I got the recipes from my mother and grandmother and I only slightly tweaked  them.

Both most favorite cookies –the Koulourakia with Orange, and the dark deep-flavored Moustokouloura Cookies, were baked using olive oil and no eggs.

Americans and northern Europeans are not the only ones loving their crunchy, fragrant cookies. Greeks usually accompany with cookies their coffee in the morning or afternoon. Home cooks, who used to make them all year round, kept them in a jar or tin box and we enjoyed them any day of the year, including the lengthy Lenten periods, like the days before Easter when all kinds of foods deriving from animals were avoided.

The recipes didn’t change, and our most favorite cookies –the Koulourakia with Orange, and the dark deep-flavored , Moustokouloura Cookies, were both baked using olive oil and no eggs.

These days more and more people have started to bake with olive oil;  it is not just me any more. Cooks all over the world bake lovely, moist olive oil cakes, and I hope soon they will also make variations of these traditional Greek cookies that I have learned to make, or at least help shape since I was a child, together with my grandmother, and my mother.

Try also my older recipe for the traditional Easter, yellow Saffron, Allspice, and Pepper Biscuits, from the island of Astypalaia. They are neither vegan –they have yogurt and cream– and they are savory, perfect to serve with drinks and meze, especially with fresh, creamy cheese.

I am sure you will love them!

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The cookies are deep-flavored and delicious. The grape must is boiled down to become thick petimezi (grape molasses) an pantry item in most traditional homes. Syrupy petimezi is diluted with an equal amount of water to make the cookies.

Grape must cookies, right, and Orange Koulourakia, left. 

The sweetness of the petimezi determines their taste, as moustokouloura have no additional sugar.  Commercial moustokouloura are usually large, but the homemade ones are smaller.

See also the Ginger and Grape Molasses cookies, my variation of the Ginger Snap ones.

To get 2 1/2 cups traditional petimezi (grape molasses) you need to simmer for about 1 hour or more 2 ½ kilos (5 pounds) grape juice. But to achieve the taste of my favorite island moustokouloura, made in August with the local fresh grape must, or with thinned down petimezi (grape molasses), I boil ordinary grape juice with sultanas and/or currents, and the result is great (see Note).

Makes about 3 dozen large cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour or more, as needed

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet grape must (see note)

 2/3 cups olive oil

 1/3 cup brandy

  1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Mix 4 cups flour with the salt and the spices. Make a well in the centre and add the grape must and olive oil. In a small bowl stir the baking soda into the brandy and stir the bubbly mixture into the flour. 

Knead, briefly to form a soft dough. If it is too sticky, add more flour.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Cut pieces of dough and roll to make 1/3-inch thick and 5- or 6-inch-long ropes, or shorter. Stick the two ends together or tie a knot or roll, snail-like the dough ropes, to form moustokouloura.

Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes or more, until firm.

Let the cookies cool completely on a rack, and store in airtight boxes.

NOTE:

To make petimezi (grape molasses) juice fresh grapes to get 4 cups of juice, or use 4 cups commercial grape juice. Add 2 cups currants or sultanas and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Process in the blender and pass the liquid through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Tie the end of the cheesecloth and squeeze the pulp to extract all the juices.

Measure to get the amount needed and freeze the rest for future use.

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We don’t need to substitute and invent intricate vegan cookies, as the most common ones we make at home, or buy at the bakeries all over the country, are usually baked with olive oil instead of butter.

Makes about 65 pieces

1 ½ cups light olive oil

1 cup sugar

650 grams cake flour or more, as needed

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of Salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup brandy

3 packed tablespoons orange zest (from 3-4 large oranges, zested with the microplane)

1 cup fresh orange juice

Toasted sesame seeds, or rosemary leaves (optional)

In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the balloon attachment, beat the oil and sugar for about 5 minutes, until milky-white.

In a separate bowl toss the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a cup add the baking soda to the brandy and stir to mix. Add the orange zest, orange juice and brandy-soda to the oil-sugar in the mixer, and stir a few times to mix.

Add gradually the flour to the liquids, in 2-3 additions, until just incorporated. You will end up with a very oily soft dough. If too soft, add a bit more flour, and transfer to the working surface. Let sit for 15-20 minutes before shaping.

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the convection oven to 160 C (320F).

Shape walnut-size pieces of dough into a rope, then join the ends to create a koulouri (crown) pressing it lightly on the sesame, if using.

Alternatively you can shape small sticks, or press pieces of dough to a ¼-inch square and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.

Sprinkle with sesame or rosemary if you like.

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Melomakarona, the traditional Greek, fragrant, honey-infused Christmas cookies are my favorites! They are vegan, because people ate them during the days of Lent that precede Christmas according to the Orthodox doctrines that some people follow, even if they are not religious. Now they are being rediscovered, as baking with olive oil has become trendy, and even the NYT published a version recently. I have slightly updated my mother’s recipe –which she had from her own mother– adding some ground nuts in the dough.

I think you will find these cookies irresistible, but if you manage to save them for later, they will get even better the next days. They keep for up to 1 month so you may want to double the recipe, especially if you bake melomakarona with friends, as we usually do.

An extra bonus of this aromatic but healthy dough is that you can use it as pie crust, filling it with cooked apples, quince, or make an irresistible lemony tart with just Lemon Curd as its filling. 

A recent favorite of ours is the old German Lebkuchen  which are fragrant with the enticing Lebkuchen Spice Mix.  It contains all kinds of spices, even ground coriander seeds, but strangely, no ginger! The blogger whose recipe I fam following, strangely calls it German Gingerbread Spice Mix, probably because she caters to Americans, for whom Lebkuchen is not a household name. My only addition to her recipe is an extra 2/3 cup finely ground almonds or almond meal because I don’t use the rice-paper wafers –difficult to find on our island—and wanted to make the dough somewhat thicker. Also, Costas and I prefer the cookies plain, or just drizzled with some bitter chocolate, so I skip the full dipping in chocolate the recipe calls for.

Also traditionally prepared for Christmas and the New Year, kourambiedes are delicate melt-in-the-mouth cookies. You find similar cookies in various Middle Eastern countries, often sprinkled with rose water or citrus flower water just before they are rolled in confectioner’s sugar. The old Greek island recipes called for lard, as butter was not a common ingredient. There are also recipes for kourambiedes made with the strongly-flavored sheep’s milk butter, while there are Lenten versions made entirely with olive oil. Today most homes and bakeries prepare the cookies exclusively with butter, but I love this old, Cycladic version. The last years I have become addicted to the kourambiedes baked by Tsourtis, our best island baker in Hora, the main town. He basically uses butter, but also some sheep’s milk butter and bakes his cookies in his wood-fired oven, which gives his kourambiedes an irresistible nutty flavor!

See also my take on the classic Ginger Snap Cookies, based on the recipe of King Arthur Baking.

I reduced the amount of sugar in the mix since the topping makes them far too sweet, anyway. Also I prefer to make them with olive oil instead of any ‘shortening,’ and of course I use grated fresh ginger that gives them a lovely, fragrant kick.

As for the ‘molasses’ mentioned, the only kind we have here is Grape Molasses, which has a wonderfully deep flavor. In Greece the traditional Moustokouloura (grape molasses cookies) are vegan –no egg– as they are a favorite Lenten treat. But frankly, these gingery ones are far better-tasting and easier (!)

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I reduced the amount of sugar in the mix since the topping makes them far too sweet, anyway. Also I choose to make them with olive oil, instead of any ‘shortening,’ and of course I use grated fresh ginger that gives them a lovely, fragrant kick.

As for the ‘molasses’ mentioned, the only kind we have here is Grape Molasses, which have a wonderfully deep flavor. In Greece the traditional Moustokouloura (grape molasses cookies) are vegan –no egg– as they are a favorite Lenten treat. But frankly, these gingery ones are far better-tasting and easier (!)

As for the ‘molasses’ mentioned, the only kind we have here is Grape Molasses, which has a wonderfully deep flavor. In Greece the traditional Moustokouloura (grape molasses cookies) are vegan –no egg– as they are a favorite Lenten treat. But frankly, these gingery ones are far better-tasting and easier (!)

 For about 3 dozen cookies

3/4 cup (138g) olive oil

1/2 cup (60g) sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 large egg

1/3 cup (113g) grape molasses

2-3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

2 1/3 cups (276g)  All-Purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For Coating

½ – 1 cup (50-200 g) sugar, preferably brown or light brown

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line with parchment paper two baking sheets.

Beat together the olive oil, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

Beat in the egg, then add the grape molasses and ginger.

Add the flour and spices, beating to make a smooth, somewhat stiff dough.

To make the coating, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and place in a shallow pan or dish.

Drop the dough in balls into the cinnamon-sugar mixture; a heaped tablespoon scoop is perfect here.

Roll the balls briefly in the sugar, then transfer to the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 1/2″ between them; they’ll spread as they bake.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, for cookies that are crisp/crunchy  or 3-4 min less, if you like them crisp around the edges, and “bendy” in the center.

Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool right on the pan, or on a rack. They are soft as they come out of the oven but harden later.

Cool completely, then store in a jar, at room temperature.

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Why not have more of the best parts of the pie? I decided to shape the dough differently in order to increase the caramelized area. The results are bite-size, cookie-like tahinopites — a kind of Eastern Mediterranean Cinnamon Rolls. It is important to get the highest quality tahini paste for these cookies. They taste best made a day in advance.  As they cool, they absorb and fully incorporate the lemony syrup.

Adapted from Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts

Makes about 56 cookies

The BREAD dough:

4-4 ½ cups All-purpose flour                                        

3 cups Bread Flour, or fine semolina (See NOTE)                    

1 package Active Dry Yeast (Instant)                         

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon                                        

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves                                        

1/2 teaspoon Ground Pepper                                      

About  3  1/2 cups Water, or as needed                                        

1 teaspoon Sea Salt, or 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt                                                                                        

The TAHINI-Walnut  Filling

(400 grams) 14 ounces good quality Tahini Paste                    

2  cups Ground Walnuts                                      

2  cups Sugar –preferably light brown                                                     

2-3  tablespoons Cinnamon –the more the better                                                                                                     

The SYRUP

3 cups Sugar                                                       

3 cups Water                                                      

2/3 from Lemon Peel, fro a Non-treated lemon

1/2 cup Fresh Lemon Juice                                                                                                                                                                 

Make the dough: Oil a large bowl and a piece of plastic wrap. In a bowl of a food processor fitted with dough hooks combine the flours, yeast, salt and spices. Toss to mix.

With the motor running add water to make a soft dough.

With floured hands, shape the dough into a ball and transfer to the oiled bowl. Cover with the oiled plastic, place in the refrigerator and let rise overnight. Bring dough to room temperature before shaping.  

Make the Filling: In a bowl stir well the tahini to incorporate the oil and paste, add sugar, walnuts and cinnamon, and stir well to mix.

Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the cookies: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly with floured hands. Divide into 4; cover the 3 pieces and flatten the forth piece to make a rectangle about 12X9 inches (30X22 cm).  Spread generously with 1/4 of the filling to cover all the surface of the dough. With the help of a large dough scraper roll like a jelly roll, then stretch the roll carefully, lightly pressing with your hands, to make it about 14 inches (35 cm.) long.

With a large knife or the dough scraper cut 1-inch (2,5 cm.) slices; shape each slice to form an even round, transfer onto the lined baking sheet, and flatten somewhat, leaving  at least 2/3 inch (2 cm.) space between the cookies.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until just light golden.

Make the syrup: Bring sugar and water to a boil, add lemon zest, turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and simmer another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Arrange Cookies snugly in one or more deep pans, saving the parchment paper. Douse with syrup while still warm. Cover with the parchment paper or plastic wrap, and set aside for 15 minutes. Uncover and flip the cookies to soak the bottom side with syrup; they will almost absorb it all. Let covered for 2 hours or overnight. Flip the tahinopita cookies again, and transfer to a serving platter, or arrange in a container, cover and refrigerate. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

NOTE: I like cookies that are somewhat chewy, as they hold the syrup better; if you prefer softer tahinopites you can omit the  bread flour or semolina and make the dough with just all-purpose flour. 

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Most people now use blanched almonds, but I find that, although less attractive, cookies made with whole, un-skinned nuts are equally delicious, not to mention a bit less labor-intensive — if you’re starting from the harvest-field.

All over the Middle East one finds endless variations of these cookies, often heavily scented with citrus blossom, or rose water. I prefer to just use my own lemon liqueur, leaving the flavor and aroma of the local almonds shine; but if you have ordinary almonds I suggest you use a good quality citrus blossom water.

See also the Lemon-scented Almond cookies that are not baked, but cooked on the stove.

For 60 cookies

2 pounds blanched almonds , or un-skinned, if you like

2 cups sugar

6-7 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Almond extract (optional)

Citrus blossom water, as needed

3-4 tablespoons Lemon Liqueur, as needed, optional

About 60 whole blanched almonds

In the blender or mixer grind the almonds with the sugar to a polenta-like consistency.

Beat the egg whites with 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt to form soft peaks.

In a large bowl combine the almonds and sugar, adding a few drops of almond extract, or 1 tablespoon citrus blossom water. Gradually add enough egg whites to make a mixture that can be shaped into cookies. Be careful at this stage because you don’t want to make a wet paste –you may not need all the egg whites.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Wetting your hands with liqueur or orange blossom water, take walnut-size pieces of the almond mixture and briefly roll on your palms to form into balls. Flatten slightly, pushing your finger at the top to make a dimple where you stick a whole almond. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden both on top and at the bottom. Be very careful NOT to dry them. The almond cookies must be hard on the outside and still somewhat wet and soft inside. They may appear soft as you take them out of the oven but they harden as they cool.

Let cool completely, and store in air-tight boxes.

If you can resist eating them all, the almond cookies can be frozen for up to 4 months.

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I start with the baking-powder version, a variation on the original yeasted biscuits, which produces very good results quite fast. If you want to make a more interesting yeasted one as it was the custom in the old days, use my recipe for Yogurt Bread adding the saffron diluted in the milk, as I describe below, and the other spices (allspice, nutmeg and pepper). Make the dough, omitting the stuffings, and when it has risen form into doughnut-like paximadia or smaller biscuits. Sprinkle with caraway seeds, if you like.

These biscuits are great as snacks, with coffee or drinks, and are an ideal accompaniment to soft cheeses, both sweet and creamy ones, like manouri and ricotta, and sharp ones, like Gorgonzola, Roquefort or any other blue

Makes about 30-35 biscuits

1/2 cup milk

2/3 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled

3 tablespoons honey, preferably thyme honey

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

1/2–1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (to taste)

1  teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup thick sheep’s milk yogurt, or Greek Yogurt

1 large egg

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), softened — or use 4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a small saucepan, combine the milk with the saffron threads and simmer gently over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until the milk is deep yellow (the saffron threads won’t dissolve completely). Stir in the honey, remove from the heat and let cool.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the yogurt with the egg and butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.

Add the cooled saffron milk, the half-and-half and oil and beat for 1 minute. Add to the flour mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula, to make a soft, oily dough; do not overmix.

Divide the dough in half, and shape one half into a log about 12 inches long; don’t worry if the dough isn’t perfectly smooth. Shape the rest into 4 or 5 ring-shaped breads. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart, and bake for about 30 minutes, or more, until the loaves are firm and the tops are starting to turn golden.

Reduce the heat to 200°F and leave the loaves in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

As soon as the loaf is cool, slice into 1/4-inch-thick slices, using a good serrated knife, and slice the rings horizontally. Place the slices directly on the middle rack of the oven.

Heat the oven to about 180˚ F and leave the slices to dry completely, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

You may need to place the biscuits in two racks, and change position 1-2 times while they dry.

Let the biscuits cool completely on racks after you turn off the heat.

Stored in airtight containers, they will keep for up to 6 months.

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See also the Flourless Kean Almond Cookies

Makes About 50 Cookies

3 lemons, preferably organic and not waxed

1 pound blanched almonds

2 1/2 to 3 cups sugar

Home made Lemon Liqueur, or limoncello liqueur

Confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar

Zest lemons with a vegetable peeler into long, thin strips. Place peels in a small saucepan; reserve lemons. Add cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Drain peels, add fresh cold water to cover and bring to a boil again. Drain, rinse under plenty of cold running water and drain again. Dry completely with paper towels.

Combine almonds and lemon peels in a food processor and process until finely ground. Juice peeled lemons through a sieve set over a bowl, pressing against fruit to release all juices.

In a large saucepan, combine almond mixture, 2 1/2 cups sugar and 2/3 cup of lemon juice and simmer, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved, about 7 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if needed, and set aside to cool.
Shape tablespoon-sized portions of the mixture into 11/2-inch balls or pear shapes, wetting your fingers with lemon liqueur as you work. Arrange cookies on a tray.

Dredge each cookie in confectioners’ or granulated sugar to coat.

Wrap each individually in cellophane or place in an airtight box. Let stand for at least 3 days before serving.

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