Orange cookies (vegan) (Melomakarona)

For the idea of this recipe I’m grateful to foodzesty.com blog. These Greek Christmas cookies impressed me by the mix of olive oil and semolina. Under the impression I’ve made a couple of variations of vegan cookies with semolina, and these slightly different Melomakarona:) It is suggested to sprinkle the cookies with syrup made of sugar, water, honey and chopped walnuts. I’ll try it next time.

This recipe makes crunchy, orangey flavorful cookies (they are a bit harder than usual shortbread because of semolina). Adding candied orange peel is optional. I tried it with a half of the dough and the result turned out richer:)

Powdered orange zest is my friend’s creation, so I have no idea whether someone makes use of it (dried zest, ground into powder). Can be quite helpful when you need some zest and don’t have oranges at hand. I did had zest, only wanted to make the outcome as rich as possible:)
Happy baking!:)
Takes 1 hr 20 mins (20 mins preparation + 30 mins cooling the dough + 30 mins baking)
Makes a few dozen of cookies (depending on your cookies cutters)

Ingredients

1/2 cup (125 ml) orange juice (of 3 large oranges)
1 tbsp orange zest (of those 3 large oranges)
1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil (any other neutral oil)
1/2 cup (90 g) sugar
1 1/3 cup plain flour
1/3 + 1/4 cup (105 g) fine semolina
1 tsp cinnamon
1 heaped tsp cardamom
1 tsp cloves
1 tbsp powdered dried orange zest (optionally)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup (25 g) candied orange peel (for 1/2 of the dough) (optionally)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the oil, orange juice, zest and sugar. In another bowl, combine the flour, fine semolina, powdered orange zest and spice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet along with baking soda and lemon juice. Knead the dough. Halve the dough and combine candied orange peel with 1/2 of the dough (add 1/2 cup of candied peel to all dough if you want all cookies to contain it. Or skip this step if you don’t use any peel). Shape the dough into 2 balls, make them flat. Wrap both into a plastic wrap and place into the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour or overnight (alternatively, for 30 minutes into the freezer).

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Flour the working surface. Roll out the pastry and cut the cookies (about 5-6 mm thick). Reroll the scraps and repeat again (flouring the surface every time). Transfer the cookies onto the baking sheet and bake about 12-15 mins or until fragrant. Let cool and firm on a cooling rack. Store in a cookie container.

Enjoy!

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