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Melomakarona (Greek Cookies)
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These are a coarse-grained cookie soaked in a honey syrup (the semolina achieves this), popular throughout Greece during the Christmas Holidays. They are wonderful.
1-1/2 cups light olive oil or corn oil
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup beer
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 oranges, zest of, grated
1cup sugar
2cups fine ground semolina (cream of wheat or farina)
6 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Syrup:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups greek thyme honey
1 cup water
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
Put the corn oil, butter, beer, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until they are thoroughly blended. Sift about one cup of flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt and blend into the oil mixture.
Add the semolina, a cup at a time, into this mixture. Add enough of the remaining flour, a cup at a time, until you get a rather firm dough (you may need a bit more or less than the amount of flour mentioned in the ingredients list).
Use your hands to do the mixing, as an electric mixer will be useless after the first two or three cups of flour have been added. Roll the dough into cylinders, about two inches long and one inch in diameter, flatten them with your hands, and place them on cookie sheets that have been greased with a little olive oil.
Bake at 350* for half an hour.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for about half an hour.
For the syrup:
mix the sugar, honey and water, and bring them to a boil.
Cook on low heat for four minutes and skim off the foam that forms on top. Lay the cookies out in a rimmed baking pan large enough to contain them and pour the hot syrup over the cookies, sprinkle them with the chopped walnuts and let them soak overnight. The next day put them on your prettiest platter and wrap with plastic wrap (or put in an airtight container) and serve.
These are great keepers and will last for months.
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