Greek Christmas Filled Cookies

Cookies/Finikia/Melomakarona, a recipe from the East full of aromas and memories of lost homelands! Stuffed, traditional, Lenten and syrupy cookies.
The syruping is done in a saucepan and while the syrup is kept warm on a very low heat.
We prepare Finikia, which are consumed during the Lenten days before Christmas but also as a sweet delicacy for Christmas and New Year's Day along with the other Christmas desserts of the Twelve Days, such as Melomakarona, Kourabiedes, hills of fried honeyed Diples fragrant and fluffy Vasilopites! And even Isli, Christmas Bread, Kouloures, New Year's Loukoumades, Pancakes and other local sweets, festive, symbolic and ritual, that are prepared in every corner of Greece.
Yours!

Merry Christmas 2024! 🎄
Happy Holidays!

work: 1h:00′

time: 1h:30′

easy:

Orange «Necklace»

If you have a cotton string, a thick needle, some sugar and 2-3 oranges you are ready to create something beautiful and sweet: An Orange «Necklace»!
An idea, which will delight both you and those you give it to. Make this recipe and eat it all winter long.
Yours

work: 15′

time: 45′

very easy:

Traditional Greek Orange Cake with Syrup

Juicy, easy, fluffy and full of aromas Traditional Greek Orange Cake with Syrup, which is made with crust leaves, finely chopped & hidden inside and with strained yogurt. It is syruped with a thick orange syrup to make the flavors even more orange. The taste of orange floods the palate so pleasantly and so intensely, uniquely!
Of all the syrupy sweets of Greek Cuisine, this orange pie is by far our favorite. It's because oranges are our favorite fruit! It combines beautifully with a ball of our favorite ice cream and the flavors take off.
Yours!

work: 20′

time: 1h:00′

easy:

Greek Easter Cookies

Easter Cookies/ Biscuits -and not only Easter- with a different approach but with all the aromas of Greek Easter, such as Chios Mastic, Mahlepi, Kakoule (Cardamom) and the aroma of orange.
Light, tasty, soft, digestible and special. They are made very easily with their wonderfully velvety dough, which is given by the addition of pure yogurt and the light corn oil. They are relatively sweet with a little sugar added because our opinion is that this is how a cookie should be in order for a savory platter of cheeses and cold cuts to accompany our drink.

Happy Easter!

work: 1h:20′

time: 2h:30′

easy:

Almond Pie-Birthday Cake

Cake with Almonds, syrupy and flavored with liqueur. Whitened & grated almonds make this almond pie very tasty. The syrup at the end (and in the right amount) flavors it wonderfully and makes it tender, soft and delicious.

We made it a Cake / Birthday Cake because… because we like it that way… and to simplify the procedures we sprinkled it with a little icing sugar. Alternatively we can put almond slivers on top or just grated almonds.

Yours!

work: 20′

time: 1h:00′

easy:

Greek Brioche-Easter 2020

Our Easter Tsourekia of 2020 was a beautiful experience, although their process was time consuming. We kept great waiting times for a total of 5 inflatables and which time (and inflatables) worked positively and substantially to make them fluffy, with strings and delicious buns.
Their ingredients are the classic for Tsourekia of our Greek Easter Brioche in a more enhanced dose, since 1 kg of flour was required.
Despite the long process, the hand work was very little. The dough, a perfect dough in texture and aroma also gave a perfect final result, which justified the effort and noise of the thing… But it is these family Easter traditions that create inextricable links and tasteful memories that connect us as a family, as a Nation.

We wish you a Happy Easter, with a lot of strength, so that we can face an invisible enemy who changed our lives!

work: 1h:30′

time: 6h:00′

medium:

Greek Halva

This here, Semolina Halva is young, handsome and scandalous, without question or hesitation, he also has a caramelized taste like an extra bonus in the suitcase with his dowry. There is a little secret about him and it is about the technique of his preparation. It will be revealed to you later, reading the article or enjoying it, if you make it!
Forget the well-known 1 2 3 4 etc. of the ingredients here arithmetic changes, it's not like when we were kids and they taught us our first sweets… Confectionery is an evolving art, it's very special and strict, I would say, even if it concerns the simplest of sweets. Sometimes the simple does not mean simplistic, the depthless approach to the real.
Its ingredients, thanks to which it becomes very light and aromatic, apart from the well-known semolina, are nuts, cinnamon, juice and orange zest as well as orange spoon sweet chopped!
Yours

work: 45′

time: 2h:45′

easy:

Custard Filled Pastry Torte

Custard Filled Pastry Torte-Galaktoboureko, festive and favorite!
AND YES we celebrated a Birthday with this syrupy dessert and it eaten to be lukewarm, consumed with great appetite and some (everyone?!?) loved it!
Simplifying the procedures in the dilemma of the term «Birthday Cake» the decision was made and the balance was set in this suggestion here as time and conditions were very limited… It Just very easy with ingredients like fine semolina to make air-foam pastry cream, fresh butter, crunchy pastry sheets, fresh eggs and a light aroma syrup orange. Classic, that is, without the risk of failure and with the phyllo making small crisp nests to embrace the cream. Decorated with a little orange jam and grated pistachio.

Happy Birthday my Baby!

work: 40′

time: 1h:30′

easy:

Vasilopita/New Year's Cake 2020!

Ritual & Symbols
Vasilopita {Greek:Βασιλόπιτα, Vasilópita (St.Basil-pie)} is a New Year's Day bread or cake in Greece and many other areas in Eastern & Wester Europe and the Balkans which contains a hidden coin or trinket which gives good luck to the receiver. It is associated with Saint Basil's day, January 1, in most of Greece, but in some regions, the traditions surrounding a cake with a hidden coin are attached to Epiphany or to Christmas.
On New Year's Day families cut the Vasilopita to bless the house and bring good luck for the new year. This is usually done at midnight on New Year's Eve. A coin is hidden in the bread by slipping it into the dough before baking.
At midnight the sign of the cross is etched with a knife across the cake. A piece of cake is sliced for each member of the family and any visitors present at the time, by order of age from eldest to youngest. Depending on local and family traditions, slices are cut for various symbolic people or groups.
They may include the Lord, St. Basil and other saints, the poor, the household, or the Kalikantzaroi.
In older times, the coin often was a valuable one, such as a gold sovereign. Nowadays there is often a prearranged gift, money, or otherwise, to be given to the coin recipient.
The traditions surrounding Vasilopita are very similar to Western European celebrations of the Twelfth Night & Epiphany: the King Cake (Gâteau des Rois) of France and Louisiana and the Tortell in Catalonia.

※※※※※Happy New Year 2020!※※※※※

εργασία: 20′

χρόνος: 1h:20′

εύκολο:

Crostata without Butter with Ricotta & Peach Jam

I wanted to try this type of dough, which contains light oil instead of butter. Although not really an Orthodox preparation compared to the rules of pastry, it is a great and easy way to make a dough very quickly. Mix everything in a bowl, work with the wire or spoon and then finish the process with a quick kneading on the kitchen work surface.
This shortens the time needed to make a sweet tart dough, as it does not need to rest in the fridge and can be used immediately even when there are a hundred degrees in the house due to the summer heat.
We open a sheet of handmade dough that is easily inserted into the tart dish, fills up and at one point we have our tart ready to get into the oven.
Sweet Tart without butter, filled with anthotyro -ricotta cheese- & Peach Jam, made by us in a very short time and with less sugar. Light Peach Jam recipe☯ at the end of the article. The dough sheet is so wonderful, with biscuit texture, crumbly, that it will surprise you with its taste and texture. It can also be used in savory tarts by removing sugar.
Hmmm, remember to make some cookies with this dough…
Yours, the Peach Jam Tart!

work: 20′

time: 1h:00′

medium:

Classic Vanilla Bundt Cake

Vanilla Cake & Chocolate, a real Bundt Cake robust, solid, tough, heavy, liquid cake that has nothing to do with fluffy, airy, ethereal cakes, but it is wonderful and you will allow me, for excitement, to offer you with many praises.
Delicate, infused, and tender, this golden cake is simple. Baked in a Bundt pan is just as good to serve with fresh fruit, ice cream, whatever you like or just itself, sprinkled with powdered sugar as much as you like.

PS. If you like you can make it like a Santa Claus Christmas Cake. Remove the cocoa and place it in a flat, round shape pan.🎄
Yours!

work: 20′

time: 1h:30′

easy:

Pork Roast in Beer

This is a main course full of flavor. With Bavarian origins and the stars of the show being two of Germany's favorite ingredients: pork and great beer!
The ingredients for this delicious roast are a few: pork, olive oil, rosemary, garlic, spices and - the magic element - beer.
The meat is marinated in a bottle of beer, orange juice, lemon & in seasonings, then placed in a hot oven, covered as in a hull, for ~2 hours to be cooked and browned roast and the accompaniment the potatoes.
Approximately two hours after, you have the most juicy interior and crisp outside tasty Sunday meal you can imagine. The meat melts with the touch of a fork and in combination with the crisp potatoes they offer wonderful tasting moments.
Yours!

work: 30′

time: 3h:00′

easy:

Pork Chunks in Red Wine

Small pieces of pork shoulder or neck is an economical and flexible piece of meat when cooked gives a tasty dish extraordinarily. Cut pieces of meat have the ability to absorb the strong flavors of red wine, aromatic spices, and grain mustard flavor as they are cooked.
Yours!

work: 15′

time: 1h:00′

easy:

Spinach & Cheese Mini Pies

These Spinach Pies & Cheeses are made with Yoghurt Dough and baked in the oven. They are delicious and cute, as they are small, though with a lengthy process. If you are not busy and have fun dealing with anxiolytic procedures, such as dough, make them and enjoy them at your festive table. It is ideal finger food and perfect for a buffet. They are worth their effort.
Yours!

work: 1h:30′

time: 2h:30′

medium:

Traditional Greek Easter Bread-Tsoureki

If we close our eyes and think of Greek Easter, Orthodox Easter, the image to be formed in our mind is a delicious well done, braided super-soft, fluffy and moist brioche with a red egg. This is the view of our Greek Easter!
Sometimes easy with simple procedures and sometimes complicated and demanding the Tsoureki remains the favorite flavored sweet bread large and small. It has primacy in our Easter & Easter table with red eggs and bagels. Customs that blend and reconcile families and friends.
Yours!
Have a pleasant and enjoyable Easter of 2018!

work: 1h:00′

time: 4h:00′

medium:

Tahini Cookies

Mini cookies of a mouthful, fasting, but without the exclusion of the pleasure of their delicacy and the rest of the year, the non-fasting.
These are the perfect snack for those who are watching their diet. They are dairy-free, egg-free, butter-free but with tahini, orange juice and zest, amber brandy & aromatic spices, which give them their dark color!
Enjoy them with your favorite drink or wrap them on soft, nice wrapping paper & fill gift boxes with them. A remarkable gift for loved ones, friends, associates, neighbors… will be duly appreciated.
Yours!

work: 45′

time: 2h:00′

easy:

Vasilopita Brioche 2018

It is always an excellent idea to welcome the New Year with delicious homemade savory and sweet dishes. As for the more traditional sweet, Vassilopita, it can be made in various shapes and ingredients for all tastes. Everything is just as delicious and they belong to the Christmas period of Greece. Prepare your Vassilopita sweet or savory - because there is this version in many of our areas - and bake it to beautify the house "feast!". Regardless of the taste you prefer best, do not forget to hide a coin inside!
Vassilopita without coin is not done.
This beloved version of Vassilopita Tsoureki is an easy and light-to-mouth version of traditional brioche. Our own was made with the new olive oil from our own olives, which just arrived at our house from the olive press. He was kneaded in Vassilopita and the satisfaction was great.

Happy New Year 2018!
Health, Love, Happiness to Everyone

work: 45′

time: 4h:45′

difficult:

Fresh Cherry Cake

A traditional English Cake where all we have to do is prepare a quick Cake mix, mix it gently, dip the cherries in, creating a surface with polka dot, and pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish. It could not be simpler, no mixer, no blows, no long process, and fewer utensils for the sink.
It looks a lot like the french clafoutis, only the English in the classic form of cake use candied cherries. We preferred fresh cherries, which have already made their appearance on the market. I kept some for this and only the recipe because we love to eat them fresh.
Yours!

work: 20′

time: 1h:00′

very easy:

Strawberry Ginger Smoothie

The season of strawberry is in full swing and I am excited. Seasonal fruits are the key to healthy eating and delicious smoothies because they are naturally sweet, flavored and full of flavor.
Strawberry Smoothie is simple, dietary, delicious, flavored with fresh ginger, healthy and Low Carb/Low Carbohydrates. Fresh rejuvenating beverage with vitamins, trace elements, fiber, calcium and antioxidants for a strong detoxification of our body.
Make this smoothie for a refreshing treatment, body power and energy after a tiring and warm day. It's easy to make with fresh fruit that we have at home.
Yours!

work: 10′

time: 10′

very easy:

Traditional Greek Easter Bread

Round, Easter, traditional, fluffy cake light and aromatic. The only difficulty in that exercise is patience needed between different yeast rising phases. If we like doing braids straight or rounded to coil shape. With balls, as you suggest, it is easier and more relaxed and are ideal to fill them with chocolate or jam. Make your tests and you'll see, it is like to play, like children, plasticine. This is the grace of our Easter kneading.
Yours!

work: 30′

time: 3h:30′

medium: