Chocolate Melomakarona

Directions

Sift the flour and add the baking powder.

In another bowl, combine all the liquid ingredients: vegetable oil, olive oil, orange juice with dissolved baking soda. Add the sugar and mix well until the sugar dissolves (to make the dough light and not heavy).

Once the sugar has dissolved, gradually add the sifted flour and baking powder. Initially, mix with a whisk and then continue mixing with your hands. Be gentle and try to incorporate as little air as possible. Do not knead the dough for too long; once you have added all the flour, mix it for about 4-5 strokes. Overworking the dough will make it dense.

The dough should have a soft, pliable consistency and be oily. Let it rest for about 20 minutes, covered with plastic wrap. During this time, the flavors will meld.

Start shaping the melomakarona. Have a bowl with the walnuts nearby.

Take a small amount of dough and press it in your palm to form a small disk. Place a piece of walnut in the center and fold the dough around it, forming a small cookie. Place it on a baking sheet. Continue until all the dough is used, making small walnut-sized melomakarona. Once a baking sheet is full, lightly pierce each cookie with a fork. This will help them absorb the syrup more easily. Bake the melomakarona in a preheated oven at 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 20 minutes. Bake one sheet at a time. They are ready when they turn golden and easily come off the baking sheet.

Allow them to cool completely.

For the syrup: In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the syrup and bring to a boil. Once it boils, skim off the foam and reduce the heat to a simmer. Dip the cooled melomakarona into the syrup, a few at a time, to control the level of syrup absorption. For walnut-sized cookies, 15 seconds in the syrup is sufficient. After dipping, place them on a wire rack to drain and cool. Separate the melomakarona into three portions.

For the topping: Melt the dark chocolate, white chocolate, and milk chocolate separately using a double boiler or a microwave, if available. Once melted, spoon the chocolate over each melomakarono. Shake the wire rack gently to allow the chocolate to spread evenly. Place a whole or crushed walnut on top of each cookie. Repeat the process with the remaining chocolates.

Place the wire rack with the melomakarona in the refrigerator and let them cool completely.

Finally, transfer them to serving plates, keeping them covered until ready to serve.

You can enjoy your chocolate-filled melomakarona with a delicious walnut filling and rich chocolate!

Note:

• I prefer the syrup to be warm and the melomakarona to be cold for proper soaking, without becoming too syrupy. Besides, we will also add chocolate on top, so we don't want them to be overly sweet and heavy.
• However, if you prefer them to be heavily soaked, you can do the opposite by using cold syrup and dipping them in as soon as they come out of the oven.
• When melting the chocolate using a double boiler, be careful not to let any water get into it.