Get your fillo of Greek pastries

McClatchy Newspapers

In the kitchen at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia, S.C., honey is in the air.

You may not immediately recognize the aroma. But then you see the honey dripping off baked dough called melomakarona.

Your eyes meet your taste buds, and you take it all in. Sweetness abounds.

The women of the St. Katherine’s Ladies Philoptochos Society are in the middle of another baking marathon. This one is for the 63rd annual bake sale — the first was in 1957.

On a recent Tuesday morning, a group of about two dozen women occupy a long table that serves as an assembly line. The women roll dough into balls that will eventually become melomakarona, or filled honey-dipped cookies, also known as finikia.

The balls the ladies assemble head to a trio of women in the kitchen, who each pinch the rounded dough and spoon in a mix of honey and chopped pecans.

Tray after tray goes into the oven. Tray after tray comes out, and then they are readied for the final step. The “official dipper of finikia,” Niki Stewart, lords over a large pot of honey spiced with lemon and cinnamon. She dips the baked sweets in this honey pot, lets them soak a bit and then rolls in more chopped nuts.

Thousands of melomakarona get made in just one day, said Carol Kartonos, who is organizing this year’s sale.

And in another week, they’ll start over again.

FILLO TIPS

You might know it as phyllo, or filo, dough, the flaky, layered foundation for many Greek desserts. Here are some tips to handle it with ease from Kiki Rothman, whose late mother, Millie Poulos, was a legendary cook in Holy Trinity’s congregation. Rothman is pretty good herself.

When you lay out the dough, butter it. Use a wide pastry brush to cover more area quicker.

Then place it in the fridge for a while before working and rolling it. The butter will harden and give the dough stability.

Work it fast enough so it won’t dry out; dab a little water, but try not to get it too wet.

Score the dough on finished pieces into bite-size portions before you bake them. This helps prevent the baked filo item from breaking apart .

THE BASICS

Most Greek desserts are made with honey, nuts, butter and lemon. Most are very sweet, but a few are mild enough to be paired with coffee.

Tsoureki (sweet bread): Topped with sliced almonds or sesame seeds, these braided loaves of bread traditionally include a hard-boiled Easter egg inserted on top of the loaf.

Baklava: The delicately baked fillo layers on these triangle-shaped treats are drenched in a syrup that includes a teaspoon of rosewater.

Melomakarona (filled honey-dipped cookies): The filling, pinched in a ball before it’s baked, is chopped pecans, and it’s topped with chopped pecans.

Koulourakia (butter cookie twists): Butter is the star of these rope-patterned cookies, but you’ll also notice a hint of orange juice that’s added in the dough.

Paximadia (traditional Greek biscotti): Make a loaf of this, and slice through the loaf while it is hot out of the oven. (See recipe.)

Flogeres (nut fingers): Topped with melted chocolate, this treat contains a mix of walnuts, almonds, bread crumbs and a touch of brandy.

Lourambiedes (butter cookies): A shot of ouzo, the Greek liqueur, gives this cookie some bite.