Keto Melomakarona – a dream of Greek Christmas cookies

Keto Melomakarona sounds like a dream because these honey-infused cookies are the biggest symbol of Greek Christmas. The tradition most probably dates back to the times when ancient Greeks celebrated the Winter solstice. They used to prepare honey cookies and honey bread to celebrate this biggest event that marked the longest winter night. Honey was the main sweetener for European people back then. However, the modern version uses both sugar and honey! Naturally, we will use neither in our Keto Melomakarona! How can we use honey or sugar when we are making a Keto version? Keep reading and find out all the smallest tricks and secrets for this magical creation.

Keto Melomakarona that taste equally good?

In the word Melomakarona, “Melo” stands for honey while “makarona” stands for pastry! However, this doesn’t mean that we cannot adjust it to Keto principles. With the trick of using aromatic spices, you will not feel that they taste much different from the original version. Why is the keto version better? Well, it has no sugar and you will be satisfied with just 1 or 2 cookies. What’s not to like? After all, we are making them only once per year.

Did you know: Monkfruit extract has a very similar aroma to honey, if you use it both in the dough and in the syrup, everybody will think you used honey!

A Pro tip for Keto Melomakarona creators

You can use our Keto Honey Substitute recipe instead of the syrup. Please note, our Keto Melomakarona syrup is a much simpler version with fewer ingredients. The trick is to find a quality Monk fruit extract. Try to avoid using erythritol blends because they can leave an unusual aftertaste. Liquid or powdered, as long as it’s 100% extract you will get the right aroma and sweetness. Stevia is not the best solution here because you have to fix the aftertaste by utilising salt and acidity. Monk fruit extract is just ideal for this recipe!

Here are the best monk fruit extract products that we tried:

Keto Melomakarona

Recipe by Roberta Kapsalis

5 from 1 vote

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Servings

40

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

102

kcal

Ingredients

• 130g (1,5 oz) coconut flour

• 1 tbsp psyllium powder

• 100g (3,5 oz) ground nuts of your choice (we use blanched ground hazelnuts)

• 4 tbsp flaxseed meal (optional, you can use 2 extra tbsp of coconut flour)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon

• 2/3 tsp powdered clove

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tbsp orange zest

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 1 tbsp rum extract 

• 2 medium eggs pasture-raised

• 120 g (4,2 oz) melted butter 

• 120 ml (4 fl oz) olive oil extra virgin

• 100 ml (3,5 fl oz)  warm water (optional)

• Syrup

• 400 ml (13.5 fl. oz)  water

• 1 tbsp powdered monk fruit extract (or use 1 tsp of liquid extract)

• 1 medium lemon sliced, organic

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 1 stick cinnamon, a few whole cloves

• 2 tbsp grass-fed beef gelatine (optional)

• Decoration

• 4 tbsp ground nuts of your choice

Directions

• Place all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, combine them well. Add the egg, melted grass-fed butter, extra virgin olive oil, eggs and rum extract.
• Using your hand mix all the ingredients, the dough might be too thick and crumbly. Now add warm water and mix it well. If your dough doesn’t get too thick, you can skip the water. Form a ball and wrap it with transparent foil. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• After the dough has rested in the refrigerator, grease your hands with some olive oil and start creating medium balls or oval cookies. You can also squeeze the dough balls between your fingers and create shapes similar to seashells (see the photo).
• Line a wide baking pan with parchment paper. Now, place all the cookies on the baking sheet, approximately 2-3 cm (1 inch) apart from each other.
• Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350°F). Bake the cookies for about 25 minutes until they turn golden brown.
• While the cookies are baking prepare the syrup. Pour cold water, gelatine, monk fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and slices of lemon in a pot and mix it well so that gelatine dissolves. Now, bring the syrup to a boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the lemon slices and cinnamon stick from the syrup and use them later as decoration if you like.
• As soon as the cookies are baked, pour hot syrup over them. The best way to do it is by using a ladle. Allow the cookies to drink the syrup and sprinkle them with crushed walnuts.

Notes

• You will most probably have a hard time resisting this Greek seductive treat. But, trust me, they are the best-served cold. Just like revenge, some might say! You can store them in the refrigerator or keep them at room temperature.
• Usually, walnuts are used, but we prefer blanched hazelnuts. You can try using macadamia nuts which will give even fewer carbs. Since this dessert is prepared once per year, you can use any nuts you have or prefer. Have in mind, when you want to lose extra weight, nuts and dairy products should be excluded from your diet.
• You can also dip cookies for 10-15 seconds in the syrup. There are many techniques. we usually gently drop 8 cookies in the saucepot with the syrup, count to 12 and then take them out and place them on a plate.

Did you make this recipe?

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