Venizelika Sweets

Venizelika Sweets

This is a tasty, customary sweet particular to Limnos and ideal for weddings given its soft, light color.

Ingredients (for 60 servings)

½ kilogram almonds, with shell/peel, lightly roasted and ground

350 grams dark chocolate shredded/grated

1 cup Cointreau, orange liqueur or Grand Marnier

1 cup thick syrup (150 ml water, 170 ml sugar and a little lemon)

Cognac used to wet our hands for kneading (such as Metaxa 3 Star)

For the coating: ½  kilogram vanilla extract diluted in water


Directions:

 We begin preparing our dough by adding all our ingredients in a large bowl.  With our hands, begin kneading the mixture, but be careful not to crush or crumble the almonds.  In the meantime, prepare the syrup (which needs to be thick and viscous) and add it into the bowl with our mixture, but only after it has cooled (syrup).  Dampen your hands with a little cognac and begin to shape the dough.  Using all the dough, make small, round shaped balls and let stand for a full day, allowing them ample time to drain, dry and tighten.

After our dough balls have dried, over medium heat add the vanilla into a double boiler, until it becomes completely drenched and wet through.  We don’t want this to be hot, so we remove from the heat and wait for it to warm up.  Only then is the vanilla ready for the almond dough balls, of which we dip, one at a time, in our glaze.  Let stand and dry before serving.