Melomakarona are Greek Christmas honey cookies: soft, oval cookies made with olive oil, orange, and cinnamon, dipped hot into cold honey syrup and finished with chopped walnuts. They’re crisp at the edges, tender and syrupy in the middle, and they keep for a month, so you can bake a big batch early and have them ready for the whole season.

Funny thing: I only bake melomakarona in the US. When I’m in Athens for the holidays, I never do. Every bakery window is full of them by late November, so there’s no need. Here, baking them is how I bring a Greek Christmas into my kitchen.

The recipe card has US cup measurements with grams, plus a chocolate-dipped version at the end.

Melomakarona with honey and walnuts on a plate

Overview

What are melomakarona

Melomakarona (singular melomakarono, pronounced meh-loh-mah-KAH-roh-nah) are traditional Greek Christmas cookies made with olive oil, orange juice, cinnamon, and cloves. After baking, they’re soaked briefly in honey syrup and topped with chopped walnuts. In some regions, they’re also called finikia.

They’re not meant to be dry like shortbread. They drink up the syrup and stay moist for weeks.

What does melomakarona mean?

The name joins two Greek words: meli, honey, and makaria, an oval bread that ancient Greeks shared after funerals in memory of the dead. Over the centuries, people dipped the bread in honey, and it became melomakarono, moving from the funeral table to the Christmas table.

Why you will love melomakarona

CLASSIC GREEK HOLIDAY FLAVOR – Orange, cinnamon, clove, and honey, the whole festive choir.
OLIVE OIL DOUGH (NO BUTTER NEEDED) – Tender texture, rich aroma, very Greek.
THAT SYRUP-SOAK MAGIC – Crisp outside, soft inside, and even better the next day.
COOKIE-PLATTER SUPERSTAR – They hold well and taste like Christmas.

Melomakarona cookies with honey and walnuts stacked on a plate

Ingredients for melomakarona

All-purpose flour: the base of the dough. Spoon it into the cup and level it, or weigh it.
Olive oil and sunflower oil: olive oil gives the flavor; sunflower oil keeps the dough light. No sunflower oil? Use any neutral oil, like canola or vegetable oil.
Orange zest and juice: the zest gives aroma, the juice gives brightness. Fresh juice only.
Cinnamon and cloves: the warm Christmas spice. Ground in the dough, a cinnamon stick in the syrup.
Sugar: in both the dough and the syrup.
Baking powder and baking soda: they give the cookies their light, slightly crumbly texture, which helps them soak up the syrup.
Honey: in the syrup and drizzled on top. Greek thyme honey is traditional.
Walnuts: chop them finely so they stick to the honey.

How to make melomakarona

Six step-by-step photos of making melomakarona, from shaping to topping with walnuts

Make the syrup first. Put the water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the honey, stir, and simmer for 10 min. Leave the pot aside to cool.
Pour the oils into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix the oils slowly.
Add the flour gradually. Then add the cinnamon, baking powder, orange zest, sugar, orange juice, and baking soda. Mix all ingredients well.
Using your hands, shape each melomakarono into an oval about 2 inches long. Using a knife, make soft criss-cross markings on the cookies. You can also do little holes with a fork (1).
Place the cookies on the baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes in a 210°C / 410°F oven, until crunchy and golden brown.
Once the cookies are out of the oven, soak them in batches in the cold syrup for 10-15 seconds. Place them on a wire rack to drain (2,3).
Drizzle melomakarona with honey and chopped walnuts (4, 5, 6).

Chocolate Melomakarona (Greek Honey Cookies with Chocolate)

Chocolate-covered melomakarona with walnuts, stacked on parchment paper

If you love chocolate, this variation is for you. These chocolate-covered melomakarona keep all the classic flavors of Greek honey cookies, with an extra layer of rich, glossy chocolate that makes them irresistible.

Once the cookies have soaked in syrup and are resting on a wire rack, drizzle or pour melted chocolate over the tops and finish with finely chopped walnuts.

For the chocolate coating, you’ll need: 3.5 oz (100 g) baking chocolate and 1 tablespoon neutral seed oil.

Chop the chocolate and place it in a microwave-safe bowl with the oil. Microwave for 1 minute at 70% power.
Remove and stir well until the chocolate begins to melt.
Return to the microwave for 10–15 seconds at a time, stirring between intervals, until smooth and fully melted.

Work carefully when melting chocolate. Timing depends on the type of chocolate, cocoa butter content, and microwave strength. Melt slowly and stir often. If your microwave doesn’t rotate evenly, use a bain-marie method instead.

Melomakarona for Christmas

In Greece, melomakarona show up in bakery windows in late November, and by December they’re on every table, usually next to a bowl of powdery kourabiedes. They’re one of the easiest holiday cookies to make ahead: bake them two to three weeks before Christmas and they’ll be even better by the 25th.

If you’re baking for the holidays, try my kourabiedes and trigona almond phyllo triangles, and bake a vasilopita for New Year’s. For the whole menu, see my Greek Christmas food guide.

How to store and freeze melomakarona

At room temperature: in an airtight tin or container for up to 1 month.
Keep them sealed: they soften in humid air and dry out in very dry air.
To freeze: layer them in a freezer-safe container with parchment between the layers so they don’t stick. They keep for months. Thaw at room temperature.

FAQ

Usually it’s overworking the dough or overbaking. Keep mixing brief and bake until deep golden, then let syrup do its job.

Cold syrup. Dip the cookies right after baking while they’re hot for the best absorption.

About 10–15 seconds per cookie batch, then drain on a rack.

Yes. They’re famously better the next day once the syrup settles in.

Flour, olive oil, orange juice and zest, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. After baking they’re dipped in a syrup of honey, sugar and water, then topped with chopped walnuts.

Honey, orange and warm spice. They’re crisp and slightly crumbly outside and soft and syrupy inside, with crunch from the walnuts. Sweet, but not cloying.

They’re Greek. The name and the tradition go back to ancient Greece, and they’re baked in Greek and Cypriot homes every Christmas. Greeks of Asia Minor made them too, often calling them finikia.