Christmas Cookies, Old World-Style
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
In Greece, we may lack in dazzling Christmas traditions, but we have two particularly wonderful cookies for the holiday: melomakarona --orange spice cookies--and kourambiedes --roasted almond cookies.
Aglaia Kremezi makes
With recipes for a pair of classic Greek sweets
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
Kourambiedes are delicate melt-in-your-mouth cookies. The old island recipes called for lard, as butter was not a common ingredient of the Mediterranean countries. Today the cookies are prepared exclusively with butter, but I love this old version. View recipe here.
Aglaia Kremezi makes
With recipes for a pair of classic Greek sweets
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
Melomakarona are my favorite Christmas sweet. If you manage to resist eating them fast, they will get even better with time. View recipe here.
Aglaia Kremezi makes
With recipes for a pair of classic Greek sweets
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
Our family preferred drier cookies, so my mother submerged them in syrup the next day, when completely cold and hard, so that they absorbed less honeyed syrup. If you prefer more honey-doused, softer melokarona, dip them in the syrup when they are still somewhat warm.
Aglaia Kremezi makes
With recipes for a pair of classic Greek sweets
 Photo by Aglaia Kremezi | Melomakarona's ingredients include olive oil, orange juice, orange zest, semolina, and spices. |
With recipes for a pair of classic Greek sweets