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Authentic Kourabiedes Recipe Greece, Europe
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
A type of shortbread, kourabiedes are Greek cookies typically prepared for Christmas and other festive occasions. The main ingredients are flour, sheep’s milk or goat’s milk butter, sugar, rosewater or orange blossom water, and almonds. However, kourabiedes are also often made with alcohol such as brandy, mastika, Metaxa, and ouzo. The cookies are typically round but can have a crescent or star shape. Once baked and cooled, they are dusted with copious amounts of powdered sugar, which is why they’re often endearingly referred to as Greek snowball cookies. As far as variations go, recipes vary from family to family and depending on where you are in Greece. For example, kourabiedes made with olive oil are a thing in olive oil-producing areas, using walnuts instead of almonds is common, and sprinkling kourabiedes with ground mastic is also an option.
Cooking tips
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butter
The traditional choice is sheep’s or goat’s milk butter, the choice of which makes for melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a more intense aroma and a sandy texture. Cow’s milk butter is an acceptable alternative, but your cookies will be more biscuit-like. -
almonds
Almonds need to be roasted before being added to the dough. Also, they need to be coarsely chopped and not ground because using ground almonds will affect the texture of the cookies — they will be too hard. Plus, remember to let them cool completely before you add them to the dough! -
rosewater
Some recipes, especially older ones, will call for rosewater. Typically, rosewater is sprinkled over the still warm kourabiedes before dusting them with powdered sugar to ensure the sugar sticks better. Some recipes, however, instruct that rosewater be added to the dough as well, or only to the dough. Rosewater can be purchased in Middle Eastern grocery stores, health food stores, or online. -
alcohol
Often, kourabiedes contain alcohol, typically some kind of brandy. However, Greek alcoholic drinks such as mastika, Metaxa, and ouzo are most often called for in recipes. -
dough
The key thing when it comes to working with butter is that it is at room temperature, meaning when you press a finger into it, it should go in halfway through but not go all the way through. Then, it needs to be first creamed with sugar until fluffy and pale — the better it is creamed, the more tender the cookies will be. Do not knead the dough too much once you add the rest of the ingredients so ... Read more -
shaping cookies
The cookies should not be too big; about 30g/1 oz is ideal. Otherwise, they will spread too much during baking, resulting in flat cookies. Because the dough is very dry, it needs to be shaped by pressing on it or squeezing it into shape because otherwise, it will not hold shape but crumble apart. Also, to prevent the cookies from spreading a lot and ending up flat, make a dimple in the center of each ... Read more -
baking
Before baking, place the tray with cookies in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes so the butter can set, which will help prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking. The cookies should only be baked until slightly golden. If baked for longer, they will be too hard. -
storage
If stored in an airtight container at room temperature, kourabiedes will keep for up to a month.
Kourabiedes
PREP 1h
COOK 40min
RESTING 2h
READY IN 3h 40min
This recipe is adapted from www.visitgreece.gr, the official website of the Greek National Tourist Organisation. The recipe largely follows tradition, both in the ingredients and the preparation, but also calls for alcohol, namely brandy, which is a common practice as well.
Ingredients
300g (10.5 oz) fresh butter (traditionally sheep’s or goats’ milk butter)
110g (3.9 oz) icing sugar
600g (21.1 oz) flour
½ tsp baking powder
vanilla seed or extract
25g (1 oz) brandy
125g (4.4 oz) almonds
icing sugar, for dusting
Preparation
Step 1/7
Add the butter and the icing sugar to a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Then, add the flour, the baking powder, the vanilla seed, and the brandy, and mix until combined.
Step 2/7
Toast the almonds in a 160°C/320°F oven for 15 minutes. Crush the almonds into large pieces and work them into the dough.
Step 3/7
Line a few baking trays (depending on their size and the number of cookies!) with parchment paper. Divide the dough into tablespoon large (30g/1 oz) pieces.
Step 4/7
Place each piece of dough into the palm of your hand and squeeze it to shape it into a ball. You need to shape the dough into a round by pressing on it, not by rolling the dough because it will fall apart as it's a very dry dough. Then arrange them on the baking tray. Press into the center of each ball with your finger to make a little dimple, which will prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
Step 5/7
Place the tray with the cookies in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Step 6/7
Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 160°C/320°F oven until slightly golden. Then, let the cookies cool completely.
Step 7/7
Roll the cookies in icing sugar. Then, arrange the cookies on a serving plate and dust them generously with icing sugar.
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