Sweet Armonia pretzels with Misithra cheese, raisins and honey

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g wheat flour type 405
• ½ tsp mastic (light yellow resin of the mastic pistachio tree)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 5 tbsp orange juice
• 60 g white sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• n. B. Flour for the work surface
• e.g. margarine for the mold
• 100 g orange juice
• 40 g white sugar
• 1 piece(s) cinnamon stick(s), approx. 3 cm long
• 1 clove(s)
• 100 g cream cheese (Misithra, see note)
• 3 tbsp honey, light
• 1 m.-sized egg(s)
• 50 g raisins
• 50 g sesame, white
• Grains, flowers and leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 55 minutes

Grind or grind the mastic grains into fine flour. Combine all the ingredients for the dough and knead into a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the syrup in a small saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Discard the cinnamon and cloves, add the dried raisins, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain the raisins, set aside the syrup, and finely chop the raisins. Grease a sufficiently large baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat). Crack the egg, separating the yolk and egg white. Reserve the egg white for another purpose. Mix the misithra with the egg yolk, honey, and raisins until smooth. Keep the finished filling in the refrigerator until the dough strips are ready. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Roll out each portion into a sheet approximately 30 cm long and 3 mm thick on a floured surface. Cut the sheets lengthwise into 2 cm wide strips. Spread the filling on top and roll the strips tightly from bottom to top, then place the rings flat on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the rings with sesame seeds. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius until golden brown. Brush with a little syrup, arrange on a serving platter, garnish, and serve warm. Note: If you can’t find Misithra cream cheese, you can substitute a mixture of 30% feta cheese and 70% quark, blended until smooth. My source for mastic: http://www.gewuerzshop-mayer.de/mastix.html My source for misithra: https://www.nikthegreek.de/de/myzithra-weichkaese-600g-arvaniti Recipe source: Mr. Olympios, Armonia Hotel, Crete.