Holiday Baking Recipes

As the holiday season draws near, here at Selana Ways we’re dusting off the ol’ baking recipes for the holiday season. We find that some recipes, handed down generation to generation, have this quality to them, almost like they’re blessed. And it is with the ancient goddesses’ gifts that we may give each other sweet things during the winter months and feel the promised hope of Spring.

There are many baking recipes out there, with different variations. In Greece, the goddesses Demeter and Hestia gave us two types of cookies which having gone through numerous variations as the years went by. They are traditionally made during the Winter Holiday season, as gifts to keep us warm and cozy.

On the one hand, we have Melomakararona; a mouthful, I know. The word means honey (mel-) and blessed life (makar-) and have their origins in the medieval and ancient past, when they were baked to commemorate the passing of a life from this world to the afterlife, or as sweet offerings to the gods. In essence, they are honey scones with orange zest, cinnamon, and hazelnuts.

The other type of cookie baked around this time is what we call in Greece Kourabiedes; this is actually a Turkish or Albanian word meaning “dry biscuit”. Kourabiedes are butter shortbread cookies with whole almonds, dusted with confectioner’s sugar and a season favourite for many.

And so, these two cookies have been in our traditional cuisine for centuries and each Greek will tell you they make the best; below, you will find our version of these recipes, handed down by the women in the Selana Ways family.

The recipes are simple yet elegant, conveying the message of warmth and hope from fair-haired Demeter, Goddess of Wheat and Agriculture, and from Ever-Burning Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and Home.

Melomakarona – Honey Scones

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup of olive oil
• ½ cup of shortening
• 1 cup of sugar
• ¾ cup of orange juice
• ¼ cup of cognac
• 2 teaspoons of orange zest
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 8 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of clove

Syrup

• 2 cups of honey
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 cups of water

Garnish

• 1 ½ cups of chopped walnuts

First sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. We leave them aside. In another bowl we put our ingredients (olive oil, cooking fat, sugar, orange juice, brandy, orange zest, cinnamon, clove). Stir well with a whisk to dissolve and melt the sugar. Finally, gradually add the flour and mix gently until it is blended. We do not blend it too much.

Leave it covered for about 15 minutes for the dough to rest and for you to be able to shape them better. Take the dough piece by piece (the size of a tablespoon) and shape it into small shapes. Place them in oiled pans, put them in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes at 160 or 175 ° C depending on your oven. They are ready when well browned. Let them cool well.

Meanwhile, prepare the syrup. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and from the time they boil, boil for 3΄. Skim the foam that forms on the surface of the syrup. After the syrup boils, leave it at a low temperature. The kitchen lamp should be at 1 or 2, just to tremble and simmer the syrup.

Syrup the melomakarona. Dip them in the hot syrup little by little at a time and leave for about 20 seconds on each side. This way they melt properly, remain honeyed and fluffy and they dissolve in the mouth without being too heavy or hard and without dripping syrups. If you want them more syrupy, spread them all close to a baking tray and slowly pour the syrup over them. Let them absorb the syrup and water well.

After you syrup them, while they are still hot, sprinkle them with the walnuts.

Kourabiedes – Almond Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 500 g butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cup toasted blanched flaked almonds
• 1 orange zested
• 1 kg plain flour sifted
• 3 cup icing sugar sifted *to decorate
• 3 drops vanilla essence *optional

Beat the butter together with the sugar in the mixer, until fluffy and white. Add 2 cups flour, vanilla and almonds.

Knead lightly, adding as much flour as needed, until it becomes a soft and fluffy dough that does not stick to the fingers. Be careful not to overcook it, because then the kourabiedes will become tight and not fluffy. Make crescents or cut out stars or other shapes with a cutter and place them on a baking sheet.

Bake the kourabiedes at 175 ° C for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned. Once they come out of the oven, carefully remove them onto greaseproof paper sprinkled with icing sugar. If you want, sprinkle them with a little flower water. With a large strainer, sift plenty of powdered sugar and cover them completely. When cool, place on a platter.

Now your house smells like Christmas!

Alternatively, if you want your space to smell sweet and beautiful without doing all the baking yourself, visit your favorite patisserie, buy your favorite melomakarona or the kourabiedes of your dreams and light Nefelai or Trofo and enjoy the sweet Christmas aroma!