Traditional Christmas Honey sweets - (Melonakarona tis Sias) Traditional Christmas Honey sweets 1st image | 2nd image | 3rd image NOTES Author's note: These cakes are traditionally served at Christmas. Unlike other recipes for melomakarona, these are soft and not dipped into syrup. Syrup is poured over them. Usually melomakarona have a pattern on their top side (surface). To make the pattern you can press each sweet on the surface of a grater (as the 3rd picture shows) Greek : Μελομακάρονα της Σίας Serves / Yields : approx. 80 pieces Season:Winter Print this recipe INGREDIENTS 2 cups oil (1 rafinated, 1 olive oil) 1 cup orange juice Zest of one lemon 1/2 cup water 1 cup sugar 2 tspns baking powder 1 kg soft flour 1 cup fine semolina 1 tspn cinnamon 1/2 tspn ground clove 1/2 tspn soda, diluted with some brandy Syrup 2 cups sugar 3-4 spoons honey 2 cups water 7 clove sticks (or equivalent portion of ground clove) lemon rind Toping 1/2 cup grounded walnuts 1 tspn grounded cinnamon METHOD Mix oil, sugar, orange juice and water. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Mould pieces of dough of about 2 spoons and shape them into flattened oval shapes. Place them on an oiled or non-stick baking sheet and bake them in 150 -175 C for 35 minutes or until brown. Turn of heat and let the sweets into the oven. Prepare the syrup as follows. Bring sugar and water into boil. Boil the mixture with the cloves and the cinnamon. Boil for 10 mins. Then add honey and let the syrup boil for another 5 mins. Remove from heat. Using a wooden skewer skewer each sweet in the middle. This will help the syrup to be absorbed easier by each sweet. Pour the syrup over the sweets and let it be absorbed. Sprinke with walnut mixture.