Melomakarona Recipe (Greek Christmas Cookies) - Veggies Don't Bite (2024)

Last modified: October 5, 2022. Originally posted: November 23, 2019 By Sophia DeSantis

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A melomakarona recipe perfect for the holiday season. You'd never know these Greek Christmas cookies are gluten-free and vegan!

This recipe was originally published on 12/23/13

After the success of my vegan spanakopita, a holiday tradition and recreated from my mom's original recipe, I knew I needed to add more Greek traditions to this site. My sister and I use to make these walnut and honey cookies every year with my mom and yiayia. I remember sneaking bites of dough and getting scolded!

Ingredients

These cookies are actually vegan if you simply use vegan butter and swap honey for maple syrup, but because I wanted a healthier version avoiding all the butter and oil in my mom's original recipe, plus I wanted a gluten-free option, I needed to recreate them.

Here is what you need for the cookies:

• oat flour
• sugar
• walnuts
• baking powder
• cinnamon
• all spice
• cashew butter
• orange juice
• brandy

Here is what you need for the syrup:

• water
• sugar
• maple syrup
• cinnamon stick
• lemon slice

How to Make Greek Christmas Cookies (Melomakarona)

Making these cookies is not hard at all. Mixing the dough and shaping them can be a fun tradition for the whole family, even the littles.

When we were really young, my mom used to shape the main cookie for us, then we would press it onto the cheese grater to put the pattern on.

1. Mix the dry ingredients.
2. Add in the wet and shape the dough.
3. Shape the cookies and press on the pattern.
4. Bake.
5. Dip into the syrup.
6. Top with chopped walnuts.

What does melomakarona mean?

The word "melo" means honey, which is what makes the syrup that you dip these cookies in. If you are strict vegan, subbing maple syrup works just as well.

The word "makarona" means pasta, but the term originally came from the ancient Greek word "makaria," which was a piece of bread served at funerals that had the shape of these Greek cookies. Some areas also call them Finikia.

They have some key flavors to them that give them their traditional flavor. Orange juice, brandy, cinnamon and all spice are all blended together for that signature taste!

Tips for making melomakarona

I am so happy my mom had us help her to make these cookies from a young age. I learned a lot from watching her and continue to learn each year! Here are some of the best tips I gathered to make sure these come out perfect every time:

• Don't be afraid to use your hands! I can still picture my yiayias hands as she mixed the dough.
• Make sure the dough is soft and doesn't stick to your hands.
• When shaping the cookies, shape into a cylinder, then press onto the cheese grater to get the final shape plus the fun pattern on top (I think my mom still has the green one we used!).
• Let the cookies cool completely before dipping in the syrup!
• Dip them in the syrup for only a few seconds or they will fall apart.
• Arrange them in a single layer on your platter, they will stick together and fall apart if you put them on top of each other. My mom also used cupcake liners to put each cookie in after they were dipped and cooled completely. This way you can stack them.

Can I make melomakarona ahead of time?

Per tradition, we always took a whole day to make batches and batches of our melomakarona. This was usually done 3-5 days before Christmas so we could get them to everyone and then have some left for Christmas dinner.

However, she waited to dip them in the syrup until the day before she was going to serve them, or give them as gifts. They are a sturdy harder cookie but after dipping soften, so it's best to eat them within a few days of dipping them.

My mom always left them out on the counter after they were done, because they are best at room temperature. But after Christmas, we stored them in the fridge in an airtight container. The texture stays amazing!

Can I freeze melomakarona?

While like any cookie, fresh is best, however if you decide you want to make these cookies further in advance, you could do that. There are a few options so that they still turn out delicious.

1. Bake the cookie, but do not dip them in the syrup. Once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap, then foil, then put into a ziploc freezer bag or airtight container and freeze. Once ready to eat, take them out of the wrapping and place them in a single layer on the counter so that they come to room temperature. Then dip into the syrup once defrosted.
2. Make the dough, but don't bake. Wrap the dough in plastic, then put in an airtight container. Store in the freezer until ready to use. Once ready, defrost on the counter to room temp. Make as directed in the recipe.

Giving melomakarona as gifts

In Greek culture, making melomakarona to give others is a Christmas tradition. While other families decorated sugar cookies, we made and packaged little plates of melomakarona for all of our friends and family.

Everyone loved our cookies and looked forward to them every year. So we liked to make sure they looked pretty! Here is our strategy:

1. Find cute festive holiday plates.
2. Use cellophane or plastic wrap that is holiday themed, whether it is just a plain red or green or has a fun holiday print on it.
3. Put two pieces of the wrap under the plate in a criss cross fashion, then bring both overhead and tied it with a holiday ribbon.