• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a large bowl whisk together 3 cups of the flour with the baking powder and the powdered vanilla.  Set aside.
  2 tbsp + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon powdered vanilla
• In a large bowl combine the grated lemon peel with the granulated sugar.  Mix well. Next, add the oil and using a hand held mixer beat all of this quite well. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  1 tbsp + 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, 1 1/4 cup (250 grams) granulated white sugar, 1 1/4 cup (310 mL) vegetable oil, 3 large eggs, separated
• Combine the baking soda with the freshly squeezed orange juice.  Mix well.   It will froth up a bit; this is fine.  Add this to the bowl with the sugar, oil and egg yolks.  Set aside.
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 cups (180 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
• In a medium sized bowl using a cleaned and dried hand mixer beat the egg whites until soft white peaks are formed.
• Add half of the egg whites to the bowl with the sugar, oil and egg yolks, beating well until they are well combined.  Add the remaining egg whites and continue to beat until combined.
• Add flour from the bowl which contains the flour and baking powder combination about 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  When you have added all 3 cups of the flour and baking powder mix stop using the hand held mixture. Continue to add plain flour until you have added between 5 3/4 cups to 6 cups flour TOTAL and do all of the mixing by hand.  Your dough should be soft, fluffy and almost velvety.  It should not stick to your hands, and should be very easy to shape and handle. If you're not sure whether you need to add more flour, let the dough sit for about 10 minutes, then check it.

To shape the cookies

• Take one tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball using the palms of your hands.  Then, place the ball at the edge of your right palm, so that half the ball is on your palm and half is off of it.  You will not move this hand.  Then, take the palm of your left hand and move that hand back and forth over the ball of dough in order to create the tapered end of your pear shape.  Allow gravity to help a little bit by holding your hands vertically. You can probably get a better sense of what we mean by watching this video
• Once you have shaped your cookies, insert a whole clove into the rounded end of the cookie; this represents the bottom of the pear.
• Place the shaped cookies on a parchment lined cookies sheet and bake in the middle rack of your oven for about 20 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown and a darker brown on the underside of the cookie.

For the syrup

• In a large pot combine 2 cups white granulated sugar with 2 cups water.  Add one cinnamon stick, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and if you like, 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water.  Allow this to heat up over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.  Heat for about 5 minutes after sugar melts, and then remove from heat.
• Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for approximately a minute and then carefully dunk them into the warm syrup and let them soak there for about 30 – 60 seconds.  Place the cookies on a parchment lined counter in order to for them to cool completely.
• Enjoy!