/4 cup of strained fresh orange juice

500 grams unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

250 grams coarsely ground, blanched and toasted almonds

4 dozen cloves

240 grams icing sugar

Method:

1. In a mixer beat egg yolk with sugar, ouzo and orange juice for 2 minutes

2. Add melted butter and almonds and mix for 5 minutes

3. Sift flour with baking powder and add to mixture making soft dough

4. Kneed gently for about 15 minutes and refrigerate for 15 minutes

5. Make into shapes, do not press or flatten

6. Place a clove in the middle of each kourabie

7. Place on ungreased baking paper about 2 centimetre apart

8. Bake for 30 minutes

9. On a flat platter place a layer of kourabiethes and sift the icing sugar on top, another layer and sift icing sugar.

10. Keep repeating this till all have been layered with icing sugar

* You might like to leave out the cloves and instead sprinkle with rosewater when cooked and just before sifting the icing sugar on