The Best Kourabiedes Recipe: Greek Christmas Butter Cookies
The Ultimate Christmas Cookie: White as snow-Greek Butter Cookies-Kourabiedes, a delicious shortbread type cookie that melts in your mouth!
In Greece two of the most popular desserts that are made during the holiday season are kourabiedes and melomakarona.
What are Kourabiedes?
Kourabiedes are known outside of Greece as a cookie, but they are almost too substantial to be called a cookie. They are a sweet that people in Greece make during the Christmas holiday. Their crumbly, buttery shortbread base is a perfect blend of flour, sugar, and finely ground almonds, creating a melt-in-your-mouth texture that’s as smooth as velvet! Dusted generously with powdered sugar, they look like delicate snowballs. When you take a bite, the sugar and butter melt on your tongue, releasing a subtle nutty flavor that is so good!
Kourabiedes: The Dietitian’s Take
Nutritionally, what you see is what you get: sugar, flour and butter. On the other hand you don’t eat a handful of these like you would cookies, but rather just one as a dessert. Greeks typically make a big batch of these sweets and they last through the whole holiday season, so there is no pressure to eat all of them in a week! I remember my grandma used to hide them (I think she actually locked them) in a cabinet in her dining room for weeks and would only serve them when guests visited.
In the past, for Greeks, sweets, particularly those made with butter were a luxury item (butter and sugar was expensive) and were not to be eaten everyday. But my grandma’s practice of hiding them is also a great strategy to avoid overeating all these holiday treats. The rule “out of sight-out of mind” really applies here: what you don’t see, you don’t eat. Studies have actually showed that we eat more when the food is in front of us than when it is hiding in a cabinet. When you’re done making these, leave them on a nice platter for a few days, but after that store them in containers; they will last longer and you won’t be tempted all the time.
Kourabiedes – Greek Christmas Butter Cookies Ingredients
Butter: Choose high-quality unsalted butter for the best flavor and texture. The butter should be fresh and soft at room temperature, making it easier to whip and incorporate into the dough.
Powdered Sugar: Opt for fine powdered sugar (also called icing sugar) without any additives like cornstarch.
Egg Yolk: Select large, fresh eggs for a rich color and consistent yolk quality.
Cognac, Brandy, or Ouzo: Choose a good-quality brandy or cognac with a smooth flavor profile. If using ouzo, pick one with a balanced anise flavor, but avoid overpowering ones that could dominate the taste of the cookies.
** You may use orange juice or just water if not including alcohol
Cake Flour: Look for soft, finely milled cake flour that has a lower protein content compared to all-purpose flour. This will ensure a light, tender texture.
Baking Powder: Make sure the baking powder is fresh and hasn’t passed its expiration date.
Chopped or Ground Toasted Almonds: Opt for raw almonds that you can toast yourself for the best flavor.
Rosewater: Provides a subtle aroma to the cookies. Select one that is pure and high-quality, usually found in Middle Eastern or specialty stores.
How to make Kourabiedes – Greek Christmas Butter Cookies
Preparation:
- Preheat the Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Chill the Dough: After mixing, refrigerate the dough for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to handle.
Making the Dough:
- Whip the Butter: In a large bowl, whip the butter until it becomes white and fluffy.
- Add Sugar and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the powdered sugar (½ cup) while mixing, then incorporate the egg yolk and cognac (or ouzo).
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, sift the cake flour and mix with the baking powder. Add the chopped or ground toasted almonds to the dry ingredients.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until a dough forms. Knead for a few minutes until smooth, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky.
Shaping the Cookies:
- Shape the Dough: After chilling, take small portions of dough and roll them into balls about the size of a walnut. Flatten them slightly with your fingers or shape them into crescents or other preferred forms.
Baking the Cookies:
- Bake: Place the shaped dough on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, being careful not to over-bake. The cookies should be lightly golden and soft.
Finishing Touches:
- Rosewater: Once out of the oven, sprinkle the cookies with rosewater (or the homemade substitute).
- Powdered Sugar Coating: Dust the baked cookies generously with the remaining powdered sugar. Layer the cookies on a platter, dusting each layer with more powdered sugar to create a small pyramid effect.
Serving:
- Serve and Enjoy: Serve the kourabiedes on a platter, and enjoy the melt-in-your-mouth sweetness! For a lighter coating, brush off some of the powdered sugar.
How to store kourabiedes
These last the whole holiday season. Store them in air proof containers.
More Mediterranean Holiday Dessert Recipes
Melomakarona (Authentic Greek Christmas Honey Cookies)
Vasilopita –The Greek Lucky New Year’s Cake-
Juicy Greek Orange Cake – Portokalopita
Greek Custard Pie – Galatopita
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Get it here >> The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Beginners
Kourabiedes: Greek Christmas Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 oz or 226 g) butter room temperature
- ½ cup (1.3 oz or 50 g) powdered sugar
- 4 cups (10.5 oz or 360 g) powdered sugar for dusting
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon cognac or brandy or ouzo
- 3 cups (360 g) cake flour (regular flour will work too)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup (2 ½ oz or 75 g) chopped or ground toasted almonds
- Rosewater (look for it in middle eastern stores or make this substitute (see below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees F (180 Celsius)
- In a large bowl whip the butter until white and fluffy. Add ONLY the ½ cup powdered sugar gradually. Continue mixing and add the egg yolk and the cognac or ouzo. In another bowl sift flour and mix well with the baking powder, add the chopped almonds. Add the flour mixture to the butter and mix. Knead for a few minutes and if needed add a bit more flour. This dough will be a bit sticky. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove from the refrigerator and make small round shapes about the size of a walnut and flatten a bit with your fingers. Another common shape is the crescent. My 3-year-old son also made some in the shape of a star using a cookie cutter.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Be careful not to over bake otherwise these cookies will be hard instead of having a melt-in-your-mouth quality.
- Once you remove them from the oven sprinkle with some rose water or substitute.
- Fill shallow bowl with the rest of the powdered sugar (4 cups), dip each kourabie in the sugar mixture making sure they are well covered with sugar, place on a large platter. Once you have 1 layer of kourabiedes on the platter, sift powdered sugar over the kourabiedes, continue the same process with the next layer, layering until you have small pyramid.
Notes
Add to a small pot 1 ½ cup water, orange peel from 1 orange and some whole cloves. Bring the water to a boil, strain, and the flower water substitute is ready to use.
SAVE FOR LATER AND PIN IT!
Photo Credit: DCGreekChurch for flickr
These were delicious! I’ve been looking for a recipe close to my yiayia’s and this might just be it! The texture and flavor were perfect. I know she normally would put the rose water right into the batter with the ouzo. I might try that next time bc when I tried to “sprinkle” it on the cookies out of the oven, a few of them got a lot more than a sprinkle! Thank you!