Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without these tasty little cookies. And with no dairy or egg you can leave out the honey in the syrup to make them perfectly Vegan
Ingredients
For the Syrup
For the Cookies
To Garnish
Method
1 First prepare the syrup, as it should be cold when poured onto the hot cookies. Bring all the syrup ingredients, except the honey. together in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, stir in the honey, and set aside to cool
2 Prepare the cookie dough. In a bowl combine the semolina, flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3 In a separate bowl add the orange juice, brandy, sugar and spices. Mix. Add the baking soda and whisk immediately for 5-10 seconds. The ingredients should be combined, the soda dissolved and beginning to foam. Add to the bowl the water, oil, orange zest and honey. Whisk to combine.
4 Combine the two mixtures for the dough and knead until it is smooth, soft and slightly sticky. Be careful not to overwork the dough as it will become tough, or the oil will separate from the dough and give the cookies an oily taste.
5 Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160 fan. Layer a couple of large baking trays with parchment paper and start dividing the dough into portions of about the size of a walnut (30g). Shape these into a smooth oblong shape and place on the baking tray. Push a fork lightly across the top of each cookie piercing them three times on top and about haff way through the dough. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes until evenly browned and cooked through.
6 As soon as they come out of the oven, dip them in the cold syrup, flipping them with a slotted spoon to absorb the syrup for about 10-20 seconds. Remove them from the syrup and place on a platter. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts.
7 Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container and they will last throughout the festive season
Chronia Polla!!