Kitchen Stories: Melomakarona, Honey Cookies with Walnuts

Melomakarona with semolina. With the right amount of honey, delicious and crispy, orange scented and sprinkled with a lot of walnuts.
Classical taste for Greek Christmas, where almost every household has its own family recipe and the "magic" formula to make them tasty and enjoyable.
If you like melomakarona, these meet the requirements for a delicious bite!

work: 01h:30′

time: 02h:30′

medium: 3/5

Ingredients (∼50 cookies) 300 ml/10 fl oz vegetable oil 100 ml/ 3.4 fl oz olive oil 1 lemon zest 2 oranges, juice and zest 1 tsp baking soda, powder 1 tsp clove powder 2 tbsp cinnamon powder 2 vanillas 60 gr/ 2.1 oz sugar 50 ml/ 1.7 fl oz brandy	170 gr/ 6 oz fine semolina 170 gr/ 6 oz coarse semolina 480 gr/ 1.1 lbs flour 2 tsp banking powder ½ tsp salt Wash and dry the oranges and the lemon. Grate them on fine grater and get the zest. Squeeze the oranges and dissolve the baking soda in the juice. Carefully, because it bubbles.	In large bowl, add the olive & vegetable oil, lemon & orange zest, sugar, vanilla and brandy.
Add spices and mix. Add the semolina mixing well. Leave it for ~10 minutes to absorb as much as possible from the liquid mixture.	In the flour bowl mix the baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture sifting to the bowl with the semolina and spices. Knead lightly until you have a fluffy and soft dough.	Take pieces of dough and mold into shapes with the size of a thumb. Push them onto textured surface or form "lines" with a fork.
Press them with your finger to form a dent…	…and the relief is impressed upon them.	Place them in a distance from each other, in a shallow baking pan lined with nonstick paper.
Put the pan in the preheated oven at 175°C/ 350°F/ Gas 4 and bake for 25'. Remove from oven and let cool. Put the second pan in the oven.	Syrup 600 ml/ 20 fl oz water 300 gr/ 10.6 oz honey 400 gr/ 14.1 oz sugar 300 gr/ 10.6 oz walnuts, crushed for sprinkling	In a saucepan put all the ingredients of the syrup, mix, and allow to boil for 3'-4' from the time the boiling starts. Periodically, remove the formed foam with a spoon.
When cooled, put the melomakarona in a pan and pour over them the hot syrup, with a deep scoop.	Turn them on the other side and repeat the whole process.	Place the crushed walnuts in a bowl. Roll the melomakarona over them to get covered with walnuts. Place on a large platter.