Greek Honey-walnut Balls (Melomakarona)

Name: Greek Honey-walnut Balls (Melomakarona)
Cuisine: European, Mediterranean, Greek
Ingredients: 1/3 cup honey; 3/4 cup sugar, divided; 1/2 cup orange juice; 1 2-inch-long cinnamon stick; 3 whole cloves; 1 cup ground walnuts; 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel; 1 cup butter; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons brandy; 3/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

6 steps

Traditional Greek honey and spice cookies stuffed with a walnut filling. -recipe from Christmas-cookies.com

Updated at: Thu, 30 Nov 2023 13:46:39 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Unbalanced

Glycemic Index

Moderate

Nutrition per serving

Calories5083.7 kcal (254%)

Total Fat287.8 g (411%)

Carbs576.6 g (222%)

Sugars257.9 g (287%)

Protein67 g (134%)

Sodium634.7 mg (32%)

Fiber28.5 g (102%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

0 servings

⅓ cuphoney

¾ cupsugar

divided

½ cuporange juice

1cinnamon stick

2-inch-long

3whole cloves

1 cupground walnuts

½ teaspoonorange peel

finely shredded

1 cupbutter

3 cupsall-purpose flour

2 tablespoonsbrandy

¾ teaspoonbaking powder

¼ teaspoonbaking soda

½ teaspoonground cinnamon

¼ teaspoonground cloves

¼ teaspoonground nutmeg

½ cupwalnuts

finely chopped

Instructions

Step 1

Combine honey, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup orange juice, cinnamon stick and whole cloves in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, uncovered. Strain syrup, discarding spices. Remove 1/4 cup syrup. Set aside remaining syrup.

Step 2

Combine ground walnuts and orange peel in a medium bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup syrup; set aside.

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds or until softened. Add half the flour. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 cup orange juice, brandy, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground nutmeg. Beat until well blended. Beat or stir in remaining flour.

Step 4

Form dough into 1-1/4″ balls. Using finger, press hole in center of ball of dough. Place about 1/2 teaspoon ground nut filling in hole. Bring dough up around filling, enclosing completely. Place seam side down on greased baking sheet. With knife, crisscross top, forming an “x,” scoring surface only. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Step 5

Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven; let stand on baking sheet 1 minute.

Step 6

Meanwhile, rewarm reserved syrup gently over low heat. Brush tops of hot cookies with warm syrup, or dip tops into syrup. Sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts. Place on wire rack to cool completely.