Savor the Flavor

Melamacrona Fasting Honey Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup margarine (Fleischman’s is in the original recipe)

3/4 cup caster sugar 3/4 cup safflower oil 1 rind grated orange 6 cups flour 4 tsps. baking powder 3/4 cup orange juice

Filling: 1 tbsp. honey 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1-1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts 2 drops almond essence 1-2 tsps. orange juice

Honey Syrup: 2 cups sugar 3 inch cinnamon stick

1/4 cup honey 2 cups water 1 tbsp. lemon juice and thin strip of lemon rind

Instructions: DOUGH: Beat margarine and sugar with orange rind until creamy. Gradually add oil and continue beating until mixture is very light and fluffy. Stir in flour alternately with orange juice. Knead dough for 1 minute. Take a scant TBS of dough and flatten it a little. Place a tsp of nut filling in the center and fold dough over to enclose. Shape into ovals pinching ends to a point. FILLING: In a small bowl, place nuts and cinnamon. Mix orange juice into honey and add to the nut mixture. Sprinkle with almond essence, and blend well. HONEY SYRUP: Place ingredient in a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil over medium high heat for 10 minutes and skim off any foam. Let syrup simmer over moderate heat while dipping cookies. Add water if syrup thickens too much during dipping. *Only cookies that are to be served soon are dipped. The remainder is kept in a tightly closed container until needed. “Years ago, when I was visiting a friend, (Frances Dellis) she showed me Tess Mallos’ Greek Cookbook from which this recipe came. I liked it so much that I ordered it. (Tess is a Greek Australian who traveled to Peloponnesus and other parts of Greece taking beautiful photographs of Paschal celebrations and plates of wonderful Greek foods). A year later, my godmother Vassiliki, came to visit me and looked at the photos in my cookbook. She cried out, “There’s my brother, Sarantos!” He was cooking lamb, on a spit, along with many other villagers. Ever since I have made this recipe, which in Greek tradition, is the fasting cookie for the Christmas season.”

Tess Mallos, Greece

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