Dessert
Koulourakia (Greek Easter Butter Cookies)
- Total timeTotal
- 1 hr
- MakesMakes
- 25–30 cookies
Koulourakia are the butter cookies Greeks bake for Easter, twisted into braids and coils and glazed with egg. Baking them is a tradition we still keep today. It matters to hold on to these authentic recipes we remember from childhood and to pass them on to the next generations.
Koulourakia are the butter cookies Greeks bake for Easter, twisted into braids and coils and glazed with egg. Baking them is a tradition we still keep today. It matters to hold on to these authentic recipes we remember from childhood and to pass them on to the next generations. That's how I got this recipe from a grandmother in Karpenisi, in the mountains of central Greece, and the house filled with something special, something pure, with a long history.
Step by step
5 photos
The recipe
Koulourakia Recipe
Total time 1 hr · 25–30 cookies
Ingredients
- For brushing: 1 egg yolk and a little milk
Method
- Leave the butter out of the fridge for a good while to soften, then beat it with the sugar until the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture is fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, still beating.
- Warm the milk gently, without letting it get hot, and dissolve the baker’s ammonia in it. Careful: it foams up and can overflow, so pour it quickly into the mixer bowl, or better, mix it right over the bowl.
- Add the baking powder, vanillin, salt and the orange and lemon zest to the bowl, and beat a little more.
- The result is a very soft, smooth cream.
- Then add the sifted flour in batches and knead.
- The dough for koulourakia is soft, but it should come away from the sides of the bowl and be easy to shape by hand.
- Shape the koulourakia as you like and brush them with a mixture of egg yolk and a little milk.
- Leave two fingers’ width between them on the baking sheet, because they puff up and you don’t want them to stick together.
- Bake in a preheated oven, convection (fan), at 175–180°C for 20–25 minutes.
- The time depends on how big you shape them and on your oven. They’re ready when they have a nice color and are baked through.
- TipYou can bake 2 or even 3 sheets at once, as long as you keep an eye on them and swap their positions for even baking. Once baked, let them cool completely on a wire rack, then enjoy the tastiest Easter koulourakia!
