by Areti Vassou
Festive Vegan Sweets Recipes
The most wonderful time of the year is here! December! So close to Christmas and New Year’s Celebrations! And for a sweet-tooth like me, is the perfect excuse for more desserts. 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎅🎁🎄🎅🎁🎄🎅🎁🎄🎅🎁🎄🎅🎁 🎄🎄🎄🎄
I called Pinelopi Kyriazi from Maninio to ask her how to make traditional Greek Desserts with less sugar but tasteful. She prepared the following Christmas recipes:
Kourabiedes With Coconut Sugar
In Greece, before Christmas time, locals are famous for enjoying cooking the Traditional sweets. Kourabiedes, Melomakarona and Diples.
From the start of winter season, which begins in December Greeks start making these Traditional sweets and the house smell like early Christmas!
Today we’ll talk about Kourampiedes! Have you ever tried them?? They are buttery Christmas cookies. In Greece, we sprinkle them with rose water and we cover them with iced sugar. In Kalamata (Greece) they prepare these cookies through the year. You can find them in big variations and shapes.
The sweet root can be found in Persia, from where the sweetness traveled all over the East, the Balkans and, of course, our country. Of course, like any famous sweet who respects himself, other countries, especially Lebanon, are also pardoning for his paternity, while we are in “Turkey”, Albania, but also in Hispanic countries under the name Polvoron.
Kurabiye in Turkish means biscuit, buttermilk or “fluffy” Greek translation of Kourampies.
The most likely version of the “arrival” of Kourabie in Greece, as well as many other recipes, is to arrive in the country with the luggage of the refugees from Asia Minor and more specifically from Smyrni.- Maninio.com
Kourabiedes With Coconut Sugar by Maninio
Kourabiedes With Coconut Sugar by Maninio
The Butter quality plays a big role in the success of Kourampiedes. Choose the best quality for the best results!
If you are just Vegetarian use butter but today’s recipe is for all the Vegans! You can use any good quality of Vegan Butter. I used margarine with coconut and almond. It’s a new product in Greece and I decided to try it. The taste is not exactly like the original buttery Kourampie, because of the Vegan Butter. But equally delicious! – Maninio.com
Get the Recipe from Maninio Food & Travel Blog here>>
Vegan Melomakarona
I’ve spent years making these Christmas Cookies which are a popular treat during the Festive time in Greece. Originally They are flavored with honey, thus their name “Melomakarona”. Believe me, I can eat a whole plate of them! I am so addicted! Dangerous addicted! No prescription required. – Maninio.com
The Name of Melomakarona it means Honey Macarons. Macaroni comes from the Greek word “macaronia”, a dish served in the Medieval times at a funeral dinner (after a funeral). In the newer years a favorite sweet has been added to our favorite honey and so we arrived at our famous melomakarono (= melo + macaron). It was established as a Christmas sweet since our honey is considered as a symbol of welfare and creation since ancient times! That’s how good and joyful we expect to bring each new year.
These Melomakarona are on less sweet side and Vegan. The Greeks love sugar and prefer to put a lot of sugar and honey on them. If you think it’s not possible to make Vegan Melomakarona, you haven’t tried mine. Crunchy outside and juicy inside. Heavenly delicious! – Maninio.com
Get the Recipe from Maninio Food & Travel Blog here>>
Nice recipe!