Arianna was on Morning Joe this morning to talk about Blago, blogging, and the political news of the day. And Arianna, ever the gracious guest, surprised the hosts and fellow panelists with her favorite Christmas treat, Melomakarona, greek cookies made from walnuts and honey.
But this morning was not Arianna's first foray into baked goods -- she once showed Martha Stewart a thing or two about these Grecian goodies back in 2006.
And lastly, here's the recipe. Try it... and let us know what you think!
MELOMAKARONA
2 cups of olive oil
1 cup of brandy
1 cup of orange juice
225 gr of sugar
grated rind of 1 orange
1 kg of soft flour or 750 g of soft flour and 250 g of semolina
2 tablespoons of baking powder
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1 cup of crushed walnuts
cinnamon
2 cups of honey
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
cinnamon sticks
Combine the olive oil, brandy, orange juice, sugar and grated orange rind, and beat well. Add the baking powder and soda to the flour. Transfer the oil mixture to a large bowl and add gradually add the flour. Knead and then form the melomakarona into small rounds or oval shapes. Once this has been done, gently press each melomakarono against the surface of a grater in order to leave a decorative pattern on each one. Put the melomakarona in a baking pan and cook in a pre-heated oven for half an hour, at 160 C. Allow to cool in the pan.
In a saucepan, add the honey, the sugar and 2 cups of water. Boil the syrup for about 5 minutes. Skim the foam off the top, add the cinnamon sticks and then pour the hot syrup over the cold melomakarona. Sprinkle with the crushed walnut and a little cinnamon.