I’ve been going to Tarpon Springs for as long as I can remember.

What’s so interesting about it?

Everything.

Every. dang. edible. thing. 

Then there is of course the romance that Tarpon Springs still has that Old Florida (kinda of Greek) vibe/signage/architecture from the 30’s–60’s.

True Story: the Old Florida is becoming hard and harder to find each year as I travel down the Gulf Coast of FLA. Damn shame.

Tarpon Springs is home to the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. How did the immigration of Greek folks land on the Gulf coast of Florida? 

Well, a man named John Cocoris recruited Greek sponge divers from the Dodecanese Islands (I am coming for you one day– it’s on the before 35 list) in the early 1900’s for a what was once a multi-million dollar a year sponge industry. 

I can see the look on y'alls faces, “well. no shit…" 

Yep, natural sponges. By the boatloads. Literally. 

Some sponge harvesting does still happen in this region of the Gulf but the sponge fields and the industry were nearly wiped out in the late 40’s by a red algal bloom. Folks were resilient and did what they do best and opened restaurants (thankfully!) and shops to replace the warehouses that once lined the docks. 

There’s a few import shops with handmade linens and a bit of clothing from the old country but most are like anywhere else: tourist-y stuff from China. It’s doesn’t matter though I am there for one reason and  …err two reasons: to eat and to buy soap.

Yeah, soap. 

This place. Good Lord, they make the best soap (and bath fizzes, too).

Out of olive oil. It’s the only time I will gladly shell out $6 to $8 for a 4 or 5 ounce bar of soap. 

Lamb Spaghetti

Hellas Restaurant + Bakery

Tarpon Springs, FLA 

Of course I am there to eat, too.  

Oh man do I eat.

We’ve been eating hummus, not mention skordalia and taramosalata, long before folks knew what that shit was. 

Gyros, drenched in tzatziki (I can never get my tzatziki to taste like theirs) were a given of course. Sometimes there were souvlakis. 

Then it was only a matter of time, given my fondness of cheese, that I would inevitably discover the pure deliciousness that is spanakopita and tiropita. Cheese and spinach with filo ‘crust’ and well triopita is just a cheese pie with filo 'crust’. 

I die. 

There was also a time that nearly every occasion called for Saganaki.

Aka: flaming feta.

I still believe this to be the best name for a band.

EVER. 

Opa!

Sometimes.

Sometimes I throw a little caution to wind and just do the sampler platter of dolmades, mousaka and other assorted tasty items I never even give a second thought to because of the damn spanakopita + triopita platter. 

Boat with sponges

Sponge Docks

Tarpon Springs, FLA

A visit to Tarpon Spring usually looks something like this: 

I eat more than I can possibly consume in two days in a single sitting.

I grab a Greek coffee.

I walk/zoom around.

(Anyone who has ever had a Greek coffee knows what I am talkin’ about.) I buy soap.

I take a few photos and then.

Then.

I walk my still very full self back into one of bakeries and order over/about $20 worth of pastries and cookies. Take a bite out of each delicious one of them and save the rest for later.

Neurotic, I know. 

I don’t get fanatical about any other food (or pastry for that matter) as I do these. So when I returned home to NOLA recently from a visit all I could think about is how do I keep this trip/tastes alive?

Photos are fine but you can’t gnaw on a digital photo.  

I tried to savor the damn near $20 sampler of pastries but towards the end (read: day 3) I just stood in my kitchen and ate them all.

Like a some crazed fiend. 

Then (and yes it took me this long to get to this thought) I thought,

"I will just have to make 'em. All of them.”

After doing a bit of research, recipe hunting and shelling out some serious bucks for pounds of nuts I turned my kitchen into for one Sunday a Greek bake shop with a few of the favorites: baklava, kourabiethes (almond cookies), and melomakaronas (honey spice cookies). 

So without further adieu, should y'all want to dip into the mix

(and you should) 

the recipes…

Kourabiethes

(Almond cookies) 

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 15-18 mins

Yield: 24 cookies

It’s best that y'all get your mise en place for this one: 

½ cup walnuts, chopped

¼ cup almond meal/flour 

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 stick butter, room temp. 

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp brandy

1 tsp brandy 

1 tsp almond extract 

zest from one orange

To dress those cookies in fluffy white: 

2 ounces orange juice

¾ cup confectioner’s sugar

Okay y'all ready?

Preheat the oven to 350.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

Break out the stand mixer. 

Break out the skillet and toast the chopped walnuts until you smell em–this means they are starting to release their oil and should be a lil darker in color. Set aside.

Now grab a medium size mixing bowl and sift together: flour, baking powder, salt, and almond meal. Set aside.

Take the bowl from the stand mixer and add the butter, sugar, egg yolk, brandy, orange zest, and almond extract. With the paddle attachment beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 8-10 mins.

Slow the speed down a bit and gradually add in the sifted flour mixture. Adding enough of the sifted flour mixture each time until just incorporated.

It should be dry + crumbly. 

Now add in those toasted walnuts until just combined. 

Grab a tablespoon y'all. 

You will be using this as your measure and well it shapes the cookies.

Over the mixing bowl start scooping out cookies. It’s not a heaping tablespoon scoop, folks. Press the dough into scoop and let any excess fall back into the bowl. Do this until you have used all the dough. 

Slide those baking sheets into the oven for 15 mins. 

Go ahead and put the ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar in a bag. 

Check em, they should look lightly, very lightly tanned when they are ready.

Once they are ready, remove from the oven, grab a basting brush and the orange juice. Brush the orange juice on the first dozen cookies.

Now dump about 6 cookies into the bag of confectioner’s sugar and give 'em a good toss. They should be generously coated with sugar. 

Remove the cookies from the bag and allow to cool. 

Repeat with basting and tossing in sugar with the remaining cookies. 

So damn delicious with coffee in the morning.

Are y'all ready for another? 

Good…

These.

These are a little more involved.

They gonna take some time.

I love them, they are my new favorite. If you like slightly sweet, warm clove-y, citrus-y flavors than damnit–you’re in for a treat.

Melomakarona

(Honey-Spice Cookies) 

Prep time: 20 mins 

Cook time: 20 mins

Yield: 40 cookies

You definitely need to do the mise en place on this one.

the dough:

1 cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar 

¼ cup brandy

1 ounce orange juice

zest from one orange

zest from one lemon

3 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder 

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

a few pinches ground clove

the syrup:

1 cup honey 

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

½ of a spent lemon

1 cinnamon stick

for the topping:

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Position 2 racks in the oven:

one in the upper 1/3 and one in the lower 1/3.

Go ahead + preheat the oven to 350.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

Break out that stand mixer. 

Let’s get the simple out of the way first, shall we?

To make the syrup:

in a small saucepan combine the honey, sugar, and the water. Whisk until dissolved over medium high heat. 

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Skim off any foam that forms. The mixture should darken and thicken a bit.

Remove heat, toss in the half of used lemon, and cinnamon stick. 

Set aside. 

Go ahead and toss the finely chopped walnuts and cinnamon in small bowl. Set aside.

Now grab a medium size mixing bowl and sift together: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and clove. 

Take the bowl from the stand mixer and add in: oil, sugar, brandy, orange juice, and both citrus zests. Beat on medium until the sugar is dissolved.

Slowly add the sifted flour mixture to the sugar mixture until just combined. 

The dough should be soft. 

Now remove the bowl from stand mixer and work it with your hands. Add a little extra flour in if you need to. The goal is a stiff dough. ^^

Once the dough is stiff it’s time to go ahead make 'em into cookies.

Pinch off a small walnut-sized amount and roll 'em between your palms the same way you would when making meatballs.

These should be about half that size. 

Do this until all the dough is used. 

Slide those both baking sheets into the oven. 

One on a high rack and one on the lower rack. 

Set the timer from 10 mins.

After the 10 mins is up, rotate the sheets from top to bottom. 

Bake for another 10 mins. 

Once the time is up remove from the oven. 

Now, remove the cinnamon stick and lemon from the honey syrup.

Grab the small bowl of cinnamoned walnuts, the cookies, and let’s get down to business. 

Y'all are going to add a few cookies at a time to the honey syrup. 

They are going to bob in this deliciousness for a few minutes, yes a few minutes they need to absorb the syrup. 

After they have soaked roll 'em the cinnamon walnuts. 

Set aside finished cookies on a separate baking sheet.

Repeat until these lil bad boys are done. 

Yeah, they took a bit of work.

Not really. just planning. 

But damnit they are so worth it. 

Like anything deceptively, deliciously simple they won’t last long. 

Opa!