Kourabiedes- Greek Christmas Butter Cookies
Have a snowy Merry Christmas with these amazing festive sweet butter cookies! If you haven’t tried kourabiedes (Greek Christmas butter cookies) before, then you are certainly missing out! Soft, fluffy with a crunchy bite and rich almond (or pistachio if you are feeling adventurous) and butter flavour.. This super easy kourabiedes recipe will certainly set you on a festive mood!
Kourabiedes is a delicious traditional Greek treat, packed with the aromas of fresh butter and roasted almonds and garnished with luscious layers of icing sugar.. The ultimate Christmas cookie! Once put in the oven, the aromas permeate the house and brings back childhood memories.. But, if you ever tried making your own homemade kourabiedes before, you must know that it surely takes some time and effort to succeed. Not any more! This kourabiedes recipe changes everything.. Ready to bake in less than 15 minutes, if you start now, you can be munching on these amazing festive snowy cookies in less than 35 minutes, and noone will ever know you cheated!
Ingredients
- 250g butter made from cows milk, cold (9 ounces) (Lurpak unsalted)
- 150g almonds, roughly chopped or almond slivers, roasted (6 ounces)
- 50g almonds (whole) or almond slivers, raw (1.8 ounces). Alternatively you can also give pistachios a try
- 75g icing sugar (2.7 ounces)
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 300g all-purpose flour (10.6 ounces)
- lots of icing sugar for powdering
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C. To prepare this kourabiedes (kourabiethes) recipe start by roasting the almonds. Place the roughly chopped almonds (150g/ 6 ounces) or almond silvers on a baking tray and sprinkle with some water. Bake them for 7-8 minutes, until roasted, being careful not to burn them. Set aside or put in the fridge to cool.
In a blender, add the raw almonds (50g/ 1.8 ounces) or the pistachios and blend, until powdered. Set aside.
In a food processor, add the cold butter and sugar; mix for about 10 seconds, until the butter ‘breaks’ and is completely dissolved. Add the powdered almonds, a pinch of salt, the rosewater and the vanilla extract; mix for 10-20 seconds, until combined. At the end, add the baking powder and flour and mix again for 10-15 seconds.
Place the mixture in a large bowl and add the roasted almonds; blend lightly with your hands. For the kourabiedes to remain fluffy, it is important that the butter doesn’t warm up and melt. So wait for a while for the roasted almonds to cool, before adding them to the butter mixture and wear plastic gloves, when blending with your hands, so that the temperature of your hands doesn’t warm up the butter.
Preheat the oven to 200C; layer the bottom of 2 baking trays with parchment paper and form the kourabiedes. Roll 1 tbsp of the dough into a ball, place on the baking tray and push with your finger in the middle, to form a little dimple. Continue with the rest of the dough.
Place the baking trays with the kourabiedes in second and fourth rack of the oven and turn the heat down to 180C. Bake for approx. 18-20 minutes, until they have a very faint golden tint and are cooked through. Be careful not to overbake them. (Leave the kourabiedes aside to cool down for a while. If you try to lift them, while still warm, they will break.)
Spray the kourabiedes with rosewater and sift with icing sugar. Enjoy!