Skaltsounia, these traditional mini pies filled with a sweet mixture of jam and nuts and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon, are enjoyed all year round, but are very common during Lent. I used my own favorite orange marmalade for the filling to match the fragrant pastry and make this lovely citrus the star of the show. Whether we're fasting or just craving a simple and delicious dessert, skaltsounia will always delight us with the charm of Greek tradition, the delicious dough and the aromatic filling...
Easy
25 - 30 min
24 skaltsounia
Ingredients
- 150 g sugar
- 150 g seed oil
- 150 g orange juice
- 1 tsp soda
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 2 vials or 2 sachets of vanillin
- 15 g baking powder
- 500 - 520 g all - purpose flour, sifted
For the filling:
- 140 g almonds and walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp clove powder
- 280 - 300 g jam or marmalade of your choice (I chose orange marmalade because I wanted the orange flavor to be the star)
- Orange blossom water
- Powdered sugar and cinnamon powder for sprinkling
How to
- In a bowl, combine the almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, cloves and jam.
- In a mixer's bowl, add the sugar and seed oil and beat until the sugar is dissolved.
- Stir the soda into the orange juice (be careful, it foams!) and add to the mixer bowl.
- Continue with the orange zest and vanillin.
- Mix the baking powder into the flour, add them to the mixture and knead with the dough hook until the ingredients are combined and you have a soft dough.
- Roll out the dough into a sheet, cut into a circular shape with a round cookie cutter or a glass, add the filling to the center and close by pressing the joint.
- Bake in a preheated oven (set to fan) at 355° F - 180° C for about 25 - 30 min (depending on the intensity of the oven).
- As soon as you remove the skaltsounia from the oven, spray them with orange blossom water.
- Allow to cool and either sprinkle with icing sugar and cinnamon or cover the whole skaltsounia by dipping them in a bowl of icing sugar and then sprinkle with cinnamon.
Note from Greek jar:
I used a round cookie cutter about 8 cm. The number of skaltsounia you get, will depend on their size.
You can also use a hand whisk to make the dough if you want to avoid using a mixer.
You can add the jam and nuts of your preference.
