Diples, Christmas honey rolls

Have you ever spent Christmas in Greece? Well, then youcertainly have come across these three sweet treats: melomakarona, kourabiethes and last but not least díples (thee-ples). Díples, the Greek word for fold, is a light and crispy fried dough topped with walnuts and a generous drizzle of honey syrup. There is an easy recipe below so you can make your own díplesthis Christmas!

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Vasilopita

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas celebrations, I definitely did, that’s why I have been so quiet: too busy relaxing with my favourite people and stuffing my face with melomakarona and kourabiedes. Non-stop chatter with friends and family somehow makes you forget to pull out a camera or write down a recipe.

I am really excited about this one though: it’s New Year’s cake!  We call it Vasilopita, after St Basil, our Santa Claus who actually visits on the first day of the year. It is not just another dessert, it’s the centrepiece of the evening. No matter how much we love Christmas, our New Year celebrations come with a bit more glam and lots more partying. Vasilopita is the start of it.

Not just a cake, a cake filled with anticipation for the New Year and a hidden coin! The cake is traditionally cut by the head of the family and a piece is allocated to all. The lucky slice with a coin will guarantee its happy muncher a very satisfied tummy, a little present and good fortune for the year ahead.

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Kourabiedes, a very light shortbread

 Christmas baking is probably my favourite thing during the festive season. Each year here in Greece, every home bakes an array of delicious Christmas sweets. Kourabiedes and melomakarona are absolute musts and everybody will make at least one of these traditional delicacies. Of course I have joined in the holiday baking frenzy and you may have already seen snippets of my cooking over the past few days. I love kourabiedes and melomakarona, the two traditional Christmas delights fiercely compete with each other: crumbly vs sticky,  almonds vs walnuts, icing sugar or honey? If only all dilemmas were that delicious! Continue reading Facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramby feather