Melomakarona (Greek Christmas Honey Cookies)

In a large bowl, combine the orange zest, lemon zest and sugar and massage the zest into the sugar. Whisk the olive oil into the sugar mixture until combined.

In a small bowl stir together the orange juice with the baking soda, it should froth up a bit.

Stir that into the olive oil-sugar mixture until combined.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, a little at a time and as the mixture gets thicker, switch to a spatula and eventually use your hands if needed to gently fold the rest of the dry ingredients into the dough you want to mix this until just combined, do not overmix as the dough can start to separate / release the oil.

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Once the dough has rested, start to shape the cookies. Scoop out 2 heaping tablespoons per cookie, roll it into a ball in your hands and then form into an egg-like oval, flattening the top slightly. Place on the cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining dough. Once all the cookies are on the baking sheets, use a fork to gently poke a couple of holes in the tops of each cookie. Then bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes or until the cookies are firm and lightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets.

While the cookies are cooling, make the syrup: Add the sugar, water, honey, cinnamon sticks and orange peel to a medium pot. Bring to a boil and then turn to medium-low to keep at a simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the syrup has thickened slightly, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and remove the cinnamon sticks and orange peel and set aside.

Once the cookies have cooled and the syrup is still warm, drizzle the syrup over the cookies right on the sheet pan and then immediately sprinkle the crushed walnuts over the cookies.