Preparation
For Melomakarona that are soft on the outside and crunchy on the inside, we first sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl, and then put it aside.
In another bowl, pour the seed oil, butter, cognac, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest and mix well. Dissolve the baking soda in the fresh orange juice and pour into the mix. Add the flour into the mix and whisk gently until smooth. Don’t overwork the mix.
The dough must be oily and soft. Get a walnut size piece of the dough and mold the small Melomakarona (oval shaped). Sort them onto baking sheets, and gently press designs with a fork on the surface. Pre-heat the oven 160º for 25 minutes, or until golden and crunchy. Once finished, let them to cool down to room temperature.
For the syrup:
Pour all the ingredients in a pot and until they boil. Once they boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Strain the foam as needed and keep the syrup on low heat. Dip the Melomakarona in the syrup for about 20 seconds on each side, and then cover with the ground pistachios or walnuts.